Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs, or simply just "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 Natural England as an important site of natural significance.
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.
Wormwood Scrubs is also an area of restricted airspace up to 2,000 feet (610 m).
Read more about Wormwood Scrubs: History, Finances, Local Nature Reserve, Current Conservation Efforts, Points To Note
Famous quotes containing the words wormwood and/or scrubs:
“a star
called Wormwood rose and flickered, shattering
bent light over the dead boiling up in the ground,
the biting yellow their corrupted lives
streaming to war, denying all our words.”
—Muriel Rukeyser (1913–1980)
“Because humans are not alone in exhibiting such behavior—bees stockpile royal jelly, birds feather their nests, mice shred paper—it’s possible that a pregnant woman who scrubs her house from floor to ceiling [just before her baby is born] is responding to a biological imperative . . . . Of course there are those who believe that . . . the burst of energy that propels a pregnant woman to clean her house is a perfectly natural response to their mother’s impending visit.”
—Mary Arrigo (20th century)