Wormwood Scrubs
Encyclopedia
London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham is a London borough in West London, and forms part of Inner London. Traversed by the east-west main roads of the A4 Great West Road and the A40 Westway, many international corporations have offices in the borough....
in west London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. It is the largest open space in the Borough, at 80 ha (200 acres), and one of the largest areas of common land in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The eastern part, known as Little Wormwood Scrubs
Little Wormwood Scrubs
Little Wormwood Scrubs is a park in the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It was originally part of Wormwood Scrubs, and separated in the 1840s when the railway embankment of the West London Line was built....
, is cut off by Scrubs Lane and the West London Line
West London Line
The West London Line is a short railway in inner West London which links lines at in the south to lines near Willesden Junction in the north. It has always been an important cross-London link especially for freight services...
railway. It has been an open public space since the Wormwood Scrubs Act
Wormwood Scrubs Act 1879
The Wormwood Scrubs Act 1879 is a British public act passed by Parliament to lay down the conditions under which Wormwood Scrubs in west London was to be owned by the British Army...
of 21 July 1879, and is recognised by Natural England
Natural England
Natural England is the non-departmental public body of the UK government responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, freshwater and marine environments, geology and soils, are protected and improved...
as an important site of natural significance.
The southern edge of the Scrubs is the site of two locally important buildings. At the western end is HM Prison
Her Majesty's Prison Service
Her Majesty's Prison Service is a part of the National Offender Management Service of the Government of the United Kingdom tasked with managing most of the prisons within England and Wales...
Wormwood Scrubs
Wormwood Scrubs (HM Prison)
HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs is a Category B men's prison, located in the Wormwood Scrubs area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, in inner west London, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service....
, built between 1875 and 1891 by convict labour. To the east of the prison is the Hammersmith Hospital
Hammersmith Hospital
Hammersmith Hospital is a major teaching hospital in West London. It is part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and is associated with the Imperial College Faculty of Medicine...
campus, which includes the relocated Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital.
Within the area are several sports facilities, including the Linford Christie
Linford Christie
Linford Cicero Christie OBE is a former sprinter from the United Kingdom. He is the only British man to have won gold medals in the 100 metres at all four major competitions open to British athletes: the Olympic Games, the World Championships, the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games...
stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
, tens of football pitches and a pony centre. Queens Park Rangers Football Club
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...
played on The Scrubs between 1888 and 1889.
Wormwood Scrubs is also an area of restricted airspace up to 2000 feet (609.6 m).
History
In the early 19th century the whole district was open fields, and included several areas of common land. In 1812 an area of 190 acre (0.7689034 km²) known as Wormholt Scrubs was leased by the War OfficeWar Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
from the Manor of Fulham. This was in order to exercise cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
horses which until that point had been hacked out in Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
, Belgrave Square
Belgrave Square
Belgrave Square is one of the grandest and largest 19th century squares in London, England. It is the centrepiece of Belgravia, and was laid out by the property contractor Thomas Cubitt for the 2nd Earl Grosvenor, later the 1st Marquess of Westminster, in the 1820s. Most of the houses were occupied...
and Regent's Park
Regent's Park
Regent's Park is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the north-western part of central London, partly in the City of Westminster and partly in the London Borough of Camden...
- then known as St. Marylebone's Park. This common land became known as Wormwood Scrubs, 135 acre (0.5463261 km²) of which was bought by the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
in 1878.
In 1879, Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
passed The Wormwood Scrubs Act, which aimed to create a "metropolitan exercising ground" for the military and to provide the Scrubs for "the perpetual use by the inhabitants of the metropolis for exercise and recreation". Under this act, the military were able to expel civilians from the Scrubs whenever they were training, but allowed civilians free use of the area when they were not. To ensure that the Scrubs were kept as open land for all to enjoy, the act banned the military from building any permanent structures other than rifle butts, one of which survives today as a wall in the Linford Christie Stadium
Linford Christie Stadium
The Linford Christie Stadium is an athletics stadium in west London, England. It is used by one of the United Kingdom's leading athletics clubs, the Thames Valley Harriers. It is also used by one of the United Kingdom's leading hockey teams PHC Chiswick as well as London Nigerian RFC.The venue...
.
The Scrubs became recognised as the duelling ground
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
of London, with several duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
s having been fought there. In 1908, the route for the Olympic Marathon went across the Scrubs on the final stages of the race from Windsor Castle to the Olympic Stadium at White City. In 1910 Wormwood Scrubs became part of aviation history when a pioneer airship
Airship
An airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
took flight from an improvised landing ground; The Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
Airship Garage
Airship hangar
Airships are sheltered in airship hangars during construction and sometimes also for regular operation, particularly at bad weather conditions. Rigid airships always needed to be based in airship hangars because weathering was a serious risk.- History :...
was built shortly afterwards—the site is now occupied by the Linford Christie Stadium. In 1914 all air related activities on the Scrubs passed to the authority of the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
, and there are records of a base here called 'Wormwood Scrubs Naval Air Station' in the National Archives
The National Archives (UK)
The National Archives is a UK government department and an executive agency of the Secretary of State for Justice. It is "the UK government's official archive, containing 1,000 years of history"...
at Kew
Kew
Kew is a place in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in South West London. Kew is best known for being the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens, now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace...
. The airship shed was used to train RNAS armoured car crews. It remained as an emergency landing ground until the 1930s. In 1939 with the onset of another World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Wormwood Scrubs again played host to an innovative military department—The Chief Cable Censorship Department, an outstation of the Government Code and Cypher School (GCCS) at Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...
.
Until 1940 it was served by St. Quintin Park and Wormwood Scrubs, a station on the West London Line
West London Line
The West London Line is a short railway in inner West London which links lines at in the south to lines near Willesden Junction in the north. It has always been an important cross-London link especially for freight services...
. It was closed after heavy bombing damage during the Second World War.
The prison is located just yards from the scene of the Massacre of Braybrook Street
Massacre of Braybrook Street
The Shepherd's Bush murders, also known as the Massacre of Braybrook Street, was the murder of three police officers in London by Harry Roberts and two others in 1966....
in 1966, in which three policemen were shot dead by three armed men after stopping their suspicious car.
In 1986 local birdwatcher Lester Holloway
Lester Holloway
Lester John Holloway is a British journalist and editor.He began his media career as a reporter for Eastern Eye, which was published by Ethnic Media Group, in 1999...
set up a campaign to save Scrubs Wood, the area of railway land along the north side of Wormwood Scrubs, from destruction as part of plans by the then British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
to build cleaning depots to service Channel Tunnel trains. Holloway and his campaign petitioned the House of Lords, supported by the then MP for Fulham Nick Raynsford
Nick Raynsford
Wyvill Richard Nicolls Raynsford , known as Nick Raynsford, is a British Labour Party politician. A government minister from 1997 to 2005, he has been the Member of Parliament for Greenwich & Woolwich since 1997, having previously been MP for Greenwich from 1992 to 1997, and for Fulham from 1986...
, and won concessions. The existing nature reserve includes an area known as 'Lester's Embankment'. The campaign attracted considerable national publicity in 1987, and even a musical.
On 10 March 2009 the prison was listed as a Grade II building.
The Scrubs, one of the largest open spaces close to central London, is always under threat of development. The local politics of the Scrubs are a constant battle between vigilant groups like The Friends of Wormwood Scrubs and various interests—the railway, the local council and others—who always have an eye to building on the green space.
Local Nature Reserve
Wormwood Scrubs is a Local Nature ReserveLocal Nature Reserve
Local nature reserve or LNR is a designation for nature reserves in the United Kingdom. The designation has its origin in the recommendations of the Wild Life Conservation Special Committee which established the framework for nature conservation in the United Kingdom and suggested a national suite...
. Habitats include woodland (plantation), scrub and grassland. Animals include common lizards, over 100 species of bird and 20 species of butterfly. This site is currently being managed by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham is a London borough in West London, and forms part of Inner London. Traversed by the east-west main roads of the A4 Great West Road and the A40 Westway, many international corporations have offices in the borough....
in collaboration with Groundwork UK
Groundwork UK
Groundwork UK is an environmental organisation in the United Kingdom.-History:In 1980, the Countryside Commission launched an initiative known as UFEX80. This was re-branded as "Operation Groundwork" in 1981, and the first Groundwork Trust came into being at St. Helens and Knowsley that year...
.
Current conservation efforts
Conservation work that is currently being carried out in Wormwood Scrubs by Groundwork London has been the subject of much controversy among users of the Scrubs. The primary goal is to connect each patch of the Local Nature ReserveLocal Nature Reserve
Local nature reserve or LNR is a designation for nature reserves in the United Kingdom. The designation has its origin in the recommendations of the Wild Life Conservation Special Committee which established the framework for nature conservation in the United Kingdom and suggested a national suite...
within the grounds by a wildlife corridor
Wildlife corridor
A wildlife corridor or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities . This allows an exchange of individuals between populations, which may help prevent the negative effects of inbreeding and reduced genetic diversity that often occur within...
in the form of low hedges and trees. Ultimately, it is claimed that this will benefit the overall biodiversity in the park as well as create better foraging routes for bats such as the Common pipistrelle
Common Pipistrelle
The Common Pipistrelle Pipistrellus pipistrellus is a small pipistrelle bat whose very large range extends across most of Europe, North Africa, southwestern Asia, and possibly into Korea. It is one of the most common bat species in the British Isles....
. Habitats for the local population of common lizards are also being improved by various means, such as by the removal of scrub to create basking areas. Parts of this work involves planting a large number of trees, and it is feared that this could jeopardise the uniquely open nature of the common. The bulk of the work is currently being undertaken by volunteers for Groundwork London, a government quasi non-governmental organisation funded largely through a levy on landfill.
Points to note
Nearby places:- White City, LondonWhite City, LondonWhite City is a district in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, to the north of Shepherd's Bush. Today, White City is home to the BBC Television Centre and BBC White City, and Loftus Road stadium, the home of football club Queens Park Rangers FC....
- Kensal GreenKensal GreenKensal Green, also referred to as Kensal Rise is an area of London, England. It is located on the southern edge of the London Borough of Brent and borders the City of Westminster to the East and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the South....
- North KensingtonNorth KensingtonNorth Kensington is an area of west London lying north of Notting Hill Gate and south of Harrow Road.North Kensington is the key neighbourhood of Notting Hill...
- Braybrook StreetBraybrook StreetBraybrook Street is a residential street in Shepherd's Bush, London, but locally known as East Acton. It runs along the side of Wormwood Scrubs and also Wormwood Scrubs prison. The street is notable as the location of the Massacre of Braybrook Street where three police officers were murdered by...
- Old Oak Common Train Maintenance DepotOld Oak Common TMDOld Oak Common TMD is situated to the west of London, in Old Oak Common. The Traction Maintenance Depot is the main facility for the storage and servicing of locomotives and multiple-units which utilise Paddington Station. The depot codes are 'OC' for the diesel depot, and 'OO' for the carriage shed...
Nearest tube stations:
- East Acton tube stationEast Acton tube stationEast Acton is a London Underground station in East Acton in west London. The station is on the Central Line, between White City and North Acton stations, and in Travelcard Zone 2...
- North Acton tube stationNorth Acton tube stationNorth Acton tube station is in North Acton, west London in the London Borough of Ealing. The station is on the Central line of the London Underground, between East Acton and Hanger Lane...