COMMONS & OPEN SPACES 203 
Common, but it has long since been built over, and, 
with the exception of the small Deptford Park, there is 
a large district of dense population without any open 
space. The nearest is Hilly Fields on the south. This 
is a steep, conical hill, with little beauty to recommend 
it, except its breezy height, and views over chimney-pots 
to the Crystal Palace. A large, bleak-looking building, 
with a small enclosure on the highest point—at present 
for sale—marked the West Kent Grammer School, 
does not improve the appearance of this open space. 
There are some 45 acres of turf, and a line of old 
elms and another of twisted thorns show that there were 
once hedgerows. There is some promiscuous planting 
of young trees, and iron railings, and of course a band¬ 
stand ; otherwise no particular “ beautifying ” has been 
attempted since it was opened to the public in 1896. 
In the valley of the Ravensbourne, below the hill 
stretches the long, narrow strip of the Ladywell Re¬ 
creation Ground. It lies on either bank of the stream 
between Ladywell and Catford Bridge stations. It is 
intersected by railways, and the pathway passes some¬ 
times over, sometimes under the lines, and constant trains 
whizz by. But in spite of such drawbacks, the place 
has a special attraction in the stream which meanders 
through the patches of grass devoted to games. Where 
the stream has been untouched, and allowed to continue 
its course unmolested between iron railings, even the rail¬ 
ings cannot destroy a certain rural aspect it has retained. 
Alders and elms, with gnarled and twisted roots, lean 
over the banks, and hawthorns dip down towards the 
rather swiftly flowing water. When the land was bought 
for public use in 1889 the stream frequently overflowed 
its sandy banks, and one or two necessary cuttings were 
