The

City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...

owns and maintains open space in and around Greater London. They have mainly been acquired since 1878, when two

Acts of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliament be ...

entrusted the management of

Epping Forest Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the London ...

and several other areas within a 25-mile (40 km) radius to the corporation: these areas laid the foundation for the

Green Belt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which ...

in the 20th century. On dedicating the opening of Epping Forest on 6 May 1882,

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

said "It gives me the greatest satisfaction to dedicate this beautiful forest to the use and enjoyment of my people for all time."

Within the City

The city has no sizeable parks within its boundary, but does have a network of a large number of gardens and small open spaces, many of them maintained by the corporation. These range from formal gardens such as the one in

Finsbury Circus Finsbury Circus is a park in the Coleman Street Ward of the City of London, England. The 2 acre park is the largest public open space within the City's boundaries. It is not to be confused with Finsbury Square, just north of the City, or Fi ...

, containing a

bowling green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

and

bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an orname ...

, to churchyards such as St Olave Hart Street, to water features and artwork in courtyards and pedestrianised lanes. There are 150 smaller areas within the square mile of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

, including: * Barber-Surgeon's Hall Garden,

London Wall The London Wall was a defensive wall first built by the Romans around the strategically important port town of Londinium in AD 200, and is now the name of a modern street in the City of London. It has origins as an initial mound wall and ...

* Cleary Garden, Queen Victoria Street *Churchyard at St Olave Hart Street *Courtyard of St Vedast Foster Lane *

, Blomfield Street/London Wall/

Moorgate Moorgate was one of the City of London's northern gates in its defensive wall, the last to be built. The gate took its name from the Moorfields, an area of marshy land that lay immediately north of the wall. The gate was demolished in 1762, bu ...

Jubilee Garden The Jubilee Garden is a large, open park big area in the center of Vadodara city, Gujarat, India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most p ...

, Houndsditch * Portsoken Street Garden, Portsoken Street/Goodman's Yard *

Postman's Park Postman's Park is a public garden in central London, a short distance north of St Paul's Cathedral. Bordered by Little Britain, Aldersgate Street, St. Martin's Le Grand, King Edward Street, and the site of the former headquarters of the General ...

, Little Britain * Seething Lane Garden, Seething Lane * St Dunstan-in-the-East, St Dunstan's Hill * St Mary Aldermanbury, Aldermanbury * St Olave Hart Street churchyard, Seething Lane * St Paul's churchyard, St Paul's Cathedral * West Smithfield Garden, West Smithfield * Whittington Gardens, College Street

Outside the City

The total managed area is 4,200 hectares (). Included in the open spaces are: * Hampstead Heath 274 hectares. Located in the boroughs of Camden and Barnet *

, 3,188 hectares. Largest public open space in the London area. * Burnham Beeches, 218 hectares. An area in Buckinghamshire purchased 1880. * Stoke Common, 83 hectares in Buckinghamshire. * The City Commons, seven green spaces in South London and Surrey managed by the corporation:City of London, City Commons
/ref> **

Ashtead Common Ashtead Common, nearly 495 acres (c. 200 ha), is a wooded area open to the public, to the north of the village of Ashtead in Surrey, England. It is owned and managed by the City of London Corporation, after being bought by the City due to conc ...

, 200 hectares ** Farthing Downs, 95 hectares ** Coulsdon Common, 51 hectares ** Kenley Common, 56 hectares **

Riddlesdown Common Riddlesdown Common or Riddlesdown is a 43 hectare area of green space in Kenley, towards the northern end of the North Downs in the London Borough of Croydon. It is owned and maintained by the City of London Corporation, apart from two small are ...

, 43 hectares ** Spring Park, 20 hectares ** West Wickham Common, 10 hectares *

Highgate Wood Highgate Wood is a 28 hectare (70 acre) area of ancient woodland in North London, lying between East Finchley, Highgate and Muswell Hill. It was originally part of the ancient Forest of Middlesex which covered much of London, Hertfordshire and Ess ...

28 hectares Purchased in 1886 * Queen's Park in northwest London, 12 hectares. Purchased 1886, having been the site of 1879 Royal Agricultural Exhibition *

West Ham Park West Ham Park is a privately owned public park in West Ham in the London Borough of Newham. Spanning , it is the largest park in the borough. The park has been managed by the City of London Corporation since 1874. Records from 1566 show that th ...

, 31 hectares. Purchased 1874 It also has an interest in the Downlands Countryside Management Project in South-east London.

References

External links

City of London open spacesGardens of the City of London
{{City of London Parks and open spaces