{{Short description|Nature reserve in Harrow Weald, Greater London, England}} [[File:Harrow Weald Common path.JPG|thumb|Path in Harrow Weald Common]] [[File:Harrow Weald Common pasture.JPG|thumb|Pasture area south of the road called 'Old Redding']]
'''Harrow Weald Common''' is an 18-hectare area of woodland, heath and pasture in [[Harrow Weald]] in the [[London Borough of Harrow]]. It is considered of considerable importance for wildlife, and it was formerly part of the ''Stanmore and Harrow Weald Commons and Bentley Priory'' [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]], but in 1987 the boundaries of the SSSI were revised to exclude the Common.<ref>[http://www.harrow.gov.uk/download/10370/old_redding_complex London Borough of Harrow, Management Plan: Old Redding Complex, 2010, p. 18] {{webarchive|url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120914205953/http%3A//www.harrow.gov.uk/download/10370/old_redding_complex |date=2012-09-14 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1003687.pdf |title=Natural England, Harrow Weald citation |access-date=2012-06-23 |archive-date=2012-10-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024045225/http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1003687.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> It has been designated by the [[Mayor of London]] as a [[Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation]].
==History== {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = Metropolitan Commons (Harrow Weald) Supplemental Act 1899 | type = Act | parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom | long_title = An Act to confirm a Scheme relating to Harrow Weald Common in the Parish of Harrow Weald in the County of Middlesex. | year = 1899 | citation = [[62 & 63 Vict.]] c. xxxvii | introduced_commons = | introduced_lords = | territorial_extent = | royal_assent = 20 June 1899 | commencement = | expiry_date = | repeal_date = | amends = | replaces = | amendments = | repealing_legislation = | related_legislation = | status = | legislation_history = | theyworkforyou = | millbankhansard = | original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/62-63/37/pdfs/ukla_18990037_en.pdf | revised_text = | use_new_UK-LEG = | UK-LEG_title = | collapsed = yes }} The word ''weald'' is derived from [[Old English]] ''wald'', a wooded upland. Harrow Weald Common is one of the remnants of the once extensive [[Forest of Middlesex]]. In the 18th century it was a haunt of highwaymen. Following the [[inclosure act]]s, one of the rights granted to the commoners was gravel extraction, and this took place on a large scale in the 19th century. In the 1880s there was an attempt to get government agreement to the sale of the Common, but a successful campaign to oppose this was supported by [[W. S. Gilbert]], who lived locally at a house called [[Grim's Dyke]]. The '''{{visible anchor|Metropolitan Commons (Harrow Weald) Supplemental Act 1899}}''' ([[62 & 63 Vict.]] c. xxxvii) revoked most of the rights of the commoners and a board of Conservators was set up to manage the Common. <ref name=LGO>{{Cite web |url=https://londongardenstrust.org/conservation/inventory/site-record/?ID=HRW020 |title=London Gardens Online, Harrow Weald Common, Grim's Dyke Open Space, The City Open Space |access-date=2012-06-24 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304060004/http://www.londongardensonline.org.uk/gardens-online-record.asp?ID=HRW020 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Harrow Weald Common is [[common land]], and in 1965 it was placed under the protection of Harrow Council.<ref>[http://www.harrow.gov.uk/download/10370/old_redding_complex London Borough of Harrow, Management Plan: Old Redding Complex, 2010, p. 1] {{webarchive|url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120914205953/http%3A//www.harrow.gov.uk/download/10370/old_redding_complex |date=2012-09-14 }}</ref><ref>[https://common-land.com/lands/view/2227 Common Land in England, Harrow Weald Common]</ref> In 1973, the Chief Commons Commissioner determined that there was no known owner of the land.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://acraew.org.uk/sites/default/files/uploads/Greater%20London/HARROW%20WEALD%20COMMON%20-%20HARROW%20NO.CL.36.pdf |title=In the Matter of Harrow Weald Common}}</ref> The Harrow Weald Common Conservators are now a [[Cooperating association#Friends groups|friends group]] which manage the site.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.harrow.gov.uk/info/200073/parks_and_open_spaces/2230/parks_in_harrow/13 |title=Harrow Council, Harrow Weald Common |access-date=2012-06-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120819163302/http://www.harrow.gov.uk/info/200073/parks_and_open_spaces/2230/parks_in_harrow/13 |archive-date=2012-08-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==The site== The site includes Grims' Dyke Open Space. [[Grim's Ditch (Harrow)|Grim's Dyke or Grim's Ditch]] is an ancient earthwork which runs for three miles between Harrow Weald Common and [[Pinner Green]]. Its purpose is unknown, and it may date from the fifth or sixth centuries.<ref name=LGO/> Adjacent to the site are the City Open Space, [[Harrow Weald SSSI]], a geological [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]], and [[Bentley Priory Nature Reserve]], a biological SSSI.
There is access from Common Road and Old Redding.
==See also== * [[Harrow parks and open spaces]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://archive.today/20121224100027/http://visitwoods.org.uk/en/visit-woods/Pages/wood-details.aspx?wood=24590&site=Harrow-Weald-Common-and-Weald-Wood%23.T8LEfpH2Ir0 VisitWoods, Harrow Weald Common and Weald Wood, a London Borough of Harrow wood ] * [https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-512000-192000/page/12 BBC, Domesday Reloaded, Harrow Weald Common] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20120819163302/http://www.harrow.gov.uk/info/200073/parks_and_open_spaces/2230/parks_in_harrow/13 Harrow Council, Harrow Weald Common] * [https://londongardenstrust.org/conservation/inventory/site-record/?ID=HRW020 London Gardens Online, Harrow Weald Common, Grim's Dyke Open Space, The City Open Space]
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[[Category:Nature reserves in the London Borough of Harrow]] [[Category:Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Harrow]] [[Category:Common land in London]]