I have made a map of a possible route for the Beating of the (current) Boundary of Wandsworth Common — or rather, its outer edge. (Obviously not the interior boundaries, such as those around the RVPB/FitzHugh/Emanuel School, once the beating heart of the Common, or the railway lines and roads.)
The obvious place to meet would be under the plaque to John Buckmaster, and to set off (clockwise, following the sun, of course), then keep as much to the outer edge of the Common as possible.
The total distance is about 8km or 5 miles.
As I was following the route around the outer edge I began to think about how many of the zig-zag detours were caused by enclosures — mainly made between 1800 and 1871, the year of the Wandsworth Common Act that Buckmaster and other stout defenders of the Common had fought so hard for.
Hence it would be good to reflect on those enclosures as we walk round e.g. the "Allfarthin Peece" that is now the Toast Rack, Spencer Park, McKellar's Triangle etc etc.
(If this would be too much in one go, it could perhaps be done in stages on different days.)
In an idle moment, I wondered what it would be like to go for a walk around the perimeter of the Common — another type of Beating of the Bounds.
The obvious place to meet would be under the plaque to John Buckmaster, and to set off (clockwise, following the sun, of course) and keep as much to the outer edge of the Common as possible.
I drew up this plan:
The total distance turns out to be about 8km or 5 miles.
As I was following the route around the outer edge I began to think about how many of the zig-zag detours were caused by enclosures — [bites and gouges] mainly made between 1800 and 1871, the year of the Wandsworth Common Act that Buckmaster and other stout defenders of the Common had foiught so hard for.
As a result, although the overall area of the Common is less than half its extent in 1800, the length of the route today is probably pretty much the same.
Here is its extent in 1800, as shown on this map by Thomas Milne:
[Milne]
And here it is half a century earlier. (Sadly, it seems unlikely that we will ever know how much larger still the Common was before Tudor and Stuart enclosure.)
[Rocque]
This led back to thinking about a history of [intrusion] enclosure, ?? and division of the Common
I returned to an old talk I'd given during Lockdown, with the title "What a Carve Up: How Wandsworth Common was Butchered", in which I'd compared the Common to a carcase ready to be turned into [?].
From Allfarthin Peece to the Toast Rack.
SO many more stories still to tell. But that's all for now, folks.
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Philip Boys ("History Boys")
October 2025