An ancient common which has been the preserve of royals and aristocrats for more than 1,000 years is finally in public hands after the family of a Russian princess sold it to a local charity.
Chislehurst Common comprises 180 acres of woods, heath, grassland and ponds which give the suburb in south-east London its village charm.
The land has been privately owned since 974, with King Edgar the Peaceful the first recorded “Lord of the Manor”.
Ownership has passed through generations of monarchs and aristocrats, with the “right to roam” there only secured by an Act of Parliament in 1888.
The Chislehurst Society has now bought the freehold, meaning the commons are owned by local body for the first time. It was feared that without the agreement the land could have been open to redevelopment.
Princess June Lobanov-Rostovsky, a relative of the last local owner, Viscount John Marsham-Townshend, who died childless in 1975, agreed the sale.
The amount paid by the Chislehurst Society has not been disclosed — but funds were raised over many years.
Responsibility for managing the green spaces and ponds will remain with Chislehurst Commons, a partner charity.
Lobanov-Rostovsky’s son Lochie Rankin, who managed the sale, said: “It was right for the land to go back to the people who live in the area to enjoy it.”
Tony Allen, chairman of the Chislehurst Society, said it was “wholly committed to the preservation of the commons for future generations.”
He added: “The commons are the very essence of Chislehurst and I am delighted that we have been able to use our funds to secure the freehold for the benefit of residents.”
John Paddington, headmaster of Chislehurst CofE Primary School, which has stood on the common since 1836, said: “We can all rest easier now that the commons are in safe hands.”
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The land was visited by Elizabeth I for the knighting of Sir Thomas Walsingham in 1597 and is home to a golf course where Napoleon III lived in the 1870s.
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