Hampstead Heath
Hampstead Heath is an ancient heath in London, spanning 320 hectares (790 acres).[1] 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 of London Clay.[2] The heath is rambling and hilly, embracing ponds, recent and ancient woodlands, a lido, playgrounds, and a training track, and it adjoins the former stately home of Kenwood House and its estate. The south-east part of the heath is Parliament Hill, from which the view over London is protected by law.
Hampstead Heath
Public park
London, England
790 acres (320 ha)
Open year round
Running along its eastern perimeter is a chain of ponds – including three open-air public swimming pools – which were originally reservoirs for drinking water from the River Fleet. The heath is a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation,[3] and part of Kenwood is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Lakeside concerts are held there in summer. The heath is managed by the City of London Corporation, and lies mostly within the London Borough of Camden with the adjoining Hampstead Heath Extension and Golders Hill Park in the London Borough of Barnet.
History[edit]
Early history[edit]
Archaeological discoveries on Hampstead Heath, including tools from the Mesolithic, pits, postholes, and charred stones, point to the presence of a hunter-gatherer community around 7000 BCE.[4]
Documentary evidence of Hampstead Heath dates from 986, when Ethelred the Unready granted five hides of land at "Hemstede" to the Abbot of Westminster. This same land is later recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as held by the monastery of St. Peter's at Westminster Abbey, and by then is known as the "Manor of Hampstead".[5] Westminster held the land until 1133 when control of part of the manor was released to Richard de Balta; then during Henry II's reign the whole of the manor became privately owned by Alexander de Barentyn, the King's butler.
19th century battles[edit]
In 1767, the Manor of Hampstead and the estate which went with it came into the possession of the Wilson family following the marriage of General Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson, sixth baronet, to Jane Weller, niece and heir of the Revd. John Maryon. The estate consisted of 416 acres (168 ha), being mainly farmland to the west and north west of the village and including the Heath.[6][7]
From 1808 to 1814 Hampstead Heath hosted a station in the shutter telegraph chain which connected the Admiralty in London to its naval ships in the port of Great Yarmouth.[8]
In 1821 Sir Thomas Maryon Wilson, eighth baronet, inherited the estate from his father. The construction of the Finchley Road through Hampstead promised to open up the land for development, but under the terms of his father's will, Sir Thomas could neither sell any of the land nor grant leases on it for periods greater than 21 years, thus making it unsuitable for building.[7][9]
In 1829 Sir Thomas tried to circumvent the will by promoting a bill in Parliament which would have allowed him to grant leases of up to 99 years. This was a straightforward procedure and would normally have been passed without difficulty. But because the bill included a provision to build on the Heath, it attracted considerable opposition. This came partly from individuals who held certain rights under the ancient system of copyhold, and also from influential figures who valued the Heath as a natural asset and a place of recreation. The bill was passed by the House of Lords but was rejected by the House of Commons.[7]
In 1830 Sir Thomas lodged a second bill. This specifically excluded the Heath from development, but it did not exclude the 60 acres (24 ha) East Park Estate which lay between the eastern part of the Heath and Lord Mansfield's estate at Kenwood and Parliament Hill Fields. This bill also attracted opposition, on the grounds that if building was allowed on the East Park Estate, the East Heath would be surrounded by houses and its natural beauty would be lost. This bill also failed.[10]
Sir Thomas was to spend most of the rest of his life trying to obtain permission to grant leases for building. The matter became a cause célèbre, with the opposition being led by such influential figures as John Gurney Hoare and Lord Mansfield.[7] [11]
Although unable to grant leases for building, there was nothing to prevent Sir Thomas from undertaking his own building work. In the mid 1840s, he drew up plans to build 28 villas on the East Park Estate. Work was started on an access road, a wall and a gamekeeper's hut, remnants of which still survive. However, because of landslips and problems of water penetration, attempts to build a viaduct to carry the road failed and the entire project was abandoned.[11][12]
In 1866 the Hampstead Heath Protection Fund Committee was formed, a forerunner of the Heath & Hampstead Society which still campaigns to protect the Heath.[13]
In 1869 Sir Thomas died and the estate passed to his brother, Sir John Maryon Wilson. By now there was considerable pressure for public ownership of the Heath. This was led by the Commons Preservation Society, which had been formed in 1865 with the specific aim of protecting common land.[14]
In 1870 the Metropolitan Board of Works agreed to buy the Heath on behalf of the public at a cost of £45,000 plus £2,000 for legal fees. The Board also agreed to compensate the copyholders for the loss of their rights.[15] In 1871 the Hampstead Heath Act was passed, stating that it would be "of great advantage to the inhabitants of the Metropolis if the Heath were always kept unenclosed and unbuilt on, its natural aspect and state being as far as may be preserved."[12][16]
Pressure then grew to purchase the East Park Estate and the 200 acres (81 ha) Parliament Hill Fields, but no funds were available for this. A public fund-raising campaign was launched, led by the philanthropist Baroness Burdett-Coutts and the campaigner Octavia Hill.[12] This succeeded in raising the required £300,000, and in 1899 the East Park Estate and Parliament Hill Fields were added to the Heath.[7][17]
Later developments[edit]
The Heath was further extended in 1898 with the purchase of Golders Hill Park for £38,000 from the estate of Sir Thomas Spencer Wells.[18][19]
In 1904 following a campaign led by Henrietta Barnett, Wyldes Farm was purchased from Eton College. This land too was added to the Heath, and it is now known as the Heath Extension. The rest of Wyldes Farm was purchased by Henrietta Barnett to found the Hampstead Garden Suburb.[20] Another fund-raising campaign led by Arthur Crosfield enabled part of Kenwood to be purchased. This land was added to the Heath in 1922. Finally, Kenwood House and its adjacent ground were incorporated into the Heath in 1928 following a bequest by their owner, the Earl of Iveagh.[20][21]
The City of London Corporation has managed the heath since 1989.[22] Before that it was managed by the Greater London Council (GLC) and before that by the London County Council (LCC).
In 2021 Quiet Parks International, a non-profit organisation whose aim is to identify locations around the world that remain free from human-made noise for at least brief periods, gave Hampstead Heath "Urban Quiet Park" status.[23]
In September 2023 sheep made a return to Hampstead Heath as part of an initiative by the City of London Corporation. The initiative aimed to enhance biodiversity through controlled grazing, utilizing a flock of five rare-breed Norfolk Horn and Oxford Down. This followed a successful trial in 2019 which was the first instance of sheep grazing on the Heath since the 1950s.[24][25][26]
Part of the heath sits astride a sandy ridge that runs from east to west and rests on a band of London clay. Its highest point is at 134 metres (440 ft).[27][28] As the sand was easily penetrated by rainwater which was then held by the clay, a landscape of swampy hollows, springs and man-made excavations was created.[2] Hampstead Heath contains the largest single area of common land in Greater London, with 144.93 hectares (358.1 acres) of protected commons.[29]
Public transport near the heath includes:
Buses serve several roads around the heath.
Activities[edit]
The heath is home to a range of activities, including 16 different sports.[22] It is used by walkers, runners, swimmers and kite-flyers. Running events include the weekly parkrun[52] and the annual Race for Life in aid of Cancer Research UK. Until February 2007 Kenwood held a series of popular lakeside concerts.
Facilities include an athletics track, a pétanque pitch, a volleyball court and eight separate children's play areas, including an adventure playground.[22]
Swimming takes place all year round in two of the three natural swimming ponds: the men's pond which opened in the 1890s, and the ladies' pond which opened in 1925. The mixed pond is only open from May to September, though it is the oldest, having been in use since the 1860s.[53]
The West Heath is regarded as a night-time gay cruising ground.[54] George Michael revealed that he cruised on the heath,[55] an activity he then parodied on the Extras Christmas Special.[56]
In popular culture[edit]
While living in London, Karl Marx and his family went to the heath regularly, as their favourite outing.[57]
John Atkinson Grimshaw, Victorian-era painter, painted an elaborate night-time scene of Hampstead Hill in oils. Hampstead Heath also provided the backdrop for the opening scene in Victorian writer Wilkie Collins' novel The Woman in White.
Bram Stoker's novel Dracula is partly set on Hampstead Heath, in scenes when the undead Lucy abducts children playing on the heath.
Hampstead Heath forms part of the location for G. K. Chesterton's fictional story "The Blue Cross" from The Innocence of Father Brown.[58]
The Heath is mentioned in Ralph Vaughan Williams' Symphony no. 2 'A London Symphony' with the subtitle 'Hampstead Heath on an August Bank Holiday'.
The photos used for the cover of The Kinks' LP The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society were taken on the heath in August 1968. In some photographs, Kenwood House is visible in the background.
Notting Hill (1999) featured scenes shot at the heath, located primarily around Kenwood House, where Julia Roberts' character was filming a movie.[59]
In 2005, Giancarlo Neri's sculpture The Writer, a 9-metre-tall table and chair, was exhibited on Hampstead Heath.[60]
The film Scenes of a Sexual Nature (2006) was shot entirely on Hampstead Heath.[61]
Colin Wilson slept rough (in a sleeping bag) on Hampstead Heath to save money when he was working on his first novel, Ritual in the Dark.[62]
In John le Carré's novel Smiley's People, the heath is the murder scene of General Vladimir, a pivotal event that leads to the downfall of George Smiley's nemesis Karla.
Hampstead is a 2017 film directed by Joel Hopkins about Harry Hallowes, who claimed squatter's rights on a corner of the heath on which he lived in a make-shift camp.
Kenwood House
The Vale of Health
The Writer, temporary structure in 2005
