East Sheen Common has long been important to local people, records dating back to the time of Edward the Confessor (1042-1066) show that it was used as common land for grazing animals and wood found there was used for fuel and tools.
History of Sheen Common
It lies within the former Manor of Mortlake, which includes the area now known as Mortlake and East Sheen, Barnes, Putney and Wimbledon. Latterly it has been referred to as the Manor of Wimbledon, after the manorial residence was transferred in 1547 from Mortlake to Wimbledon. The Manor of Mortlake was given by King Edward the Confessor to the See of Canterbury. At the reformation it was returned to King Henry VIII in exchange for other estates. It was then held by various people until its purchase by Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. In 1744 she gave it to the Earl Spencers.
In 1880 the common was sold to a number of Gentlemen Residents for £2500. As part of this arrangement a further £1000 was paid to the Inns of Court Volunteers to compensate them for the loss of the rifle range (then on the common). These Gentlemen formed themselves into the East Sheen Common Preservation Society Ltd (ESCPS) with the intention of creating a ladies Golf Course on the Common. Over a period of years, public disquiet arose over the management of the Common by ESCPS. As a result the local Authority proposed a scheme certified by the Board of Agriculture and confirmed by Parliament in the Metropolitan Commons (East Sheen) act 1898. Thus the local Authority became responsible for management and regulation of the common (though not the owner). In 1908 the ESCPS gave the common to the National Trust. Pic: Map showing Sheen Common 1894