The Viaduct, Hampstead Heath (2532) March 2006

Constructed between 1844 and 1847, the Viaduct was at the centre of a battle to prevent Sir Thomas Maryon Wilson, the Lord of the Manor, from building on Hampstead Heath. Sir Thomas, who had inherited 365 acres of Hampstead heath, planned to build 28 villas on a wide strip of land east of the Vale of Health and the Hampstead ponds. The Viaduct was built across the swampy valley to carry a road to the proposed villas on East Park. Meanwhile Sir Thomas attempted to push the first of several Private Acts through Parliament that would allow him to build the villas and develop the land. However, the local residents, made up of bankers, merchants and barristers, were incensed by this intrusion into their quiet and sublime landscape, and began a campaign to save the heath that would last until Sir Thomas’s death in 1869.

Posted on 3/19/2006 9:23:05 AM | Comments

1. Posted by stewart on 3/19/2006 4:45:00 AM
Definitely a success story for the Heath,It was good fortune that the local residents at the time were bankers, merchants and barristers all that money and social influence.Next to the pond at the Vale of Health there are quite a few caravans but that area I think is the boundary of the Heath.A nice capture Tony I like the cloud formation.

2. Posted by Melissa on 3/19/2006 5:49:03 AM
Lovely photo! I like the composition, and the colors.
And as always, interesting story accompanying. Adds to the photo, imo. :)

3. Posted by funny on 3/20/2006 8:07:42 AM
waaaw a beautiful shot, I like your info

4. Posted by Robert K. on 3/20/2006 8:43:05 AM
Interesting history, and a great capture :-)

5. Posted by tony on 3/20/2006 1:15:51 PM
Hi Stewart, thanks. According to the British History web site Hampstead "contained 356 capitalists, bankers, professionals, and 'other educated men'" in 1831, out of a population of around eight and a half thousand.

6. Posted by tony on 3/20/2006 1:22:47 PM
Melissa, hi and thank you. It's interesting finding out what lies behind this 'familiar' world.

7. Posted by tony on 3/20/2006 1:43:51 PM
Funny, good to have you come by and thanks .. some more info .. Hampstead became a spa in the early 18th century and the town began to develop on the South side of the Heath.

8. Posted by tony on 3/20/2006 1:53:02 PM
Hi Robert .. a little more history .. Hampstead shows up in the Doomsday Book of 1086 as a small farm called 'Hamestede' (meaning homestead) and was valued at fifty shillings.

9. Posted by Neoslv on 3/20/2006 5:30:44 PM
Nice shot and interesting caption!.

10. Posted by tony on 3/21/2006 1:06:20 AM
Neoslav, hi and thanks. The Viaduct Pond has a thin layer of ice here, not thick enough to walk on though. However, in the 19th century the ice would be thick enough for skaters to regularly use the Hampstead Heath Ponds. The Viaduct Pond was used for skating between 1876 and 1890 .. but the climate has changed and the ponds rarely freeze over now.

11. Posted by Odon on 3/23/2006 6:18:21 AM
Nice atmosphere. Reminds me the movie The Duelists (despite the set was in French).

12. Posted by tony on 3/23/2006 3:05:18 PM
Hi Odon, thanks. It seems Hampstead Heath was the place to have a duel, especially in the 18th and early 19th centuries, although I've only come across the one at the Spaniards Inn between the two Spanish landlords, Francesco and Juan Porero, who killed each other in a duel over a woman.