And at the bottom of the northern slope, there’s this fight going on now @peckham_green under threat from development
— Past Tense (@_pasttense_) May 24, 2021
Four decades later, a last ditch stand seems to have taken place in Colson’s Wood, Sydenham Common. In 1792, Michael Bradley and others broke in to assert their traditional rights to cut wood, which had been held 200 years and more.
— Past Tense (@_pasttense_) May 24, 2021
He also enclosed part of the land. In response in 1794 a mob of local residents burnt the furze before he could collect it; simultaneously, “6 men dressed in black” drove up in a hackney carriage and demolished his paled enclosure.
— Past Tense (@_pasttense_) May 24, 2021
1790s Croydon & Lambeth Inclosure Acts enclosed large parts of the old Wood in Norwood & Gipsy Hill, expelling Romany who had long suffered constant harassment here from local authorities; in 1797, Romany people fought a pitched battle with the constables between Penge & Norwood.
— Past Tense (@_pasttense_) May 24, 2021