94 WIMBLEDON COMMON. 
pass, nuisances, &c. In 1823, all the existing bye-laws 
were rescinded. Later the Homage ceased to appoint 
the Common Keeper, and the appointment fell into the 
hands of the Lord of the Manor. There are very fre- 
quent notices in the Rolls about gravel-digging and the 
taking of loam and peat, and there appear to have 
been many disputes on the subject between the lord 
and the Commoners. The lord claimed, and eventually 
maintained, his right to sell gravel, loam, and peat, 
without limit, from the Common; and for a few years 
before 1865 the income which he derived from these 
sources averaged over £1,000 a year. 
It has already been shown what an important 
part the proposals of Lord Spencer in 1864 had, at an 
early stage of the movement, in favour of preserving 
Commons. There cannot be a doubt that these pro- 
posals were made in the full belief that they were for 
the benefit of the neighbourhood and the public. The 
scheme, however, did not meet with the approval of 
the Commoners, and it has been already shown that 
the project to sell a third part of the Common im order 
to fence the remainder, and to buy out the Commoners’ 
rights, was rejected by the Committee of 1865. This 
led to the withdrawal of the Bull. 
There followed what was to be expected and feared. 
The Lord of the Manor and the Commoners were left 
in a hostile attitude to one another, with wholly dif- 
ferent views as to their respective rights and interests 
in the Common. It may be taken as certain that Lord 
Spencer had no intention of withdrawing from his offer 
