Landscape

Build 9 — 2 October 2026

Part 1 of The Five Houses of Wandsworth Common

[DEL: This section looks to / In this section, we ] give a broader sense of the natural landscape surrounding the Five Houses, and draw on other large local properties and their gardens.

[The following excerpt from a well-acknowledged source*] is this * The Survey of London mentioned above? encapsulates the changes that took place to the local landscape of Wandsworth Common between the mid 18c 18th century and the early 20c 20th century:

“Cushioned between wide open spaces, far from the council estates and railways that crowd the north of the parish, this area is today best known for its gridded streets of Victorian and Edwardian housing, built up from the 1850s, constituting Battersea’s latter-day middle-class heartland . . . For 100 years before, this was a very different kind of district: a verdant, genteel suburb of large private villas, wooded grounds and farmland, through which ran the watercourse called the Falcon Brook, on the route of present-day Northcote Road. It is with this lost elysium that . . .” [that what?]

[* Thom, Colin (ed.), Survey of London, Volume 50: Battersea, Part 2—Houses and Housing. London and New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013, p. xx.]

This section looks to give a broader sense of the natural landscape surrounding the Five Houses and draws on other large local properties and their gardens. It covers changes that took place to the local landscape of Wandsworth Common between the mid-18th century and the early 20th century.

[We should probably say more about what the Common looked like in the 1770s-1870s - i.e. from the time the Five Houses were built to the saving of the Common in 1871, or perhaps further on still, to the time the LCC took over in 1889, or to WWI.]

Note to self: In 1763 Frederick St John (= 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke and 3rd Viscount St John), sold the manor of Battersea and Wandsworth to his wife’s cousin, John Spencer, Viscount Spencer, who became 1st Earl Spencer in 1765. > Earl Spencer (1765) → Conservators (1871) → MBW (1887) → LCC (1889) → GLC (1965) → Wandsworth Council (1970s/1980s).]

History through maps

Land use and type

When the Five Houses were built in 1777 the landscape was rural and open having been agricultural - arable, pasture and meadow as shown by John Rocque's maps [of dates?]. Within this verdant green environment, the Five Houses were created foreshadowing Victorian ribbon development [ribbon?] in the mid- late 19c [later in the century]. [John Rocque's] This map of 1761 (below) shows fields all around and undulating ground lying in parallel to east and west of the lane which was initially to become Five Houses Lane.

John Rocque's map [This map] of 1761 shows fields all around and undulating ground lying in parallel to east and west of the lane which was initially to become Five Houses Lane.

The fall of ground from this lane down to the Falcon Brook (now under Northcote Road) to the east gave the Five Houses an elevated position and an outlook to the east that remains a topographic feature today. Bolingbroke Farm is shown in the northeast corner and approached by a main route (now Battersea Rise). The eastern road parallel to Bolingbroke Grove is now a ghost road. The area to become Wandsworth Common is shown as rough land known to be poor, with gravel areas and prone to flooding.

In 1719 Kings Farm (later Bolingbroke Farm), owned by Thomas and John King, was probably a 100-acre holding shown by the 1775 Harman map and an isolated farm complex with few other buildings around. It is shown as growing crops of barley, wheat and potatoes in strips.

Tenants were typically farmers, yeomen, gardeners and labourers.

The 1787 Corris map (below) of Wandsworth shows open fields divided into shots or furlongs which were units of cultivation, themselves divided into strips (as can be seen in the Harman map). [Shots referred to have names like] Their names - Gravel shot, Middle shot, South meadow shot, Long shot - [giving an indication of] [are a clear guide to the size, position, soil type and use].

There were few enclosures in 1787 on East Common (now part of Wandsworth Common) compared to Wandsworth West Common (now part of Wimbledon Common).

[Awkward: Going back to the early 17th century and up to the early 19th century, the wider area including Battersea,] had an unusually large proportion of land and employment given over to market gardens, providing cash crops such as fruit, vegetables and flowers to London markets. The rising land values meant many market gardens gave way to ribbon development along roads. Despite the increase in building development in general, there were far fewer large houses in the Battersea parish at this time compared with Clapham, Putney and Roehampton. Within 50 years, though, the population would increase from 4,000 to 120,000.

Thomas Milne's map of 1800 shows land marked as “P”, meaning “Paddocks and Little Parks” – this is true for Bolingbroke Farm and Dent’s Farm which, interestingly, is not described as “A” (“Arable”) or “M” (“Meadow and pasture”_.

[ADD MILNE MAP]

The area marked Wandsworth Common remains rough land with tracks running through, so reminiscent of the Rocque map of 1761. Three of these tracks relate to [will later be translated into] the modern-day Bolingbroke Grove, Bellevue Road and Trinity Road. It is interesting to note that this swathe of land is described as Wandsworth Common to the north and west and Battersea Common to the south and east [, reflecting the respective parishes that...].

This once-agricultural area is shown in the Tithe map of [1840?] as a mix of arable land, pasture and meadow and the emergence of pleasure grounds and gardens. This map also shows the widening of the Falcon Brook to make ponds or lakes which was characteristic of Capability Brown's style. It also clearly shows the appearance of formalized routes for carriages and transport.

The apportionment book supporting the Tithe map describes land in different terms. For example, we have been unable to clarify the meaning of Upper Bramlands, an area north of Battersea Rise. The name may refer to an individual, or "bram" may mean brambles or gorse so perhaps – as we know gorse was prevalent in the area – it referred to a type of vegetation.

Another [?anomaly ]is “Long Shot”. We do know that a “shot” could refer to a strip of land so it may describe the long rectangular shape of the area.

The reference to Flood Marsh is self-explanatory in confirming the damp conditions, [awkrad: and/although it is clear that some parts of the wider Wandsworth Common area were prone to this more than others.]

The image below, although taken later than the period referred to here (c.1914), shows a view of Wandsworth Common with established trees and large dark shrubs in the distance which could have been gorse or similar.

A decade after the Tithe Map, the Morning Herald 1853 describes Bolingbroke Grove House as having “riding horses, looseboxes for hunters”. While the royal parks had long disallowed hunting, hunting in the Surrey Hills and on the North Downs of Kent would have been accessible from here. Beyond the ubiquitous carriage horses, there is mention of riding horses. Would they have taken gentle hacks on the Common opposite or local open spaces such as Clapham and Tooting Commons, newly created Battersea Park (formerly Battersea Fields) or beyond to Wimbledon and Richmond?

It is also clear that all the significant houses or estates had [pasture and] stables for horses, if not for sporting pursuits but at least for [transport / functional transport purposes], as the image below shows.

City development

[WORK NEEDED - BUT POSSIBLY ALREADY DONE BY HENRIETTA.]

[H: The [1865–73? 1868?] OS map shows an increased-sized pond almost opposite this house and more trees formally planted along the Common edge and sufficient on the residential edge to form the beginnings of what looks like a grove. Also worth noting are the references to ‘waterfall’ in 3 nearby places which explains the damming method of creating long thin lakes from the Falconbrook, a

It is also interesting in its depiction of four recent arrivals for the time but which still exist today. Just beyond the London Brighton and South Coast Railway running parallel to Bolingbroke Grove, lies the Royal Victoria Patriotic Asylum (now Building), the Surrey House of Correction (now Wandsworth Prison), a large plant nursery (now Capital Gardens/Neal’s Nurseries), and the County Arms (name unchanged). The large Battersea Cemetery is shown (its land having been acquired [IN?] from part of the Bolingbroke House estate). The Bolingbroke Estate by Chatham Road is shown and is a prime example of a local prominent house (Bolingbroke Grove House) being demolished to make way for ribbon development [?] of an assortment of terraced, semi-detached, and detached properties with a scattering of pubs and shops. We can see Nightingale Cottage to the south and further housing appearing around St John’s Hill and Spencer Park. This map also shows an emerging network of major roads contouring the Common with major and minor roads running off these main arteries. By 1852 St James Industrial School was established just south of Wandsworth Common.

[Royal Masonic for Girls]

[TIDY UP The area was becoming more developed. However, the three farms of the area - mdash;mdash; Bolingbroke, Dent’s and Old Park - mdash;mdash; remained, so in some areas the existing land use largely prevailed.]

[H: An additional point of interest from the above property sales ad is the mention of the ‘lodge and gates of entrance’. There are other references to these features in sales ads for other of the Five Houses. We have evidence of a ‘green lane’ running from Battersea Rise (where Webbs Rd is now) parallel to the frontage of The Five Houses. The conclusion drawn is that the lodge was ‘Australia Lodge’ complete with gates protecting the lane and its access to the houses. It seems reasonable to assume that this functional access route would have facilitated the movement of goods such as hay and other produce as the 1853 ad also refers to ‘rich Paddocks of Meadow Land’. There must have been either bridges or fording points to cross the Falconbrook.

The census records show during mid 19c the following staff descriptions which indicates the : 1861 - garden servant for Bolingbroke Grove House For the scale of property we can assume maintenance of the extensive grounds was carried out by labour living both in these houses or elsewhere.

[Awkward: The image below ([DATE? c.1900]) shows the silhouettes of the Royal Victoria Patriotic Building to the far left and St Mark’s Church in the centre. We can see established street furniture and the vestiges of a stone animal trough from the past.]

[C: The closing passage below (from "To conclude") ended the old combined "Landscape and Gardens" section. It is placed here because it describes the wider landscape; it could equally close Gardens.]

To conclude, drawing information from census details and the commercial aspects of the wider area shows how the early part of our period – early to mid 19th century – was a turning point.

The 1851 census quotes a population of 10,560, and a small proportion, around 300, lived in South Battersea, mainly within the 28 large houses “between the Commons”. Roger Logan stresses how few of the residents then could have imagined the changes that were about to alter their local landscape. He also points out that some, by looking north, seeing the development of Battersea New Town and Nine Elms, may have sensed dramatic change ahead.

Logan continues [with the following evocative description]:

Picture yourself at the crossroads of Battersea Rise and Bolingbroke Grove. Look south along the Grove, wending its undulating way towards Nightingale Lane, and observe on the right the rough open expanse of Battersea West Common (what is now part of Wandsworth Common). Only one railway line crosses the Common…

In the middle distance … is a windmill and behind the newly built Surrey House of Correction, better known now as Wandsworth Prison. From the spot where you are standing, look down Battersea Rise noting the few cottages that exist thereabouts. Further east, on the other side of the valley, is a substantial house, with other houses and their grounds stretching away into the distance along the edge of Battersea East Common (part of Clapham Common).

Down in the valley bottom is a stream, the Falcon Brook; by the side of it is a farm . . . Open land exists between that farm, our vantage point, and the first of the five big houses in Bolingbroke Grove, on the site of Bolingbroke Hospital. It is in Bolingbroke Grove that this history begins…”

(Roger Logan, “Between the Commons , South Battersea's Formative Years 1851–1900”, Wandsworth Historical Society, Wandsworth Paper 15.)

As a final visual signpost to how Bolingbroke Grove looked at the end of the 19th and start of the 20th century, the images below are evocative of a moment in time when life was changing at pace.

The first image, of 1883, shows the view from Bolingbroke Hospital in 1883, showing the west-facing view across Wandsworth Common – an aspect which also provided fresh air for the patients. The Common was probably still quite rough and wild.

The second image, of 1910, shows the twin row of formally planted, established and single species trees lining Bolingbroke Grove. The path looks of hard materials of stone and gravel while now it is grass and compacted earth. Ironically, this image shows the area to be more formal than we see today – a revealing fact that in recent years the Common has become more naturalistic and the ecological management allows for more biodiversity and informality.

[H: SHOULD THIS SECTION BELOW BE INCLUDED HERE AT END OF SECTION TO REFERENCE THE ONLY SURVIVING ‘RELIC’ FROM THE LANDSCAPE OF THIS PERIOD BEING THE FOLLOWING:

There is very little remaining for the Five Houses and pre-Victorian days except for a stable-block to Dent’s House between Gorst and Broomwood Roads but it is surrounded by houses, and reached only by an alley from 1B Gorst Rd. There is also a length of old boundary wall between the garden of 35 and 36 Bolingbroke Grove still visible from Bolingbroke Grove.]