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Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs (or simply Scrubs), is an open space in Old Oak Common 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 , 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 1879.
The southern edge of the Scrubs is the site of two locally important institutions. 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 Wormwood Scrubs between 1893 and 1896.
In 1908, the Olympic Marathon route from Windsor Castle to the Olympic Stadium at White City went across the Scrubs. In 1910 Wormwood Scrubs became part of aviation history when a pioneer airship took flight from an improvised landing ground; The Daily Mail Airship hangar was built shortly afterwards—the site is now occupied by the Linford Christie Stadium. In 1914 all air-related activities on the Scrubs passed to the authority of the Admiralty, and there are records in The National Archives of a base here called Wormwood Scrubs Naval Air Station. The airship shed was used to train RNAS armoured car crews.The Devil's Chariots, John Glanfield, Sutton Publishing Ltd 2001, (p.58) It remained as an emergency landing ground until the 1930s. In 1939, with the onset of the Second World War, Wormwood Scrubs again played host to an innovative military department—the Chief Cable Censorship Department, an Y station of the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park. In 1928 St. Clement Danes Grammar School moved from Holborn to a newly built school on Du Cane Road next to Hammersmith Hospital; the school buildings were demolished in 1975, when the school moved out of London.
It was served by St. Quintin Park and Wormwood Scrubs railway station on the West London Line. On 3 October 1940 the station was struck by an incendiary bomb and destroyed by fire.
The prison is located just yards from the scene of the Massacre of Braybrook Street in 1966, in which three policemen were shot dead by three armed men after stopping their suspicious car.Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine:
In 1986 local birdwatcher Lester Holloway set up a campaign to save Scrubs Wood, the area of railway land along the north side of Wormwood Scrubs, from destruction as part of plans by the then British Rail to build cleaning depots (see North Pole depot) to service Channel Tunnel trains. Holloway and his campaign petitioned the House of Lords, supported by the then MP for Fulham Nick Raynsford, and won concessions. The existing nature reserve includes an area known as 'Lester's Embankment'. The campaign attracted considerable national publicity in 1987, and even a musical.
From 1965 until 1994 the western part of Wormwood Scrubs lay in the London Borough of Ealing, and was known as Old Oak Common. The name is still shown on maps today. In 1994 the whole park became part of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.
The trust was formed on 23 February 1994 "to encourage sporting and recreational use of Wormwood Scrubs through the provision and maintenance of an environment that is conducive to its objective. In addition to supporting the recreational activities provided by the Council through the Linford Christie stadium, the Trust's main activity relates to the maintenance of the scrubs itself."
The trust is governed by the provisions of the act and a scheme of the Charity Commissioners dated 25 March 2002. The Hammersmith and Fulham Council acts as the sole corporate trustee and manages the trust through the Wormwood Scrubs Charitable Trust Committee, which is "charged with managing the affairs of the Trust, improving its focus and performance, and ensuring it achieves its charitable objectives." The committee consists of three councillors and two non-voting co-opted members, who tend to be members of the Friends of Wormwood Scrubs.
Under a scheme of delegation, daily management of the trust estate is undertaken by the Trust Manager, with senior support provided by the assistant director for Parks and Leisure and the Director of Public Realm. The de facto Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the trust are the council's Chief Executive and Director of Finance, respectively.
Habitats for the local are also being changed, e.g. by the removal of scrub to create basking areas. This work includes planting trees, and it is feared that this could jeopardise the open nature of the common. The bulk of the work is currently being undertaken by volunteers for Groundwork London, a government quasi non-governmental organisation funded largely through a levy on landfill.
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