Hanging Wood was a former woodland area located in what is now southeast

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, which covered a geographical area between

Woolwich Common Woolwich Common is a common in Woolwich in southeast London, England. It is partly used as military land (less than 40%) and partly as an urban park. Woolwich Common is a conservation area. It is part of the South East London Green Chain. It is al ...

and Charlton. Hanging Wood was a hideout for

highwaymen A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to fo ...

who operated on

Shooter's Hill Shooter's Hill (or Shooters Hill) is a district in South East London within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It borders the London Borough of Bexley. It lies north of Eltham and south of Woolwich. With a height of , it is the highest point in t ...

and

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

. Parts of the Hanging Wood are preserved as

Maryon Park Maryon Park is an urban public park located in Charlton in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is situated on the A206 south of the Thames Barrier. There is access from Woolwich Road, Charlton Lane and Thorntree Road. It is part of the Maryon Wils ...

Maryon Wilson Park Maryon Wilson Park is a public park on Thorntree Road, Charlton, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich in south east London. Together with the neighbouring Maryon Park and Gilbert's Pit, it is a Local Nature Reserve, and forms part of the South Eas ...

and

Gilbert's Pit Gilbert's Pit is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Charlton in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It was notified in 1985 and was formerly known as Charlton Sand Pit. It is a Geological Conservation Review site. It is also part ...

in the

Royal Borough of Greenwich The Royal Borough of Greenwich (, , or ) is a London borough in southeast Greater London. The London Borough of Greenwich was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. The new borough covered the former area of the Metropolitan Borough ...

. Though it is popularly supposed that the wood was used for hanging those highwaymen who were caught, a more likely explanation for the name is the wood's location on steep slopes so that the trees appear to hang from the slope. Such woods are often referred to as 'hanging woods' (the word 'hang' comes from the Old English 'hangra', a wooded slope).

References

Ancient woods of London {{London-geo-stub