Oxleas Wood is one of the few remaining areas of ancient

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three wards of Elt ...

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 ...

(with a small amount passing over the boundary into the

London Borough of Bexley The London Borough of Bexley () is a London boroughs, London borough in south-east London, forming part of Outer London. It has a population of 248,287. The main settlements are Sidcup, Erith, Bexleyheath, Crayford, Welling and Old Bexley. The ...

), in 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 ...

. Some parts date back over 8,000 years to the end of the last ice age, the

Younger Dryas The Younger Dryas (c. 12,900 to 11,700 years BP) was a return to glacial conditions which temporarily reversed the gradual climatic warming after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, c. 27,000 to 20,000 years BP). The Younger Dryas was the last stage ...

. It is part of a larger continuous area of woodland and parkland on the south side of

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 ...

: other parts are Jack Wood, Castle Wood (home to

Severndroog Castle Severndroog Castle is a folly designed by architect Richard Jupp, with the first stone laid on 2 April 1784. While commonly referred to as a castle due to its turrets, it was built as a folly, as can be discerned by its small size and because it ...

), Oxleas Meadows, Falconwood Field, Eltham Common and Eltham Park North (the latter being divided by the A2 main road from its southern section). Eltham Park North includes the ancient Shepherdleas Wood. Pond on the Southern Side of Oxleas Wood

Pond on the Southern Side of Oxleas Wood

History

In 1311, the Royal manor of

was established and this included the woods. The woods were leased to Sir John Shaw, 2nd Baronet, from crown occupation in 1679. His family managed them until 1811, when they were taken over by the War Department. The woods were then acquired by the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

for the use of public recreation in 1930, and then opened to the public in 1934. Ownership then passed from the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

to the Borough of Greenwich on abolition of the GLC in 1986. In 1993 plans for an East London River Crossing that would have cut through Oxleas Wood were withdrawn following opposition from local residents. People Against the River Crossing (PARC), the road protest group formed to oppose the crossing, comprised local residents, with support from established environmental organisations,

radical environmentalists Radical environmentalism is a grass-roots branch of the larger environmental movement that emerged from an ecocentrism-based frustration with the co-option of mainstream environmentalism. As a movement Philosophy The radical environmental mo ...

and pagans. The campaign's objective was to halt the road scheme, by using all possible means within the established institutional framework. This involved 2 public inquiries and PARC's complaint to the European Commission, reinforced by legal action in conjunction with Greenwich Council, which led to the abandonment of the road project. Over 3,000 people and organisations signed a pledge in which they promised to engage in

civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". Hen ...

to defend the woodland.

Description

Oxleas Wood, Jack Wood and Shepherdleas Wood are a

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 ...

called Oxleas Woodlands, covering 72

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

s with

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

silver birch ''Betula pendula'', commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe, it is only found ...

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornbeam' ...

coppice Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeated ...

hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...

, and a great number of fine samples of the

Wild Service Tree ''Sorbus torminalis'', with common names wild service tree, chequers, and checker tree, is a species of tree in the mountain ash or rowan genus (''Sorbus'') of the rose family (Rosaceae), that is native to Europe, parts of northern Africa and we ...

. A larger area including Eltham Common is designated a Local Nature Reserve called Oxleas/Shooters Hill Woodlands. The site covers most of the top of

Shooters 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 ...

(in the Royal Borough of Greenwich). There is an underground water

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

in the grassed area called Oxleas Meadow. This serves the local area with water. This is associated with 'the hut' which is a building containing the equipment that

Thames Water Thames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is a large private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in most of Greater London, Luton, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, north Wiltsh ...

uses to control the reservoir. Within Oxleas Meadow is a cafe. The café building is of brick construction and is owned by the Borough of Greenwich. Public male and female toilets are also located in this building and are available for use during the café opening hours. The café part of the building is leased to the café operator. Within the woods there is a thriving

honeybee A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current cosmo ...

apiary, th
Oxleas Wood Apiary
which was managed by the late apiarist John Largebr>obit

References

External links

Oxleas Wood
on the website of the

* Case history on the Oxleas Wood anti-road protect. * *
Oxleas Wood/Shooters Hill Woodlands, Wild About BritainGreen Chain, Oxleas Wood and Meadow
* {{LNRs in Greater London Parks and open spaces in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Anti-road protest Forests and woodlands of London Local nature reserves in Greater London Nature reserves in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Sites of Special Scientific Interest in London Ancient woods of London

History

Description

See also

References

External links