Description
Eltham Common and the neighbouring Shooters Hill Woodlands were once notorious haunts for highwaymen and other robbers; the site of a gibbet was in the north-west corner of the Common where criminals were publicly hung and their bodies left to decay as a caution to others. The land was purchased by the Office of Woods and Forests in 1812 and used by the War Department, although public access was permitted. In the early C20th Woolwich BC and the LCC applied to take over the site, but it wasn't until 1938 that nearly 13 hectares of the Common were acquired from the War Department as part of Green Belt legislation. Eltham Common consists of a roughly triangular area of grassland between junction of Well Hall Road and Shooters Hill beyond which is secondary woodland.
Practical Information
| Site location | Well Hall Road/Shooters Hill |
|---|---|
| Postcode | SE9 |
| What3Words | ///glaze.shift.tags |
| Type of Site | Public Open Land |
| Borough | Greenwich |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Public Transport | Rail: Eltham then bus. Bus: 161, 122, 89, 178, 486. |
| Research Updated | 1 July 2005 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Eltham Common and the neighbouring Shooters Hill Woodlands (q.v.) were once notorious haunts for highwaymen and other robbers; on the corner of the Common where there is now the police station was once the site of a gibbet where criminals were publicly hung and their bodies left to decay as a caution to others. However, it was apparently an unsuccessful tactic since it became the practice for robbers to charge for safe passage across Shooters Hill. The Common was used for archery, probably the origin of the name Shooters Hill. The land was purchased by the Office of Woods and Forests in 1812 and used by the War Department, although public access was permitted. In the early C20th Woolwich Borough Council and the LCC applied to take over the site, but it wasn't until 1938 that nearly 13 hectares of the Common were transferred as part of Green Belt legislation, the land acquired from the War Department. Eltham Common consists of a roughly triangular area of grassland between junction of Well Hall Road and Shooters Hill beyond which is secondary woodland with sessile oak, pedunculate oak, ash, silver birch, hornbeam and some beech. Christ Church, built in 1855-6, and adjacent primary school in the north-east corner on Shooters Hill, are now surrounded on three sides by woodland.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ430764 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 13.02 |
| Site Ownership | RB Greenwich |
| Site Management | Parks and Open Spaces Department |
| Dates | ancient |
| Listed Structures | Local List: Christ Church, Christ Church School |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | Yes: Common (CL40) |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Greenwich |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Metropolitan Importance (excl north section) |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Area of Special Character of Metropolitan Importance |
| Other LA Designation | Green Chain [Green Chain Walk] |
Gallery
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Nearby parks and gardens
Severndroog Castle, a Gothic folly, was erected by the widow of Sir William James (d.1783) in the grounds of Park Farm Place, which he had purchased in 1774. Sir William had worked for the East India Company and the name recalls his capture of a pirate fortress on the island of Severndroog off Malabar in 1755. By the C20th it was part of the grounds of Castlewood, whose last owner's will offered the estate to the LCC for public use. The grounds opened as a public park in 1922, with Severndroog Castle retained although the main house was not. Castle Lodge remains at the entrance of the driveway, which leads through remnants of landscaping to the Castle, crossing the Ha-Ha.
The land was formerly common land, which was acquired from the War Department in 1952 and provided as public open space with funding from King George's Fields Foundation, which had been set up in 1936 as a living memorial to the late King. It comprises an area of open grass with a number of mature oak trees in the centre. At the south east corner is a brick structure with seating niche, either side of which are brick piers with the plaques recording the support of King George's Fields Foundation.
A large rose garden and terraces remain on the site of Castle Wood House, built in 1870 and now demolished. The site was purchased by the LCC after the last owner's death in 1920 and it was opened to the public in 1925 as an addition to the existing public park around nearby Severndroog Castle, both now incorporated into Shooters Hill Woodlands. The garden has mature Wellingtonia, flower beds set into lawn and the remains of stonework terraces and steps.
