Another in the occasional series on historical sites  on the “London Loop” (London Outer Orbital Path)  walk …

West Wickham Common Earthworks

What is now known as West Wickham was first recorded in an Anglo-Saxon charter of 973 as Wic hammes gemaeru, meaning “boundary of the homestead associated with the vicus [Romano-British settlement]”.  It was clearly settled at least as long ago as Roman times, and lay on the Roman road from Lewes in Sussex to London.

The impressive earthworks on West Wickham Common have been interpreted by some as the remains of an Iron Age “hill fort” (and by others as post-Medieval).

The much more degraded earthworks on  nearby Keston Common have also been interpreted by some as Iron Age.