.jpg)
The last remnant of the vast heath that once covered this area. It was created in the C13th when a stretch of royal forest between Hounslow and Staines was cut down. Although Henry VIII still hunted here in the C16th over 1700 hectares was commonland. The Heath became a place of military musters and a haunt of footpads, which brought it an evil reputation. It was not enclosed until between 1789 - 1819 in a series of Acts when land was parcelled out. Part of the area in the north was acquired by the government for military training in 1800. In the 1920s the first commercial air service was established on the east side and there were allotments and market gardens on the west. In 1977 a golf course was established on the west, the remainder maintained for nature conservation and recreation.
