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 Greater may refer to: *Greatness Greatness is a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. Greatness can also be attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than al ...

. 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 h ...

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 previ ...

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 St Olave's Church, Hart Street, is a Church of England church in the City of London, located on the corner of Hart Street and Seething Lane near Fenchurch Street railway station. John Betjeman described St Olave's as "a country church in the w ...

, 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

*Courtyard of

St Vedast Foster Lane Saint Vedast Foster Lane or Saint Vedast-alias-Foster, a church in Foster Lane, in the City of London, is dedicated to St. Vedast (Foster is an Anglicisation of the name "Vaast", as the saint is known in continental Europe), a French saint who ...

, 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. References {{coord missing, Gujarat Rajkot Parks in India Tourist attractions in Rajkot district ...

, 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 Little Britain may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little Britain'' (sketch show), a British radio and then TV show ** ''Little Britain USA'', an American spin-off * "Little Britain", a song by Dreadzone from the 1995 album ''Second Light'' * ...

* 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 St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...

* 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 Hampstead Heath (locally known simply as the Heath) is an ancient heath in London, spanning . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band ...

274 hectares. Located in the boroughs of Camden and Barnet *

, 3,188 hectares. Largest public open space in the London area. *

Burnham Beeches Burnham Beeches is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest situated west of Farnham Common in the village of Burnham, Buckinghamshire. The southern half is owned by the Corporation of London and is open to the public. It is also a Na ...

, 218 hectares. An area in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

purchased 1880. * Stoke Common, 83 hectares in

. * 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 Farthing Downs is an open space in Coulsdon in the London Borough of Croydon. Together with Eight Acres Common and New Hill to the south-east, it is owned and managed by the Corporation of London. Farthing Downs and Eight Acres Common are part of ...

, 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 ar ...

, 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