Gorne Wood
Gorne Wood in Lewisham, South East London has been designated by Natural England as Ancient Woodland. It is the closest Ancient Woodland to the City of London. Sadly, during 20 years of ownership by a property developer the site has been severely neglected. The Fourth Reserve Foundation is campaigning to return this ancient woodland to community use and to restore the woodland areas.
Phase 1 (Partially complete) – The charity launched a massive fundraising campaign to buy back the land from the property developer. As of January 2023, thanks to your donations, we are delighted to say that we reached the fundraising milestone of GBP100,000 to support this purchase.
However, purchase of Gorne Wood has to happen via a Lewisham Council-led compulsory purchase order (CPO). This complex purchase process may now take up to three years to complete. The site first needs to be designated as Metropolitan Open Land. See the timeline for more information on what we are doing.
A Lewisham Council spokesperson said “We are looking to improve the planning protections for this site by designating it as Metropolitan Open Land in our new draft Local Plan, which would prevent inappropriate development such as housing from taking place. Following the recent fundraising campaign, we will be working with the local community to explore next steps for this important piece of land.”
Plan of Christ Hospital Land, Brockley (now Crofton Park) by Ralph Treswell (1600). Source Metropolitan Archives, with modern annotations.
Phase 2 – Fourth Reserve will undo the decades-long damage to Gorne Wood, planting trees, and restoring ponds and meadow habitats. The derelict Scout hut will be removed, as it is currently a dangerous eyesore. Instead, we will create more environmentally sympathetic structures, which people can use for activities, courses and events celebrating nature and/ or promoting wellbeing.
We will work with volunteers to manage Gorne Wood to enhance its biodiversity, and to protect it for future generations.
Gorne Wood FAQs
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Where is Gorne Wood ?
Gorne Wood lies along the railway line connecting Honor Oak Park and Brockley Stations in South East London, between Courtrai Road and Buckthorne Road.
Gorne Wood is located next to Buckthorne Nature Reserve, run by the Fourth Reserve, which forms a wildlife corridor with Gorne Wood.
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What is Gorne Wood and what does the name mean?
Gorne Wood is historically made up of two sections, separated by an old boundary line. The area around the Scout hut and the rest of Gorne Wood, which is comparatively undisturbed ancient woodland.
“Gorne” is an obscure word, however research suggests gāra in Old English meant “a gore” which was a triangular plot of ground or a point of land. This word was probably derived from OE gar, “spear”, meaning a piece of ground shaped like the head of a spear, which is exactly the shape of Gorne Wood on the Treswell map.
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Why won’t all of this site always be publicly accessible?
Phase II proposals mean that the area around the existing Scout hut, fronting onto Courtrai Road will be more openly accessible for community use, for therapeutic, educational and leisure activities, promoting nature and wellbeing. However, the area away from Courtrai Road along the railway line will be a haven for nature and occasionally accessible on open days and volunteering workdays, in the same way that Buckthorne Nature Reserve is today.
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Why isn’t Gorne Wood open yet if you have the money?
The Fourth Reserve would love Gorne Wood to be under the care of an owner who prioritises nature as soon as possible, and we are working towards this goal. However compulsory land purchase and the legalities surrounding that take time, sadly. It is important that Gorne Wood is designated Metropolitan Open Land first by Lewisham Council, which will help the CPO succeed.
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What is the history of Gorne Wood?
A more recent name for Gorne Wood was the Dandy Fifth Park. In 2022 we celebrated the Dandy Fifth Park’s centenary. Metropolitan Mayor Charles Henry Dodd and Sir Philip Dawson MP declared that this park was to be for the communities of Deptford and Lewisham.
The creation of The Dandy Fifth Park honoured the the local scout troop who patrolled the railway during World War I. The first scout hut was built using money donated by the local community. It was bombed in World War II, and has survived two fires in the years since. Each time the communities of Brockley and Honor Oak Park rallied round to help restore it. More about the history of the area.
The fundraising to support Phase 2 is ongoing.
You can support this campaign in two ways today. By making a donation and by adding your name to the campaign supporters list.