THE HILLY FIELDS OF BROCKLEY. 
7 
pleasant walk. The breeze is chill, but the air is pure, for the 
“ Hilly Fields of Brockley,” as they are called, cover one of the 
highest points of elevation in this part of the south-east of 
London. A few wind-swept trees are scattered over the summit 
and sides of the hill, and ancient hedges of thorn mark the 
divisions of the fields. Beneath an oak, at almost the very top, 
lies a little pool of water, into which the high winds of the past 
few days have driven the yellowing leaves of the elm hedge that 
skirts it. A quiet, lonely spot it seems ; it might be miles out in 
the country, instead of being surrounded by a labyrinth of houses, 
streets, and railways, or at any rate closely bordering upon them. 
The river flood, or sea, that has burst its barriers, and sweeps 
over the plain, leaves the hills high and dry, but the all-devour- 
ing flood of villas and cottages, let loose by man over the woods 
and meadows of the suburbs, is bound by no laws of nature, and 
is creeping steadily up the sides of the Hilly Fields. To make 
this uphill submergence easier, a broad road, with steep cut- 
tings, has been driven deep into the side of the hill from top to 
bottom, and is lined with flagstones on either side. Already 
one huge three-storied edifice looms out on the summit. 
Such, briefly sketched, are the features of the Fields as they 
appeared to the writer one day this past autumn. Londoners 
are now in the position of winning or losing one of the finest and 
most health-giving breathing spaces the southern parts of the 
metropolis can afford. We build Eiffel Towers in our cities and 
on their outskirts, in the hope of gaining a pure, almost rarefied, 
atmosphere for the hundred or so individuals at a time who go 
up by liftsful, but the benefits of the hills, those towers of nature, 
Avhose ample summits can accommodate thousands at a time, are 
too often forgotten and neglected. 
So far from this being the first appeal that has been made on 
behalf of the Hilly Fields, letters have already appeared time 
after time in the daily papers, with the result that steps have 
lately been taken to secure the Fields for public enjoyment. 
The movement has been largely headed by the Metropolitan 
Gardens Association, and till recently it was hoped that funds 
would be forthcoming to ensure an early acquisition of as much 
as forty acres. But the Lewisham District Board of Works, 
whose jurisdiction embraces the area covered by the Fields, by 
their untoward action in refusing to contribute any sum whatever 
towards the much-to-be-desired purchase, have barred the course 
of progress. However, reverses such as this one have been 
known before, notably in the long struggle to secure the addition 
of Parliament Hill and Fields to Hampstead Heath. It has, 
consequently, been resolved to appeal to the London County 
Council for aid — aid, doubtless, that will be substantially forth- 
coming ; for, whatever may be the weight of the criticism 
directed against that body from time to time in matters of politics 
or administration, few will deny that its members have proved 
themselves able and efficient friends of the Open Spaces move- 
