Started January 2010 [by Jack Thurgar]

This is a scrapbook dedicated to the study of London's weeds and the wild places where they grow. Wildcornerz also looks at the languages, cultures and mythologies that develop in these cracks.


What is a Wildcorner?

A Wildcorner is a term referring to a gap that has been left to grow wild in the city. The term encompasses every wild piece of land no matter the size, from large disused sports grounds to small patches of commercial wasteland, to a crack in the pavement. As long as this gap in the man made landscape harbours some kind of weed, then it is considered a Wildcorner.

Wildcorners and Wildcorridors* are dotted all over the capital and vary in content, depending on their location and history. One thing most have in common, is that they are normally restricted in someway from public access or boarded off and hidden from public view altogether. In this blog we focus particularly on the Wildcorners of south east London.

* Wildcorridor; a word used to describe a channel or pathway that runs through an urban landscape, which facilities the propagation and growth of weeds. This includes railway sidings, rivers and canals.



Urban and Suburban Weeds

By the term 'weeds' we are of course referring to the cities wild plants and flowers. But their are also two other weeds that grow in the city.

'Graf' like its botanical relation, has many families and strains. Both of these weeds can often be found together, sharing many qualities including their adaptive nature and unregulated status. Both in many cases, originally entered and populated the city using the railway network.

Another 'weed' that historically flourishes in London is invisible and uses the tops of tower blocks to propagate. Pirate radio like its weed relatives, grows away from the public eye and is constantly adapting to exploit these same gaps across the cities FM radio spectrum, fighting and flourishing in-between the commercial stations.

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Tuesday 28 May 2013

Lewisham's White Deer - Seen by the Old Catford Dog Track


Here are the photos from the new sighting of the solitary spirit, on the edge of one of the borough's larger wildcornerz. He can be seen from Ladywell Park, stooping to look through a whole in the old fence that boards off the old Catford Stadium. 

The former dog track was opened in 1932 and became a famous landmark, being highly regarded in the sport. It was well known for its buzzing atmosphere and infamous Boxing Day races. In later years, its audience dwindled as betting shops opened and the sport became less popular. The managing operator Wembley closed it down in 2003. 
 In 2005 a huge fire gutted the stadium's buildings and tore around its seating platforms. Its is now fenced off from public access [as well as being cut off at either side by two train lines] and lays quietly for the wild to reclaim. 
Among many other weeds, tall bushes of Pampas Grass [a native of South America], grow from the ground where the track used to be.








  ... and over the fence...








Monday 13 May 2013

The Blue Borough's 'Wild Walker' - New Brox Sighting!

Thank you to the eagle eyed Wallata for her tip off about the LNM stag's appearance in a wildcorner next to the rail line on St. Norbert Road, SE4.







Tuesday 7 May 2013

'The Point' SE10

 Outpost #1
 Written Code in between the railings.