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Keston Common is a 55 hectare area of public open space in
/ref>London Gardens Online, Keston Common
/ref> Almost all the common together with a small part of the neighbouring
Common Land in England, Keston Common
/ref>
Keston Common is a 55 hectare area of public open space in Keston
Keston is a village in Greater London, England, located within the London Borough of Bromley, Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was withing the historic county of Kent. It is part suburban, part rural in nature and lies on the edge of Hayes Com ...
in the London Borough of Bromley
The London Borough of Bromley () is the southeasternmost of the London boroughs that make up Greater London, bordering the ceremonial county of Kent, which most of Bromley was part of before 1965. The borough's population is an estimated 332,336 ...
. Most of it is heathland and dry acid grassland on the Blackheath Pebble Beds.Natural England, Keston and Hayes Common SSSI citation/ref>London Gardens Online, Keston Common
/ref> Almost all the common together with a small part of the neighbouring
Hayes Common
Hayes Common is a 79-Hectare (195 acre) area of public open land in Hayes in the London Borough of Bromley. It is owned and managed by Bromley Council. It is Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation, and a small area is part of ...
is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
.
History
The land was formerly part of the estate ofHolwood House
Holwood House is a country house in Keston, near Hayes, in the London Borough of Bromley, England. The house was designed by Decimus Burton, built between 1823 and 1826 and is in the Greek Revival style. It was built for John Ward who later em ...
, and in the early nineteenth century three ponds were constructed to provide water to the house. It is only two miles from Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
's home, Down House
Down House is the former home of the English naturalist Charles Darwin and his family. It was in this house and garden that Darwin worked on his theory of evolution by natural selection, which he had conceived in London before moving to Down ...
, and he often visited to study the plants and animals there. It helped to provide the materials for his works on earthworms and carnivorous plants. 'Darwin's Landscape Laboratory', which included Keston Common, was the British Government's 2009 nominee for a World Heritage Site, but the application was unsuccessful. In 1926 the then owner of the common, Lord Stanley, donated it to the parish.
Other information
The common is aSite of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation
Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI), Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) and regionally important geological site (RIGS) are designations used by local authorities in the United Kingdom for sites of substantive local nature ...
and an Area of Archaeological Significance with earthworks which are a listed structure. Two of the ponds are now used for fishing. The ''Friends of Keston Common'' work to conserve and protect it. 21.5 hectares is registered Common Land
Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect Wood fuel, wood, or to cut turf for fuel.
A person ...
./ref>
Access
There is access from Westerham Road, Heathfield Road and Fishponds Road.See also
* List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Greater London *Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Bromley The London Borough of Bromley in Greater London, England has over one hundred parks and open spaces within its boundaries: some large, like Crystal Palace Park, and some small, such as recreation grounds. Some of the open spaces form part of the So ...
References
{{Parks and open spaces in London Common land in London Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Bromley Sites of Special Scientific Interest in London