"Half of all visits to the outdoors are to local parks. And it follows that local green spaces and heritage have a huge impact on how we feel about the places we live. The 2014 Heritage Open Days saw three million visits to local heritage sites over one weekend.
"This is where our founders, particularly Octavia Hill, started – protecting and improving the quality of the places people live.
"These places matter but we don’t often stop and think about how they are looked after. Local authorities and small charities – often funded by public money – do a great job in caring for these places. But deep and long-lasting budget cuts mean many are struggling to cope. At the same time, the need for more houses and better infrastructure is putting people live pressure on the places people live."
Octavia Hill is attributed with saving Hilly Fields (in Ladywell) from developers - see the following from the Council website:
"Octavia Hill, one of the three founders of the National Trust, had a passionate interest in the housing conditions of the London working classes. In 1884 she had assumed responsibility, on behalf of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, for 133 homes in Deptford.
"In a poorly furnished room in one of the Deptford homes, she noticed on one occasion a vase of freshly picked wild flowers. On being told they had been picked on Hilly Fields, she set off the same day to see the place; she was concerned not only with the housing of London’s poor but also with the overall environment where they lived. For this reason she campaigned vigorously against the loss of the open spaces that were enjoyed by Londoners, especially the poorest members of society.
"Hilly Fields, at that time, was mostly farmland, with an area of game shooting to the south. The latter had already been leased to developers for building, and Deptford Common, just to the north, had also disappeared.
"When plans were announced to build over Hilly Fields, Octavia Hill was instrumental in helping local people set up a campaign, and also raise funds, to save the land as a public park. As a direct result of the campaign, Hilly Fields was purchased by the London County Council with substantial donations from a number of sympathetic charities and City companies. Part of the site had been used for brickmaking and this area was levelled and the swampy sections were drained. On 16th May 1896, Hilly Fields was dedicated to the public."
Might the NT be persuaded to give special attention, and some financial support too perhaps, to their founder's old south east London stomping ground?
Thanks to Paul de Zylva, Chair of QWAG for spotting this.
