historyofwandsworthcommon.org

Wandsworth Common in Maps

Working Index — Not for Publication

Last modified: 16 October 2026

This is the working index for the maps section. The old maps page (with all its research notes) has been renamed maps-old.html and remains available. Individual map pages are being built gradually; this index will grow as they are completed.

Status: Live page built and uploaded   Stub page exists but thin   To do folder exists, page not yet built   Old page only content in maps-old.html only
Zoomable maps (live):

17th century

Date Cartographer / title Description Status Folder / notes
c.1633–1640 Gardner–Porter Map of Allfarthing Manor. Earliest map to name “Wandelesworth Common.” Created for Endymion Porter. Live /maps/gardner-porter-1640/

18th century

Date Cartographer / title Description Status Folder / notes
1727 Senex A New Map of Surrey. Shows Wandsworth, Battersea, Clapham, Streatham, Tooting. Wandle marked; Falcon Brook not shown. Stub /maps/senex-1727/
1746–1768 John Rocque Four maps: 1746 (Ten Miles Round London), 1754 (Middlesex), 1766 (London and surrounds, incl. Bern edition), 1768. First to name “Wandsworth Common” as such (1746). Live /maps/rocque/
1754 Isaak Tirion Dutch map based on Rocque 1744. Shows Common as “Gemeene Weide” (Common Pasture). Clear hatching for slopes. Named “Half Farthing.” Old page only /maps/tirion_1754/ — to restructure
1760 Bowen Surrey map. Detail showing Wandsworth and Battersea area. Old page only /maps/bowen_1760/ — to restructure
1787 John Corris Two maps: detailed survey of Wandsworth and Battersea for Earl Spencer. Shows land holdings, parish boundaries, the “ghost road” to Battersea. Analysed by Dorian Gerhold (WHS, 2002). Old page only /maps/corris_1787/ — to restructure
1790–1819 William Faden Three maps: 1790 (25 Miles Round London), 1800 (20 Miles Round London), 1819. Geographer to George III. Documents the Common before and during the early enclosure period. Stub /maps/faden/

Early 19th century (pre-railway)

Date Cartographer / title Description Status Folder / notes
1798–1809 Ordnance Survey — Survey Drawings OS survey drawings. Wandsworth area surveyed c.1804. Old page only /maps/os-1804-surveyors-drawing/ — to restructure
1800 Thomas Milne Pioneering land-use map. Colour-coded by agricultural use. Shows market gardens, meadow, arable. Wandsworth and Battersea Commons separately named. Old page only /maps/milne_1800/ — to restructure
1801 Edwards, Companion Maps from A Companion from London to Brighthelmston. Oriented NNE–SSW. Shows forked tracks across the Common; no Trinity Road. Old page only /maps/edwards_companion_1801/ — to restructure
1808–1822 Ordnance Survey — Old Series OS Old Series. Exact date uncertain. Old page only /maps/os_old_series_1808-1820/ — to restructure
1817 Mogg To do /maps/mogg-1817/ — to restructure
1829 & 1830s Cruchley Two editions of New Plan of London and its Environs: 1829 (pre-railway) and 1830s (with Southampton railway). Many further editions to 1847+. Stub /maps/cruchley/
c.1829 Cary Shows lost houses and parks. Pre-railway. Old page only /maps/cary-1829/ — to restructure
1832 Environs of London Baldwin & Cradock. Shows the “Iron Railway” running north–south parallel to the Wandle. Fine hatching for slopes. Old page only /maps/environs_of_london_1832/ — to restructure
1840s Tithe Apportionment Wandsworth and Battersea tithe maps patched together. Shows pre-development field pattern, roads, railway route. Old page only /maps/tithe_1840s/ — to restructure
1841 Environs of London Notice bridge across Southampton railway apparently leading from a quarry. Old page only /maps/environs_of_london_1841/ — to restructure

Mid-to-late 19th century (enclosure period)

Date Cartographer / title Description Status Folder / notes
1858 Mylne — Geological Geological map of London. Contours and geology colour-coded. Shows Falcon Brook distinctly. Old page only /maps/mylne-1858-geological/ — to restructure
1862 Stanford Library Map of London, 6 inches to 1 mile. 24 sheets. Old page only /maps/stanford_1862/ — to restructure
1865 Whitbread Map of London extending four miles round Charing Cross. Shows postal boundary in red. Old page only /maps/whitbread-1865/ — to restructure
1867–9 Ordnance Survey 25-inch OS. Shows Common just before the 1871 Act. Great areas of furze; numerous gravel and sand pits. Key map for the enclosure story. Old page only /maps/os_1868/ — to restructure
c.1847–72 Wyld — sewer levels Subtitled “Levels taken by order of the Commissioner of Sewers.” Red spot heights. Probably earlier than the “c.1872” date attributed by raremaps.com — no RVPA or Crystal Palace railway visible. Old page only /maps/wyld-said-to-be-1872-but-must-be-earlier/ — to restructure
1872 Stanford Library Map of London, 6 inches to 1 mile. Old page only /maps/stanford_1872/ — to restructure
1872 Wyld Old page only /maps/wyld_1872/ — to restructure
1878 Stanford — Geological Geological Library Map of London. Old page only /maps/stanford_geological_1878/ — to restructure
1884 Stanford — MBW boundaries Map of London shewing the boundary of the Metropolitan Board of Works. Old page only /maps/stanford-1884-mbw-boundaries/ — to restructure
1886 Stanford Old page only /maps/stanford-1886/ — to restructure
c.1889 “As it was and is” Wandsworth Common as it is and was — showing encroachments. Old page only /maps/wc-as-it-was-1889/ — to restructure
1891 Stanford Library Map of London, 6 inches to 1 mile. 21 revisions 1862–1901. Old page only /maps/stanford-1891/ — to restructure
1893–4 Ordnance Survey 25-inch OS. N and S sheets combined. Old page only /maps/os_1893-4/ — to restructure
1894 Shaw-Lefevre Map in English Commons and Forests (1894). Shows 194 acres remaining. “No Common in the neighbourhood of London has suffered more cruelly.” Old page only /maps/shaw-lefevre_1894/ — to restructure
1898–9 Charles Booth — Poverty Maps Maps Descriptive of London Poverty. Spencer Park yellow (wealthy); streets near Price’s Candle Works black (lowest class). Only northern part of WC mapped. Old page only /maps/booth_1898/ — to restructure

Early 20th century

Date Cartographer / title Description Status Folder / notes
1903 Bacon — Geological Geological map of London and environs, SW sheet. 4 inches to 1 mile. Old page only /maps/bacon-1903-geological/ — to restructure
1905 Stanford Library Map of London, 4 inches to 1 mile. Old page only /maps/stanford_1905/ — to restructure
1913 Ordnance Survey N and S sheets combined. Also published 1934 with no revisions. Old page only /maps/os_1913/ — to restructure
1923 Geographia — Street Map Old page only /maps/geographia_street_map_1923/ — to restructure
1930s Geographia Shows Magdalen Park Estate laid out as garden suburb — partly speculative/futuristic. Old page only /maps/geographia_1930s/ — to restructure
1930s? German Military Map Militargeographische Angaben uber England (SW). Probable invasion planning map. Prison and hospitals outlined in red. Old page only /maps/german_military/ — to restructure

Second World War and after

Date Cartographer / title Description Status Folder / notes
1939–45 LCC Bomb Damage Maps London County Council bomb damage maps. Most reliable bomb record. V-1 and V-2 locations. Colour-coded damage severity. Old page only /maps/bombs-lcc/ — to restructure
1939–45 WBC Bomb Map Wandsworth Borough Council bomb map (made 1984/1994). Shows some bombs not on LCC map. Old page only /maps/bombs-wbc/ — to restructure
1939–45 Bombsight Online WW2 bomb census map. Attractive but not reliable. Old page only /maps/bombs-bombsight/ — to restructure
c.1944–67 Ordnance Survey 1:1250/1:2500 Shows wartime pre-fabs along Bellevue and Bolingbroke Grove, near Spencer Park, and at Clapham Junction triangles. Old page only /maps/os-1944-1967/ — to restructure
c.1954 Ordnance Survey — 7th Series 1-inch OS 7th Series. Old page only /maps/os_1937-1961/ — to restructure
1947 / 1949 OS Aerial photographs Vertical (1947) and oblique (1949) aerial photographs. Old page only /maps/os-aerial-1947-vertical/ and /os-aerial-1949-oblique/

Modern & recent

Date Cartographer / title Description Status Folder / notes
2009 WBC — Conservation Area Wandsworth Borough Council Conservation Area map and character areas. Old page only /maps/conservation_area_2009/ — to restructure
2009 WBC — Dog Control Zones Wandsworth Borough Council dog control zones. Old page only /maps/wbc_dog_control_2009/ — to restructure
2010 Shirley Passmore Map showing areas of Common enclosed by 1871. Cover image: “Wandsworth Common divided.” Old page only /maps/passmore_2010/ — to restructure
2013? Survey of London Map of Battersea showing areas covered by vol. 50 chapters. Old page only /maps/survey_of_london/ — to restructure
c.2018 Friends of Wandsworth Common FoWC map of the Common. On sale at Skylark and Toast Rack cafés. Old page only /maps/fowc/ — to restructure
2019 OpenStreetMap / Google Contemporary map and aerial photograph, March 2019. Old page only /maps/openstreetmap/ and /maps/google/
2020 Crossrail 2 Proposed Crossrail 2 route through WBC area, 200m buffer zone. Old page only /maps/crossrail_2/ — to restructure

Working index compiled June 2026. The old maps page with full research notes is at maps-old.html. Individual pages being built gradually — update status labels as pages are completed.