The Tooting Commons consist of two adjacent areas of common land lying between

Balham Balham () is an area in south London, England, mostly within the London Borough of Wandsworth with small parts within the neighbouring London Borough of Lambeth. The area has been settled since Saxon times and appears in the Domesday Book as B ...

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

and Tooting, in south west London: Tooting Bec Common and Tooting Graveney Common. Since 1996, they have been wholly within 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 ...

, which has administered both commons since 1971. Between 1965 and 1995, the eastern part of Tooting Bec Common was within the adjacent

London Borough of Lambeth Lambeth () is a London boroughs, London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London ...

. Wandsworth's Parks Department erroneously described the two historically separate spaces as Tooting Common for many years, but recent signage uses the plural title. Tooting Bec Common includes Tooting Bec Lido and Tooting Graveney Common includes

Tooting Bec Stadium Tooting Bec Athletics Track & Gym is an athletics stadium in Tooting Common, near Tooting Bec, Wandsworth, southwest London, England. Tooting Bec Common and Tooting Graveney Common are the remains of common land that once stretched as far as Mitcham. Tooting Bec Common — the northern and eastern part of the commons — was within the historic parish of Streatham, and takes its name from the area's links to

Bec Abbey Bec Abbey, formally the Abbey of Our Lady of Bec (french: Abbaye Notre-Dame du Bec), is a Benedictine monastic foundation in the Eure ''département'', in the Bec valley midway between the cities of Rouen and Bernay. It is located in Le Bec Hello ...

at Le Bec-Hellouin in Normandy. At various points in history this common has been called Streatham Common, which causes some confusion with the open space a mile to the east of that name. The common is not immediately adjacent to the area now generally known as Tooting Bec. Tooting Graveney Common - the southern and western part of the commons - was in Tooting parish and a thin line of other common land ran further south down Church Lane towards the River Graveney. During the 19th century, the commons at Tooting were divided by building of roads and railways — starting with the West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway line in 1855, and the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway line running north — south which opened in 1861 and was further widened in 1901 after this had become the main line to

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. The common today continues to be divided into multiple parcels by these busy transport links. Tooting Bec Common, comprising nearly , was one of the first commons which the Metropolitan Board of Works took action to preserve following the Metropolitan Commons Act of 1866 when in 1873 it acquired the manorial rights for £13,798. In 1875, the MBW acquired Tooting Graveney Common of for £3,000. The road marking the boundary between the two commons (and the historic parish boundary between Streatham and Tooting) is called ''Doctor Johnson Avenue''. This was originally a country path leading from Streatham Place, and Doctor Johnson is reputed to have regularly walked here when visiting Hester Thrale. Tooting Bec Common includes a number of formal avenues of trees — the first such avenue to be recorded was a line of oaks to commemorate a visit by Elizabeth I in 1600. With the loss of elms along Tooting Bec Road to Dutch Elm Disease, most visitors are now immediately aware of late Victorian era plantings of horse chestnuts on the boundaries, but there are some much older trees — notably the oaks parallel to Garrad's Road which are the successors to an avenue first recorded in the 17th century. In the 1990s the junction of Tooting Bec Road and Church Lane was widened, encroaching on the common. A few metres of grass behind the railings of the former

Tooting Bec Hospital Tooting Bec Hospital was a mental facility in Tooting Bec, London, England. History This facility was one of the establishments commissioned by the Metropolitan Asylums Board to deal with chronic cases. The hospital, which was designed by Arthu ...

(redeveloped as the Heritage Park residential development) are now part of the common in exchange for the lost land. In 2016, there was a proposal to close Doctor Johnson Avenue and cover the tarmac with grass to make it part of the common. The proposal was overturned after nearly 70% of responses voiced opposition to the idea.

Wildlife and ecology

The two commons are recognised as being of Site of Metropolitan importance for

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

because they include a number of rare wildlife habitats. Although the woodland areas are the most obvious, the unimproved areas of

acid grassland Acid grassland is a nutrient-poor habitat characterised by grassy tussocks and bare ground. Habitat The vegetation is dominated by grasses and herbaceous plants, growing on soils deficient in lime (calcium). These may be found on acid sedimentar ...

are actually far rarer. There is currently a consultation about the future of the trees on Chestnut Avenue

July 2016

In popular culture

The two commons were the location for the award-winning British Independent Film, ''Common People'' (2013), written/directed by and starring Kerry Skinner and Stewart Alexander. The plot concerns a pet Parrot escaping the confines of her cage and flying with parakeets in the south London skies, soaring into the lives of the Common People. The Commons are also the punchline of the

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

joke: "Q: Where is Tutankhamun's? A: In Egypt, of course! Q: No. They're in southwest London!"

References

External links

{{Coord, 51, 26, 00, N, 0, 8, 41, W, dim:2000_region:GB, display=title Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Wandsworth Common land in London Streatham Tooting