IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Clapham Common West Side, LONDON, SW4 9AX

Clapham Common was originally two commons belonging to neighbouring parishes, with the western end here being called Battersea East Common. There was substantial disagreement over where the boundary lay and in 1716 the Battersea parishioners dug a ditch across the common to demarcate their portion. This was rapidly filled in. One of the reasons the common has survived is through its popularity with the wealthy and influential as a place to reside and hence protect from development. Many of their houses still surround the common, as here on Clapham Common West Side. In 1877, the common was bought by the Metropolitan Board of Works from the Lords of the Manors and designated as a Metropolitan Common "dedicated to and for the use and recreation of the public as an open and unenclosed space for ever". Clapham Common is one of the very few large Metropolitan Commons not to have been dissected by railway lines, but road-building has made up for this. The South Circular Road is just behind where I was standing.

Clapham Common was originally two commons belonging to neighbouring parishes, with the western end here being called Battersea East Common. There was substantial disagreement over where the boundary lay and in 1716 the Battersea parishioners dug a ditch across the common to demarcate their portion. This was rapidly filled in. One of the reasons the common has survived is through its popularity with the wealthy and influential as a place to reside and hence protect from development. Many of their houses still surround the common, as here on Clapham Common West Side. In 1877, the common was bought by the Metropolitan Board of Works from the Lords of the Manors and designated as a Metropolitan Common "dedicated to and for the use and recreation of the public as an open and unenclosed space for ever". Clapham Common is one of the very few large Metropolitan Commons not to have been dissected by railway lines, but road-building has made up for this. The South Circular Road is just behind where I was standing.

The houses in this image look out over Clapham Common.

Virtually all that survives of West Side's twenty large houses in 1815 (one more lies further south). These are all c1800. Grade II listed.

Clapham Common was originally two commons belonging to neighbouring parishes, with the western end here being called Battersea East Common. There was substantial disagreement over where the boundary lay and in 1716 the Battersea parishioners dug a ditch across the common to demarcate their portion. This was rapidly filled in. One of the reasons the common has survived is through its popularity with the wealthy and influential as a place to reside and hence protect from development. Many of their houses still surround the common. In 1877, the common was bought by the Metropolitan Board of Works from the Lords of the Manors and designated as a Metropolitan Common "dedicated to and for the use and recreation of the public as an open and unenclosed space for ever". Clapham Common is one of the very few large Metropolitan Commons not to have been dissected by railway lines, but road-building has made up for this. The Avenue on the left here, for example, is part of the South Circular Road.

Undergrowth of brambles in a wooded section of the common, with a grassed area ahead. In the background, The Avenue crosses the common, with houses along West Side beyond. A dismally dark morning.