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The heath consists of gorse and broom at the top of Bostall Hill, with dense woods and deep ravines on either side. Bostall has various meanings i.e. woody, and in Anglo Saxon times Bos meant Ox or Cow. In Sussex the term Bostall is given to a windy way up a very steep hill.
Henry VIII owned most of the surrounding land following the dissolution of the monasteries, and gifted Bostall Heath estate to his trusted clerk and estate manager Edward Boughton. It stayed in the Boughton family until 1656 when John Michel of Richmond purchased it from the Boughtons. John Michel never married and in 1736 bequeathed the estate to Queens College Oxford forever.
During the 19th century the Heath was under threat from residential development. It was saved and placed under the control of the Metropolitan Board of Works. They bought 55 acres of the heathland to be used as open space from the Trustees of Queens College Oxford for the sum of £5,500. An additional 61 acres of woodland were purchased from Sir Julian Goldsmid for £12,200. The London County Council purchased the site in 1891, Clam Field being added to the Heath in 1894.
The Beech trees in Bostall woods were planted after World War I. The woods were also densely planted with Scots Pine but by 1939 they were ravaged by beetle and only a few remain. At the out-break of World War I, troops were encamped on Bostall Heath prior to embarkation to the front. During World War II the Heath was used as an anti-aircraft gun site.
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