Clapham Common

Clapham Common is partly in Lambeth, partly in Wandsworth and was formerly two commons belonging to the neighbouring Manors of Clapham and Battersea, and mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. From the early C18th it was subject to landscape improvements, with ornamental planting funded by subscriptions from local residents from 1722 onwards. In 1836 a management committee secured a lease from the two lords of the manor. Its use for recreation increased particularly after the conversion of Kennington Common into Kennington Park (q.v.) in 1852. However, there were problems of crime and assault and only one keeper was employed to look after the whole common. The lease expired in 1871 and, after the passing of the Metropolitan Commons Act of 1866, the Metropolitan Board of Works assumed responsibility for a number of commons including that at Clapham, which it purchased in 1877, under the Metropolitan Commons Supplemental Act 1877.

Under the Act the MBW had powers to improve the landscape and its importance for recreational use was acknowledged early on. The MBW introduced a programme of improvements to the public amenities including draining, levelling and planting. Committee Minutes in December 1877 refer to resolutions to provide various other facilities including a portion for horse riding to be defined 'by trees and short lengths of fencing' with ditches filled in and other works at an estimated cost of £400; a stand for animals to be formed near the Rookery. Bathing in the ponds between 8pm and 7am was prohibited at that time except in Mount Pond; and permission was given for the erection of tents 'for the purposes of shelter or refreshment' by those playing using the common for 'lawful games' such as cricket, football, and golf. Formal paths were laid out and the ponds were allocated to different uses, some of which have subsequently been filled in. In 1890 a reproduction of the bandstand in the Royal Horticultural Society's gardens at Kensington was erected on the common. This had been designed by Francis Fowke for the RHS in 186l, and the two original Fowke bandstands from the RHS Gardens were erected in Southwark Park (q.v.) and Peckham Rye Common (q.v.). The bandstand at Clapham Common was the venue for popular band concerts. It was restored following a fund raising campaign in 2003 and was formally re-dedicated in October 2011.

Responsibility for Clapham Common passed to the LCC, then the GLC and later to LB Lambeth. Since 1948 play areas have been introduced as well as facilities such as the One o'clock Club and the pavilion by the Long Pond. The Common has become a venue for a number of major events each year, with an enclosure north-east of the bandstand erected for the purpose. Today it is a mainly flat landscape with grass, trees and ponds; the bandstand and its setting has been restored with an HLF grant. Other designed elements include Mount Pond, which survives from the C18th, a riding avenue of 1877, various ponds originally derived from former gravel pits and later used as cattle and cart ponds.

The Clapham Common Management Advisory Committee (CCMAC) is a community-led group that works in partnership with Lambeth Council on the management of Clapham Common, aiming to ensure that Lambeth Council runs the Common as well as possible and balances the needs of all its users. Successful projects include fundraising for the restoration of the bandstand in 2011 and refurbishment of skate park in July 2012. A Fitness Trail, funded by a grant from the London Marathon Trust opened in August 2014, and funding for 2 table tennis tables was raised from Sport England and Lambeth Council. In spring 2023 work began on a state-of-the-art waterplay facility to replace the old paddling pool, which had been popular since the 1950s but was no longer fit for purpose. 

Bandstand Beds Association (BBA), a community garden project that began in 2013 with a few raised beds by the cafe near the bandstand on the Common, has become an important food-growing project on Clapham Common. In 2014 the group set up a community garden on the former Green Waste site on Windmill Drive, with support from Lambeth Council, since when the garden has been further extended, and there are now 3 growing spaces on the common. Funding from Tesco enabled the purchase of raised beds and other essential equipment and throughout the summer of 2017 BBA ran a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to install pathways in the new part of the garden to make it more accessible. In 2019 additional paths were provided and a disabled composting toilet, funded by a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund. In 2021 BBA became a registered charity. Gardening sessions and workshops on themes connected to horticulture, the natural environment and related topics are provided for members, open to anyone over 18. The produce grown in the community garden is available to BBA members and passers-by for a donation, which goes towards keeping the community garden growing.

The first wildflower areas alongside Windmill Drive were seeded by CCMAC in 2018, funded with a grant from the Mayor of London’s Greener City Fund. This was complemented with a wildflower meadow funded by the Friends of Clapham Common in 2022, and in 2023 a new wildflower meadow has been created beside Clapham Common Northside by CCMAC and Lambeth Council. 

Clapham Common has won a Green Flag Award each year since 2018, and is holder of London in Bloom Common of the Year awards (Silver Gilt in 2017 and 2018, and Gold in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022). This award is sponsored by the MPGA.