To the west of Blackheath there was once a Deptford Common, but it has long since been built over, and, with the exception of the small Deptford Park, there is a large district of dense population without any open space. The nearest is Hilly Fields on the south. This is a steep, conical hill, with little beauty to recommend it, except its breezy height, and views over chimney-pots to the Crystal Palace. A large, bleak-looking building, with a small enclosure on the highest point-at present for sale-marked the West Kent Grammer School, does not improve the appearance of this open space. There are some 45 acres of turf, and a line of old elms and another of twisted thorns show that there were once hedgerows. There is some promiscuous planting of young trees, and iron railings, and of course a bandstand; otherwise no particular "beautifying" has been attempted since it was opened to the public in 1896.
