Made this little intervention the other day up on Whitefield’s mount, which is the name given to the island of scrub growing wild on Blackheath. It is named after the 18th century Anglican preacher who would deliver sermons from it to audiences of thousands.
Before this though, for centuries the patch was known as ‘Wat Tyler’s Mound’. Apparently speeches were made up here to the rebel encampments before they proceeded their march into the city, at the Peasants Revolt of 1381.
From reading more about the mound on the excellent runner500 blog, it looks like it has been used as a gathering point by other rebellious political movements as well, such as the Cornish rebels before the battle of Deptford bridge, the Chartists and the Lewisham Suffragette’s.
Today it is now a quieter corner of the heath.
The bench there is known to some as ‘Ed’s bench’ in memory of a former class mate at my secondary school. It faces out on to a crater that becomes a pond in winter.
In the summer the remains of rough sleeping can usually be found in the bushes of the mound, the thickets of gorse providing shelter from the wind and a veil from the main road.
The detritus in the grass there reflects the mounds relatively isolated location and unregulated ‘wild’ character;
Beer cans, condoms, vapes, weed baggies and fag ends…
and the feathers of crows, who watch over the wild island from the solitary birch tree.
