Coordinates: 51°25′54″N 0°9′33″W / 51.43167, -0.15917 Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...

The south east section of Tooting Bec Common

The Tooting Commons consist of two adjacent areas of common land lying between Balham, Streatham and Tooting, in south west London: Tooting Bec Common and Tooting Graveney Common. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 796 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (2,816 × 2,120 pixels, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 796 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (2,816 × 2,120 pixels, file size: 1. ... Balham is: Balham, a place in the London Borough of Wandsworth in London, England. ... Streatham is a place in the London Borough of Lambeth in the United Kingdom . ... For the crater on Mars, see Tooting (crater). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

Since 1996, they have been wholly within the London Borough of Wandsworth, which has administered the commons since 1971 when a substantial part of Tooting Bec Common was within the adjacent London Borough of Lambeth. Wandsworth's Parks Department continues to describe the two historically separate spaces as Tooting Common. Wandsworth Council consult with the local community via the Tooting MAC. The Tooting MAC (Management Advisory Committee) is a voluntary committee that meets on a monthly basis. All are welcome to attend. Details of MAC meetings can be found in the mailing list archives. The London Borough of Wandsworth is a London borough in south west London, England and forms part of Inner London. ... The London Borough of Lambeth is a London borough in South London, England and forms part of Inner London. ...

Tooting Bec Common includes Tooting Bec Lido and Tooting Graveney Common includes Tooting Bec Stadium. Tooting Bec Lido is the largest open-air swimming pool in London - being 100 yards (90 metres) long and 33 yards (30 metres) wide. ... Tooting Bec Stadium is an athletic stadium in Tooting Common, London, England. ...

Tooting Triangle Developments

In November 2007, it was revealed that Wandsworth Council has been secretly planning to build on the area of the Common known as Tooting Triangle or Triangle Field (the area bounded by the railway lines to the north and south, and the horse ride to the east).

This development would involve building up to 12 five a side football pitches, and 1-2 seven a side football pitches, plus associated car park, changing rooms, and bar facilities. This would involve losing approximately 20,000 square metres of common land, from the existing 61,463 square metres of the Triangle Field. The council are proposing to partially compensate for this by evicting the Waldorf School of South West London from their site they have occupied for 15 years, and incorporating that land (8,500 square metres) in the Commons.

The local community are actively campaigning against this development (see the School's website [1], and media stories [2], and [3]). The proposal is also unpopular with local parents who have been campaigning for two years to have the triangle playground upgraded. Their petition and requests have been completely ignored by the council who appear to be trying to railroad in this development despite no local support.

History

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 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 known as Tooting Bec, which appears to take its name from Tooting Bec Road. Bec Abbey (French: Abbaye Notre-Dame du Bec) in Le Bec-Hellouin, Normandy, France, is a Benedictine monastic foundation in the Eure département, in a valley midway between the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. ... Le Bec-Hellouin is a commune in France, in the département of Eure and the region of Haute-Normandie. ... For other uses, see Normandy (disambiguation). ... Tooting Bec is a place in the London Borough of Wandsworth in south London. ...

Tooting Graveney Common was in Tooting parish and a thin line of other common land ran further south down Church Lane towards the River Graveney. Carshalton Pond The River Wandle is a river in England about 14 km long. ...

During the nineteenth 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. The common today continues to be divided into multiple parcels by these busy transport links. The West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway opened on the 1st December 1856 from Crystal Palace railway station to a point south east of Clapham Junction railway station where it connected with the London and South Western Railway. ... The LB&SCRs coat of arms, displayed above the entrance to Gipsy Hill railway station. ... For other places with the same name, see Brighton (disambiguation). ...

Tooting Bec Common, comprising nearly 152 acres, 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 66 acres for £3,000. The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the principal instrument of London-wide government from 1855 until the establishment of the London County Council in 1889. ...

The road marking the boundary between the two commons (and the historic parish boundary between Streatham and Tooting) is called Doctor Johnson's 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. Streatham is a place in the London Borough of Lambeth in the United Kingdom . ... For other persons named Samuel Johnson, see Samuel Johnson (disambiguation). ... Hester Lynch Thrale by Sir Joshua Reynolds Hester Lynch Thrale (born Hester Lynch Salusbury and after her second marriage, Hester Lynch Piozzi ) (16 January 1741 (she mistakenly celebrated her own birthday on 27 January) - May 2, 1821) was a British diarist, author, and a friend and confidante of Samuel Johnson. ...

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 1600s. This article is about Elizabeth I of England. ... Branch death, or Flagging, at multiple locations in the crown of a diseased elm. ... The Victorian era of the United Kingdom marked the height of the British Industrial Revolution and the apex of the British Empire. ...

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 Mental Hospital (redeveloped as the Heritage Park residential development) are now part of the common in exchange for the lost land.

Wildlife and ecology

The two commons are recognised as being of Site of Metropolitan importance for Greater London because they include a number of rare wildlife habitats. Although the woodland areas are the most obvious, the unimproved areas of acid grassland are actually far rarer. Greater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London, England. ...