164 LONDON PARKS & GARDENS 
and some of the commons now have their “ sea-sideor 
“ sand-pit,” and probably not only do they give immense 
pleasure, but they act as a safety-valve for small mis¬ 
chievous urchins, who otherwise could not resist tres¬ 
passing on flower-beds. 
The grass in this, as in all the parks, has to be en¬ 
closed at times, to let it recover, the tramp of many feet. 
The wattled hurdles which are often used in the London 
Parks for this purpose, have quite a rustic appearance. 
They are like those which appear in all the agricultural 
scenes depicted in fifteenth century MSS. It is much to 
be hoped that no modern invention in metal will be 
found to take their place. 
Kennington Park 
Not very far from Vauxhall, beyond the famous 
Oval, lies the larger and more pretentious Kennington 
Park of 19J acres. This has a long history as Kennington 
Common. It formed part of the Duchy of Cornwall 
estates, having been settled by James I. on Prince Henry, 
and has since belonged to each succeeding Prince of 
Wales. In still earlier times there was a Royal Palace 
at Kennington, which fell into decay after Henry 
VIII.’s reign. Here as on all similar commons, the 
people had a right of grazing cattle for six months of 
the year. But the moment it was open to them in the 
spring such a number of beasts were turned on to the 
ground, that in a very short time “ the herbage ” was 
“ devoured, and it remained entirely bare for the rest of 
the season.” 
The Common was a great place for games of all sorts, 
particularly cricket. When in 1852 it was turned into 
a Park, and play could not go on to the same extent, by 
