212 LONDON PARKS & GARDENS 



The charms of the top of the hill are all the more 

 delightful, as they come as a surprise. There are fine 

 old trees, and a wealth of fern, thorns, and bramble, 

 and the short grass is exchanged for springy turf the 

 moment the crest of the steep hill is reached. But by 

 far the greatest surprise is the glorious view. Away 

 and away over soft, hazy, blue country the eye can 

 reach. It may or may not be true that Woolwich, 

 Windsor, and Stanmore can be seen : nobody will care 

 who gazes over that wide stretch of country bathed in 

 a mysterious light, perhaps with the rays of the sun, 

 like golden pathways from heaven, carrying the thoughts 

 far from the prosaic villas or harrowing slums con- 

 cealed at one's feet. Only the wide expanse and the 

 waving bracken and tangled brushwood fill the picture 

 — while one rejoices that such a beautiful scene should 

 be within the reach of so many of London's toilers. 



Wandsworth is among the least beautiful and the 

 most cut-up of the commons. Large and straggling 

 in extent, it has been so much encroached upon that 

 roads, and houses, and railways cross it. It is narrowed 

 to a strip in places, and all the wildness and all the 

 old trees have gone. Some young avenues by the main 

 road have been planted, and no more curtailments can 

 be perpetrated, as it was acquired for the use of the 

 public in 1871. For many years the encroachments 

 had roused the inhabitants, and about 1760 a species 

 of club was formed to protect the rights of the com- 

 moners. When enclosures took place, the members all 

 subscribed and went to law, and often won their cases. 

 The head was called the " Mayor of Garratt," from 

 Garratt Lane, near the Common, where a " ridiculous 

 mock election " was held. A mob collected, and en- 



