Clapham Common

Clapham Common is a large triangular park in south London, formed from former grazing land for two parishes. It covers 89 hectares and contains three ponds and a Victorian bandstand. Georgian and Victorian mansions overlook the green space, while Clapham Old Town lies nearby. Half of the common belongs to the London Borough of Wandsworth and half to Lambeth. Holy Trinity Clapham, an 18th-century church, stands on the northern edge. The common has shaped local and national history. William Wilberforce and other abolitionists lived around it as part of the Clapham Sect. Benjamin Franklin used the ponds for experiments, showing how a teaspoon of oil could calm water. J. M. W. Turner painted the common between 1800 and 1805 when it remained a wild landscape. During the Second World War an anti-aircraft site operated here, and two bunkers still mark the Battersea Rise side. Visitors find wide grass, three ponds and a restored bandstand at the centre. The ponds include Eagle Pond and Mount Pond, stocked with carp, roach and bream, and Long Pond used for model boating. Sports facilities include tennis courts, a running track and football pitches. Music festivals such as Colourscape and Calling Festival have been held here. The bandstand, the largest in London, was rebuilt with lottery funding after years of neglect.