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40
Royal Patriotic
Asylum.
48. The Royal Patriotic Fund Corporation having proposed
to dispose of about 20 acres of land adjoining the
Royal Victoria Patriotic Asylum at Wandsworth
Common, the Council, in view of the fact that the
land formerly formed part of Wandsworth Common, strongly
objected to its being used for any other purpose than an open
space, and deputations from this Council and the Battersea Borough
Council in support of this Council's views attended before the Parks
and Open Spaces Committee of the London County Council in
support of the land in question being acquired and added to
Wandsworth Common.
49. The Mayor convened a Towns Meeting at the Town Hall on
the 28th October, when the following resolutions were passed,
viz.:—
"(1) This Meeting of the inhabitants of Wandsworth and Battersea
deplores the Royal Patriotic Corporation's proposal to dispose (possibly
for building purposes) of the 20 acres of land, known as 'The Farm,'
formerly a part of Wandsworth Common, and held as 'a visible and
permanent memorial of the national generosity.'
"(2) This Meeting urges upon the London County Council and the
Borough Councils of Wandsworth and Battersea the necessity of taking
immediate and at the same time reasonable and equitable measures for
the preservation of the land as an open space.
"(3) That the Chairman of this Meeting (Alderman Archibald D.
Dawnay, J.P., Mayor of Wandsworth), be authorised to sign and transmit
copies of the above resolutions to the London County Council, the Wandsworth
and Battersea Borough Councils, the President of the Local
Government Board, and the local Members of Parliament; that a
Deputation be appointed to wait upon the Royal Patriotic Corporation
and present the Resolutions to them; and that the Deputation consist
of the speakers this evening and the two honorary secretaries of the
Wandsworth Common Protection Association.
(4) That the Deputation appointed this evening be requested to
take steps with the view of raising a Fund towards the acquisition of the
land."
50. The estimated cost of purchasing the land was about £12,000
and this Council asked the London County Council to acquire the
land for use as an open space, and agreed to contribute £3,000
towards the cost, provided that a similar sum was contributed by
the Battersea Borough Council and public subscription.
The County Council adopted the suggestion and the agreement
with the London County Council for payment of this Council's
contribution was sealed by the Council on the 20th January, 1912.