Norwood Park

Norwood Park is a hilly park that was once woodland owned by the Archbishop of Canterbury. North Wood was common land, and deforestation began in the C17th. By the late C18th the woodland had disappeared and the land was without revenue opportunity, and in 1806 the then Archbishop obtained an Act of Parliament to enclose the common land in Lambeth Manor. The site of Norwood Park was formerly Great Elderhall/Elderhole coppice, which was allocated partly to the Archbishop and partly used for housing development of Elder Road, Gipsy Road, and Salter's Hill. In 1903, following pressure from the MPGA, the LCC approached the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to purchase the site that remained open land, which consisted of 13.57 hectares, then containing a market garden, a small-holding, an area let to a local dairyman, gardens of two houses on Salter's Hill and the pleasure grounds of Inglewood House. The cost of the land was £15,000, less than it would have fetched for building purposes due to its intended use as public open space. The LCC purchased the land in 1908 with Lambeth Council contributing £5,000, and £2,500 raised by the local committee. In 1909 and 1910 layout of the hilly site was undertaken by unemployed people and it was opened as New Park by the Chairman of the Parks Committee, C Urquhart Fisher, on 14 June 1911. A drinking fountain was presented by Sir Charles Ernest Tritton, since disappeared. The conveyance of 1909 gave the LCC an option to buy additional c.6.68 hectares to the north but it was agreed that its lessees, Norwood Gardeners Ltd, should continue to use it for allotments, but it was built over before and after WWII.

There are few features within the park, which remains a hilly common with fine views over south London. New facilities include a wet play facility, dog-free children's play area, a large multi-use games court, and a small wildlife community garden. The park is particularly important for wildlife and people's access to nature, and has a tree-lined 'Country Walk', a fenced wildlife pond and extensive native hedges. The park is also a key site within London Wildlife Trust (LWT)'s Great North Wood project. As part of the project a wildlife-friendly hedge is being planted in Norwood Park with the help of volunteers including local schools.

Stretching from Selhurst at its southern limit to Deptford near the Thames in the north, trees such as sessile oak and hornbeam dominated the Great North Wood. Throughout the Middle Ages, it had a history of strong ownership by local people and was managed for timber (including shipbuilding), charcoal, tannin (for Bermondsey's leather-making industries), as well as firewood. The Industrial Revolution and the Enclosure Acts from the late C18th onwards led to the Great North Wood losing its economic validity, and much of it was partitioned and sold off for housing development. As part of the Living Landscape Initiative, LWT was awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of nearly. £700,000 to launch the Great North Wood Project in June 2017. In Phase 2 of the project LWT secured funding from the Government's Green Recovery Challenge Fund.

This once large expanse of ancient woodland survives in place names like Norwood and Gipsy Hill. LWT's four-year programme is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, community groups, landowners, Lambeth and neighbouring councils, and aims to revive and reimagine this ancient landscape as a home for nature and people.