Putney Lower Common is an open parkland space in the

London Borough of Wandsworth Wandsworth () is a London boroughs, London borough in southwest London; it forms part of Inner London and has an estimated population of 329,677 inhabitants. Its main named areas are Battersea, Balham, Putney, Tooting and Wandsworth, Wandsworth ...

between the town centres of

Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...

and

Barnes Barnes may refer to: People * Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name) Places United Kingdom *Barnes, London, England **Barnes railway station ** Barnes Bridge railway station ** Barnes Railway Bri ...

. It is part of

Wimbledon and Putney Commons Wimbledon Common is a large open space in Wimbledon, southwest London. There are three named areas: Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath, and Putney Lower Common, which together are managed under the name Wimbledon and Putney Commons totalling 46 ...

, lying 1.5 miles from the rest of the common area.

Geography

The common has an area 13.22 ha, it borders with

Barn Elms Barn Elms is an open space in Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, located on the northerly loop of the River Thames between Barnes and Fulham. The WWT London Wetland Centre (105 acres of what were once reservoirs) lie ...

and

Beverley Brook Beverley Brook is a minor English river long in south-west London. It rises in Worcester Park and joins the River Thames to the north of Putney Embankment at Barn Elms. Course Beverley Brook rises at the top of a hill in a shady area at Cuddi ...

on the north, the residential Commondale and Horne Way areas on the west with Lower Common South road on the south, and with

Barnes Common Barnes Common is common land in the south east of Barnes, London, England, adjoining Putney Lower Common to the east and bounded to the south by the South Circular Road, London, Upper Richmond Road. Along with Barnes Green, it is one of the larges ...

on the west side; the Lower Richmond road and Queen's ride run across the common.

History

The land was enclosed from the 15th century, in 1871 the Wimbledon and Putney Commons act entrusted the land from the

Spencer family The Spencer family is an aristocratic family in the United Kingdom. From the 16th century, its members have held numerous titles including the dukedom of Marlborough, the earldoms of Sunderland and Spencer, and the Churchill barony. Two prom ...

, to the Wimbledon and Putney Commons

Conservators In certain areas of England, Conservators are statutory bodies which manage areas of countryside for the use of the public. Establishment, Role and Powers Conservators are bodies corporate generally established, and granted their powers, by a ...

(WPCC), who have been responsible for managing the land ever since.

Features

The Oasis Academy Putney primary school lies on the east side of the common, on the site of the former

Putney Hospital Putney Hospital was a public hospital in the London Borough of Wandsworth, west of Putney town centre. Site history The hospital site had an area of 1.23ha and in the late 19th century was occupied by two detached houses, The Elms and West lodg ...

, construction of the school involved the loss of commons land so that a new access road could be laid. Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 - WHV33 LJ62KFF - Route 22

Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 - WHV33 LJ62KFF - Route 22

The Spencer pub is on the south side of the Lower Richmond road, and often expands its seating area onto the common in the summer, under licence with WPCC. All Saints is a Grade II* listed church on the south east corner of the common, it has a churchyard and features windows designed by

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

. Transport for London's number 22 bus, run by

London General London General is a bus company operating in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and operates services under contract to Transport for London. The company is named after the London General Omnibus Company, the principal ...

for the

Go-Ahead Group The Go-Ahead Group plc is a passenger transport company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, with operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore, Norway and Germany. Formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange, in 2022 it was purchased ...

, terminates at Putney Common, with buses parking between the Spencer pub and All Saints church, before maintenance at the nearby Putney bus garage on Chelverton road. Putney Lower Common Cemetery lies on the west side of the common on the Lower Richmond road, bordering with Barnes Common, it features several notable graves. Funfairs visit the common on bank holidays, and the Santus circus have visited the common in late summer.

Wildlife

The common is predominantly neutral grassland, it is 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 ...

(SSSI), a

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

(SAC), and within the

is a designated site of borough importance. The common is part of a wider habitat network that includes the

WWT London Wetland Centre WWT London Wetland Centre is a wetland reserve managed by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust in the Barnes area of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest London, England, by Barn Elms. The site is formed of four disused Victorian re ...

, with the

wildlife corridor A wildlife corridor, habitat corridor, or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures (such as roads, development, or logging). This allows an exchange of individuals between ...

Putney Park Lane Putney Park Lane is an unmade road and public urban park in the London Borough of Wandsworth between Putney and Roehampton town centres. Geography The lane is an unmade road owned and managed by Wandsworth Borough Council, it is gated at bot ...

up to

Putney Heath Wimbledon Common is a large open space in Wimbledon, southwest London. There are three named areas: Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath, and Putney Lower Common, which together are managed under the name Wimbledon and Putney Commons totalling 46 ...

Wimbledon Common Wimbledon Common is a large open space in Wimbledon, southwest London. There are three named areas: Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath, and Putney Lower Common, which together are managed under the name Wimbledon and Putney Commons totalling 460 ...

and

Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, C ...

. In 2019 the

People's Trust for Endangered Species Peoples Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales. It exists to promote the conservation of rare or declining species and habitats in the UK and worldwide through environmental monitoring, m ...

found that the site is a hotspot in London for

hedgehogs A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduction ...

Greenspace Information for Greater London Greenspace Information for Greater London (GiGL) is the environmental record centre for Greater London. It collates information about wildlife, parks, nature reserves, gardens and other open spaces, and makes it available to partner organisations a ...

records show that stag beetles have been recorded on the common, as well as

Hobbies A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing oth ...

Kestrels The term kestrel (from french: crécerelle, derivative from , i.e. ratchet) is the common name given to several species of predatory birds from the falcon genus ''Falco''. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviou ...

and

Kingfishers Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

. Several invasive species have been found on the common, Oak Processionary moth was first recorded in 2011 and the WPCC try to control its numbers with regular surveys, caterpillar removal, and application of the

biocontrol agent Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also invo ...

Bacillus thuringiensis ''Bacillus thuringiensis'' (or Bt) is a gram-positive, soil-dwelling bacterium, the most commonly used biological pesticide worldwide. ''B. thuringiensis'' also occurs naturally in the gut of caterpillars of various types of moths and butterflie ...

'';

Japanese knotweed ''Reynoutria japonica'', synonyms ''Fallopia japonica'' and ''Polygonum cuspidatum'', is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the knotweed and buckwheat family Polygonaceae. Common names include Japanese knotweed and Asian knotweed. It is ...

and

Himalayan balsam ''Impatiens glandulifera'', Himalayan balsam, is a large annual plant native to the Himalayas. Via human introduction it is now present across much of the Northern Hemisphere and is considered an invasive species in many areas. Uprooting or cutt ...

have also been recorded and removed. The common has regularly won the

London in Bloom 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 major se ...

gold award in the Common of the Year category, for management to improve the local environment.

Sports grounds

Putney Cricket Club have a

cricket pitch In the game of cricket, the cricket pitch consists of the central strip of the cricket field between the wickets. It is long (1 chain) and wide. The surface is flat and is normally covered with extremely short grass, but can be completely d ...

on the south side of the common, between Queens ride and Lower common South. There is an established walking trail that takes the common and Barnes common, with a distance of 3.4km. The Putney Town Bowling Club have 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 on ...

and clubhouse on the west side of the common, next to the Oasis Academy.

In Popular Culture

Jilly Cooper Jilly Cooper, CBE (born 21 February 1937), is an English author. She began her career as a journalist and wrote numerous works of non-fiction before writing several romance novels, the first of which appeared in 1975. She is most famous for wr ...

's book, ''The Common Years'' (1984), is a diary about Cooper's life living near the Common.

Transport

There are parking spaces on Mill Hill road by the cemetery, the Common is served by Transport for London buses 22, 265 and 284 which stop at Commondale on the Lower Richmond road,

Barnes railway station Barnes railway station is a Grade II listed station in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, in southwest London, and is in Travelcard Zone 3. It is down the line from . The station and all trains serving it are operated by South Wester ...

(Southwestern Railway) is a 10 minute walk.

External links

Wimbledon and Putney Commons Conservators website

Reference list

{{DEFAULTSORT:Putney Lower Common Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Wandsworth Putney Sites of Special Scientific Interest in London Special Areas of Conservation in England Common land in London