Bye-laws

The Wimbledon and Putney Commons Act, 1871

 

WHEREAS by the Wimbledon and Putney Commons Act 1871, power is given to the Wimbledon and Putney Commons Conservators incorporated by and under the said Act to make Bye-laws for the purposes therein stated: Now we, the Wimbledon and Putney Commons Conservators, do hereby repeal all Bye-laws by us heretofore made or constituted, excepting the Election Bye-laws made on the 12th day of July, 1892, as amended, and do hereby make and constitute the following Bye-laws, which are to commence and take effect immediately after the same shall have been allowed by the Secretary of State for the Environment and so to continue until the same shall be altered or repealed according to the provisions of the said Act; and we do by such Bye-laws impose the penalties and further penalties in the same Bye-laws respectively mentioned.

In the Construction of these Bye-laws "The Commons" means Wimbledon Common, with Wimbledon Green and Putney Heath included, and Putney Lower Common, as the same respectively are particularly described in the Wimbledon and Putney Commons Act 1871, and the additions thereto to which are deemed to be part of the Commons by virtue of Section 68 of the said Act.

  1.  

    "The Conservators" means the Wimbledon and Putney Commons Conservators, incorporated by and under the Wimbledon and Putney Commons Act, 1871.

     

    "The Act" means the Wimbledon and Putney Commons Act, 1871. The term "unauthorised person" means any person not for the time being duly authorised by the Conservators in writing, other than a person acting by virtue of the Act or in the exercise of some right reserved to him by the Act.

     

    Words importing the masculine gender shall be deemed and taken to include females, and the singular to include the plural, and the plural the singular.

     

    "Person" includes corporation, aggregate or sole.

     

    1. No gipsy, hawker of goods (whether licensed or not), beggar, rogue, or vagabond shall frequent or resort to or remain upon the Commons; and it shall be the duty of any constable, or any officer of the Conservators, to remove or exclude any such person from the Commons.

     

    1. No unauthorised person shall sell or offer for sale or hire on the Commons any article, commodity, pamphlet, programme or thing.

     

    1. No unauthorised person shall encamp upon the Commons, or erect or place any hut, platform, booth, tent, clothes-poles, hurdles, or other erection, or cause any obstruction thereon.

     

    1. No unauthorised person shall catch or trap birds or animals, or set or place any trap, snare, net or other device adapted for catching any bird or animal, or take the eggs or nests of birds, or shoot or chase birds or animals or allow his dog to chase, injure, or kill any bird or animal upon any part of the Commons, or bring, or put on to the Commons any birds or animals for the purpose of being shot or chased.

     

    1. No unauthorised person shall turn out on the Commons any cattle, sheep, horse, ass, mule, or other animal (whether of a commonable nature or not), or knowingly permit any cattle, sheep, horse, ass, mule, or other animal to graze or feed, or to stray on to or remain on the Commons. But this Bye-law shall not be deemed to apply to a dog under the control of its owner, or of any other person.

     

    1. No unauthorised person or persons whether alone or with others, shall walk, exercise, congregate with, or bring or cause to be brought onto the Commons for any purpose more than four dogs at any one time or otherwise be responsible for any number of dogs such as in the opinion of the Conservators is likely to cause a nuisance or annoyance to other users of the Commons. A person may be authorised by the Conservators in writing free of charge on application for such number of dogs and period as may be specified in the authorisation. The Conservators may refuse authorisation if they reasonably consider that the number of dogs for which permission is applied is such that other users of the Commons are likely to be intimidated in their use of the Commons.

     

    1. It shall be lawful for the Conservators from time to time to designate all or any part of the Commons where dog faeces must be removed; any person (other than a registered blind person) in charge of any dog on the Commons shall ensure that any faeces deposited by that dog in any part of the Commons so designated shall be removed immediately and placed in a receptacle on the Commons provided for the purpose or removed from the Commons for suitable disposal.

     

    1. It shall be lawful for a constable or officer of the Conservators to give a direction to any person in charge of any dog on the Commons to put that dog on a lead if such restraint is reasonably necessary to prevent a nuisance on the Commons or behavior likely to cause annoyance or disturbance or injury to, or in any way endanger, persons on the Commons and that person shall keep that dog on the lead while on the Commons.

     

    1. It shall be lawful from time to time for the Conservators to designate any part or parts of the Commons where dogs are to be excluded for the protection of the flora, fauna or wildlife therein and no person in charge of any dog on the Commons shall allow that dog to enter that part of the Commons so designated.

     

    1. No unauthorised person shall cut, dig, take, or sell, any turf, sods, bog-earth, gravel, clay, peat, loam, sand, water, ice, or other substance on or from any part of the Commons.

     

    1. No unauthorised person shall cut, fell, take, or sell, any gorse, heather, timber, or other trees, shrubs, brushwood, furze, fern, rushes, grass, or other plant, or natural product of the Commons on or from any part of the Commons.

     

    1. No unauthorised person shall in anywise injure, damage, or destroy any turf, gorse, furze, heather, fern, grass, timber or other trees, shrubs, brushwood, or other plants upon the Commons, or any part thereof, or dig upon or in, or break or disturb the surface of the Commons, or of any part thereof, or of any gravel or sand-pit thereon, or light any fire upon the Commons, or wilfully or negligently place, throw or let fall any lighted or combustible substance, article or thing which may cause, or be likely to cause, damage by fire to any gorse, furze, heather, timber or other trees, shrubs, brushwood, or other plants upon the Commons.

     

    1. No unauthorised person shall injure, deface, or remove any seat, shelter, direction sign, notice, or notice board, posts, chains, railings, fences or barriers, which may from time to time be erected or placed upon the Commons by or by the authority of the Conservators.

     

    1. No unauthorised person shall injure or disfigure any fence or other erection or building or any tree on the Commons, by the posting thereon of any bill, placard, or notice or by writing thereon any words or signs.

     

    1. No unauthorised person shall place, deposit, or scatter, on the Commons, or any part thereof, any rubbish, manure, cinders, road sweepings, soot , dung, litter or other waste substance including paper, bottles or glass or have to retain thereon any timber, firewood, bricks, building materials, or other substance, or resort to the Commons for the purpose of making mortar.

     

    1. Except upon roads, cycle paths or parking spaces prescribed for the purpose by the Conservators, no unauthorised person shall draw, drive, ride, stand, or place any wagon, van, cart, carriage, truck, bicycle, tricycle, motor car, or other vehicle upon the Commons, including the footpaths or horse rides traversing the same.

     

    1. No unauthorised person shall allow to remain stationary on the Commons any carriage, motor car, or other vehicle during the period from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise.

     

    1. The Conservators may provide horse rides and one or more exercise grounds on such parts of the Commons as they shall think fit.

     

    1. No person shall lead, ride, drive, exercise or train a horse in a manner likely to endanger the safety or interfere with the comfort of persons frequenting the Commons.

     

    1. No person shall lead, ride, drive or exercise a horse on any part of the Commons except upon the roads or upon such horse rides or exercise grounds as the Conservators may think fit to provide thereon.

     

    1. No person shall train a horse on any part of the Commons unless authorised by the Conservators and in conformity with such provisions as the Conservators may prescribe.

     

    1. No person shall lead a horse on any part of the Commons for the purpose of exercising or training the same at a greater speed than a walking pace unless, authorised to do so by the Conservators and then only on the roads and the said horse rides or exercise grounds.

     

    1. No person shall ride a horse unless it is properly saddled and bridled or lead a horse unless it is properly bridled on any part of the Commons.

     

    1. No unauthorised person shall ride a horse on any part of the Commons during the period between half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise.

     

    1. Bye-laws 20 to 25 inclusive shall apply to mule, donkey or pony as they apply to a horse.

     

    1. No person shall race a horse or other animal on any part of the Commons.

     

    1. It shall be lawful for the Conservators from time to time to set apart or appropriate any part or parts of the Commons for the protection of the turf, trees or shrubs thereon, or for walking, or for cricket, football, golf, skating, sliding, or other reasonable recreation; and no unauthorised person shall drive, ride, or pass over upon horseback the parts so set apart or appropriated of the said Commons; and no person shall play at cricket, football, golf, or any other game, or skate or slide upon the parts so set apart or appropriated, except on such days, at such times and under such regulations as the Conservators may from time to time prescribe; and no person shall obstruct or interfere with or annoy any persons who are playing or have made preparations for playing at cricket, football, golf or any other lawful game, or who are skating or sliding upon the parts so set apart or appropriated. And with regard to every other part of the Commons not so set apart or appropriated as aforesaid, no person shall play any game thereon so as to endanger the safety of, or injure, alarm, or annoy any person or animal.

     

    1. No person shall play at any game destructive of, or injurious to, the surface, soil, or natural products of the Commons, except in such places and under such regulations as the Conservators may from time to time prescribe.

     

    1. No other part of the Commons than the golf tees and greens for the time being set apart by the Conservators, and the spaces intervening in a straight line (as near as may be) between the tees and greens respectively, shall be used for playing golf.

     

    1. Golf may be played on such days as may from time to time be authorised by notice published by the Conservators, but not on Sundays after 2pm.

     

    1. No person playing golf shall strike or play any ball near any person walking, riding or driving over the Commons, or otherwise play golf in such a manner as to injure, endanger, alarm or annoy any person traversing or being on the Commons for exercise, recreation or other lawful purpose.

     

    1. No person playing golf shall require any person crossing the Commons between any tee and any green to move away, or otherwise interfere with any such person.

     

    1. Every person playing golf shall wear a red coat, or other outer red garment.

     

    1. Every person playing golf must commence from either the first tee on the Wimbledon side or the first tee on the Windmill side and at no other point and must observe the rules in force upon the course.

     

    1. Every person playing golf shall be a member, whether for the day or for a longer period, of a club recognised for the purpose of this Bye-law by the Conservators and shall comply with the recognised etiquette and rules of the game and with any special rules laid down by the club.

     

    1. No person shall ply for hire or solicit employment as a golf caddie upon the Commons unless he shall first have been licensed to do so by the Conservators, and he shall hold such licence subject to such regulations as may from time to time be prescribed by the Conservators.

     

    1. Every person (other than a person actually engaged in playing around one of the golf courses on the Commons or his caddie) who shall find any golf ball on the Commons shall forthwith deliver such ball to any keeper or duly appointed servant or agent of the Conservators, to be dealt with as the Conservators may think fit.

     

    1. No owner or person in charge of any carriage, saddle-horse, pony, donkey, goat-chaise, motor car, or any other vehicle shall ply for hire upon the Commons, or use the Commons as a standing-place without the permission in writing of the Conservators, and then only at such places and under such regulations as the Conservators may from time to time prescribe.

     

    1. No person shall dry or bleach clothes, or other articles, or beat carpets upon the Commons.

     

    1. No person shall break up or injure the ice on any pond or water on the Commons, or throw or place any stones, earth, or other substance on any such ice so as to render the same less suitable for skating or sliding.

     

    1. No unauthorised person shall sweep, shovel, cleanse, or interfere in any way with the ice on any pond or water on the Commons, and no unauthorised person shall deposit any chair, seat, stall, truck, or any other thing on or near the ice on any pond or water on the Commons, for the purpose of acquiring money or profit, or so as to interfere with the use of the ice by the public for purposes of exercise and recreation.

     

    1. No person shall throw or place in any pond or water on the Commons any earth, wood, glass, crockery, metal, paper, or other rubbish or refuse, or any deleterious, noxious, offensive, or disfiguring substances or thing, or do anything (not being fair angling) to destroy or injure any fish in any such pond or water.

     

    1. No person shall bathe or wash clothes or other articles in, or fish in, any spring, pond or water on the Commons, except under such conditions, in such places, at such times, and in such a manner as the Conservators shall from time to time prescribe; and no person shall allow his dog to enter any pond or water in which bathing is authorised, or at which a notice by the Conservators prohibiting the swimming of dogs therein is exhibited.

     

    1. No person shall gamble, bet, or play with cards, dice, or other articles associated with gambling, on the Commons.

     

    1. No unauthorised person shall:

     

a) fly a model aircraft, however launched or propelled,

b) or operate a power driven model ship upon the Commons except at such places and subject to such conditions as the Conservators may prescribe.

c) operate a metal detector or other instrument or other device designed to locate objects on or under the surface of the Commons.

d) No person shall allow his kite to cause annoyance or injury to, or in anyway endanger, persons on the Commons.

subject to such conditions as the Conservators may prescribe.

    1. No unauthorised person shall fire any gun, pistol, or other fire-arm, light any firework, or throw any stone, stick, or other missile, upon the Commons, or commit any other act thereon whereby persons using or frequenting the Commons may be endangered, nor have in his possession on the Commons any fire-arm or ammunition or any air-gun or other weapon operated by compressed air or any catapult or sling or bow or arrow.

     

    1. No person shall brawl, fight, quarrel, curse or swear, or use any indecent or improper language, or sell, expose to view, or exhibit any indecent or infamous book, print or publication upon the Commons.

     

    1. No person shall play a musical instrument or operate a radio or television receiver or device for reproducing recorded sound or images on any part of the Commons so as to be or occasion any nuisance or annoyance to any person.

     

    1. No unauthorised person shall collect, incite, or take part in any gathering or assemblage of persons at any place upon the Commons where it may cause annoyance, inconvenience or obstruction to the lawful use or enjoyment of the Commons by the public for purposes of exercise or recreation.

     

    1. No alms, donations, contribution or subscriptions of any kind shall be made or given, solicited or collected on the Commons except with the express authority of the Conservators.
    2. No person shall commit any nuisance or act in any indecent or disorderly manner on the Commons, or shall sit, lie, rest or sleep on any seat or on any part of the Commons in an indecent posture, or behave in any manner reasonably likely to offend against public decency.

     

    1. No person shall collect, incite, or take part in any disorderly gathering or assemblage of persons on the Commons, or do, aid, or abet in any act or thing which may be, or tend to the injury or disfigurement of the Commons, or the hurt, or damage of the persons using or frequenting the Commons for purposes of exercise or recreation, or entitled so to use or frequent the same.

     

    1. A constable or office of the Conservators who has reasonable cause to believe that a person is offending or has offended against the Act or these Bye-laws may require such a person to state his name and address and such person shall forthwith furnish his name and address to the said constable or officer.

     

    1. Every person acting or taking any part in the violation of any of the foregoing Bye-laws shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding Level One on the Standard Scale for each offence, and in the case of a continuing offence, every person so continuing such offence shall be liable to a further penalty not exceeding Level One on the Standard Scale for each day, after written notice of the offence, during which the offence continues; and it shall also be lawful for any constable or any officer of the Conservators to remove or exclude from the Commons any person offending against any of the foregoing Bye-laws.

     

    1. Nothing in these Bye-laws shall take away, abridge, or prejudicially affect any right, power, or authority, vested in the Conservators otherwise than by these Bye-laws, or in the Metropolitan Police or any authority legally existing, to prevent or punish the offences hereinbefore specified.

    2. The Annual Meeting of the Conservators shall be held on a day in June each year, at such place within the distance of three quarters of a mile from some part of Wimbledon Common, measured in the manner prescribed by the Act and at such hour as the Conservators may from time to time appoint.

 

Given under our Corporate Seal this Eighth day of March, One Thousand nine hundred and seventy one.

 

Sealed with the Corporate

Seal of the Wimbledon

and Putney Commons

Conservators, and

signed by their Clerk in

the presence of

 

 

A.C.HASKEY, F.C.A.                                           F.G.P QUIXLEY

Accountant to the Conservators                       Clerk

 

MANOR COTTAGE

WIMBLEDON COMMON, SW19 5NR

 

In the exercise of the power vested in me by

Section 85 of the above-mentioned Act of Parli-

ament, I allow all the above written Bye-laws.

 

Dated this 3rd Day of May, 1971

 

                JULIAN AMERY

Secretary of State for the Environment

 

The said Bye-laws dated 8 March 1871 and confirmed by the Secretary of State for the Environment on 3 May 1971, as amended by the Conservators on 30 November 1979 and being allowed on 26 March 1980, as further amended by the Conservators on 5 August 1996 and being allowed on 1 October 1996, as further amended by the Conservators on 1 December 1997 and being allowed on 14 May 1998, as further amended by the Conservators on 19 October 2006 and being allowed on 16 February 2007, as further amended by the Conservators on 26 July 2007 and being allowed on 30 November 2007, and as further amended by the Conservators on 3 July 2008 and being allowed on 4 November 2008.