Features of The Common
The Common contains three ponds, two of which are historical features, and a more modern paddling pool known as Cock Pond.
Eagle Pond and Mount Pond are used for angling and contain a variety of species including carp to 20 lb, roach, tench and bream. Eagle Pond was extensively refurbished in 2002 when it was completely drained, landscaped and replanted to provide a better habitat for the fish it contained. Long Pond has a century-old tradition of use for model boating.
The common is surrounded by many fine houses, built from the 1790s onwards, which became fashionable dwellings for wealthy business people in what was then a village detached from metropolitan London. Some were members of the Clapham Sect of evangelical reformers, including Lord Teignmouth and Henry Thornton, the banker and abolitionist. As London expanded in the 19th century Clapham was absorbed into the capital, with most of the remaining palatial or agricultural estates replaced with terraced housing by the early 1900s.
There are two mounds on the Battersea Rise side of the common, the remnants of World War II storage bunkers built on the common.
Holy Trinity Church (1776) is close to the North Side of the common. An Anglican church, it hosts its fete on the common every summer.
Clapham Common tube station and Clapham South tube station are on the edge of the common at its easternmost and southernmost points respectively. Both stations are served solely by the Northern Line.
A memorial tree to actor Jeremy Brett - who had lived locally for many years prior to his death in 1995 - was planted on 30 March 2007.
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