Green London: The Rookery & Streatham Common

You might be forgiven for thinking The Rookery is somewhere birds roost, or perhaps a part of Dickensian London infamous as a hive of scum and villainy. Well, the word can mean either of those things, of course, but The Rookery nestled within by Streatham Common is a Grade II Listed Historic Garden. It has bubbling streams leading to ornamental ponds, beds of herbaceous plants and wildflower, an orchard, and a community garden. 

It gets its name because it was originally the landscaped gardens of a large house called ‘The Rookery’ – which sounds delightfully Gothic to me. I’m sure it was full of ghosts, secret passages, maybe a family curse, and flocks of black corvids croaking ill-omens, but that’s probably just my imagination. I don’t know much about the history of the building except that it housed guests staying in the area to use the health-giving springs and spas Streatham was once famous for. You can still see one of the three original wells of Streatham Spa Water, dating from 1609.

In the early years of the 20th century, the site was going to be sold for redevelopment, but was saved by public subscription and the whole area beautifully planted and landscaped, opening to the public in 1913. It includes a traditional Old English Garden, and a White Garden in which only pale flowers bloom. The Rookery is also rich in wildlife. Part of it was declared a Local Nature Reserve in 2013, along with Streatham Common. 

It’s managed by Streatham Common Cooperative (SCCoop), a local community-led enterprise. A market takes place there every Saturday. Public toilets and a café can be found just outside, as well as a lovely paddling pool I remember enjoying in my childhood. When I visited over the bank holiday there was a dog splash day and I watched pooches happily running about in the water and wagging their tails. 

Streatham Common

Once part of the Great North Wood, ancient woodland which stretched across the land south of London, Streatham Common was saved from redevelopment in 1884 for the public to continue to enjoy. It’s still a large area of open green space containing woodland, grassland, meadows, streams and a picnic area, as well as surrounding The Rookery formal garden.

The Common is a key site within London Wildlife Trust’s ‘Great North Wood’ project, which aims to raise awareness of the original Great North Wood, offering guided walks, talks and and volunteering activities. Both Streatham Common and the Rookery are designated Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation for the London Borough of Lambeth. 

Green London

I’ve been blogging regularly about London’s green spaces in an effort to dispel a prevalent myth in the pagan community that it’s just all concrete. Even in the City, which is of course heavily built up, there are still places where nature thrives, while Greater London has huge areas of woods, commons, parks and beautiful gardens.

The pictures on this post were all taken by me. Please do not use them without my permission.

Previous Green London Posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/03/green-london-plumstead-common-its.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/03/green-london-londons-first-botanical.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/03/green-london-japanese-gardens-in.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/09/green-london-riverview-walk-river-pool.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/10/green-london-ancient-woodlands-around.html

To read more posts like this visit A Bad Witch’s Blog at www.badwitch.co.uk