This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Wormwood Scrubs is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
- Wormwood Scrubs is also the name of the Wormwood Scrubs prison.
Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs, is an open space located in the north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London. It is the largest open space in the Borough, at 80 ha (200 acres), and one of the largest areas of common land in London. The eastern part, known as Little Wormwood Scrubs, is cut off by Scrubs Lane and the West London Line railway. It has been an open public space since the Wormwood Scrubs Act of 21 July 1879, and is recognised by English Nature as an important site of natural significance. Although it has an unenviable record in terms of crimes committed there, as of April 2005 it has had a volunteer-led programme of rejuvenation. [1]
The southern edge of the Scrubs is the site of two locally important buildings. At the western end is HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs, built between 1875 and 1891 by convict labour. To the east of the prison is the Hammersmith Hospital campus, which includes the relocated Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital.
Within the area are several sports facilities, including the Linford Christie stadium, tens of football pitches and a pony centre. Queens Park Rangers Football Club played on The Scrubs between 1888 and 1889.
A suspect package linked to the 21 July 2005 London bombings was found in some bushes in Little Wormwood Scrubs1.
Contents |
History
In the early 19th century the whole district was open fields, and included several areas of common land. In 1812 an area of 190 acres (0.77 km2) known as Wormholt Scrubs was leased by the War Office from the Manor of Fulham. This was in order to exercise cavalry horses which until that point had been hacked out in Hyde Park, Belgrave Square and Regent's Park - then known as St. Marylebone's Park. This common land became known as Wormwood Scrubs, 135 acres (0.55 km2) of which was bought by the War Office in 1878.
In 1879, Parliament passed The Wormwood Scrubs Act, which aimed to create a "metropolitan exercising ground" for the military and to provide the Scrubs for "the perpetual use by the inhabitants of the metropolis for exercise and recreation". Under this act, the military were able to expel civilians from the Scrubs whenever they were training, but allowed civilians free use of the area when they were not. To ensure that the Scrubs were kept as open land for all to enjoy, the act banned the military from building any permanent structures other than rifle butts, one of which survives today as a wall in the Linford Christie Stadium.
The Scrubs became recognised as the duelling ground of London, with several duels having been fought there. [2]. In 1908, the route for the Olympic Marathon went across the Scrubs on the final stages of the race from Windsor Castle to the Olympic Stadium at White City. In 1910 Wormwood Scrubs became part of aviation history when a pioneer airship took flight from an improvised landing ground. In 1914 all air related activities on the Scrubs passed to the authority of the Admiralty, and there are records of a base here called 'Wormwood Scrubs Naval Air Station' in the National Archives at Kew. It remained as an emergency landing ground until the 1930s. In 1939 with the onset of another World War, Wormwood Scrubs again played host to an innovative military department - The Chief Cable Censorship Department, an outstation of GCCS at Bletchley Park.
Until 1940 it was served by St. Quintin Park and Wormwood Scrubs, a station on the West London Line. It was closed after heavy bombing damage during the Second World War.
Points to Note
Nearest places:
Nearest tube stations:
Notes
External links
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 18 November 2008, at 00:20.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Wormwood Scrubs".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.