272 BURNHAM BEECHES. 
a private Act enabling them to deal with all Commons 
within twenty-five miles of London. A deputation 
consisting of members of the Society, and of the Kyrle 
Society, was introduced by the writer to the Committee 
of the Corporation having charge of the subject of open 
spaces. ‘The only difficulty in the way of the Corpora- 
tion was that their powers under their Act were limited 
to Commons, and did not extend to the purchase of 
adjoining freeholds. Sir Henry Peek, however, at the 
instance of Mr. Robert Hunter, who was at that time 
acting both for the Corporation in relation to open 
spaces and for Sir Henry, came forward most promptly 
to relieve the Corporation of this difficulty, and agreed 
to acquire the whole property as put up for sale, to 
retain himself the freehold, consisting of 175 acres, and 
to resell the Common to the Corporation at an agreed 
price. The Corporation, relieved. of this difficulty, 
readily adopted the suggestion of purchasing the 
Common for the very moderate sum of £6,000, or less 
than £20 an acre, not a tenth part of the value of the 
Jand, on the assumption that it was free from common 
rights. This most interesting place, therefore, with 
its groves of noble beeches, presenting hundreds of 
pictures of sylvan grandeur, came under the protection 
of the Corporation of London, and has been secured for 
ever for the enjoyment of the public. 
