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Northfield Allotments

Northfield Allotments is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Northfield Allotments rather than just read about it. In short: Northfield Allotments are allotments in the Northfields district of Ealing. They are the oldest allotments in London, having been created from common land in 1832 as Ealing Dean Common Allotments.

Northfield Allotments — main illustration
Northfield Allotments — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Northfield Allotments belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Northfield Allotments to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Northfield Allotments from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Northfield Allotments are allotments in the Northfields district of Ealing. They are the oldest allotments in London, having been created from common land in 1832 as Ealing Dean Common Allotments. Originally, the allotments covered an area of over twenty acres but this has been reduced by encroachment, with land being used for a public park and housing. The remaining allotments are recognised as an asset of community value and Site of Importance for Nature Conservation. The site has been managed by plot holders via the Ealing Dean Allotment Society since 2015, on behalf of the charity Pathways.

History The allotments were created from common land on 7 November 1832, by order of Charles James Blomfield, Bishop of London and lord of the manor of Ealing. The common was Ealing Dean Common, being in Ealing Dean, and was also known as Jackass Common, after the donkey and pony races held there in the summer. The size of this area of land was twenty acres, two roods and sixteen perches. The allotments were to be no more than one rood (0.25 acres) in size, and to be cultivated by poor parishioners. As well as providing poor relief, the bishop's aim was to encourage gardening, which he favoured as a pastime. In 2017, there were 141 plotholders.

Encroachment The allotments have been subject to encroachment over the years as the land on the western side of Northfields Avenue was taken for housing and a formal park – Dean Court and Dean Gardens. That compulsory purchase took about 60 per cent of the original area. The remaining allotments are now recognised as an asset of community value by the borough council. They are also designated as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation as they are surrounded by a hedgerow which is about 1,000 yards (910 m) long and provides a habitat for wild life such as hedgehogs and stag beetles. In 2017, they were threatened with further development, as the current landlord – the almshouse charity, Pathways – planned to build more housing upon the land. This provoked a campaign to save them which was backed by Professor Jeremy Burchadt, an authority on allotments, who declared that they were almost certainly the oldest in London. Others backing the campaign include the local MP, Rupa Huq, and thousands of petitioners.

Gallery

References

External links Ealing Dean Allotments Society Northfields Allotments – Pathways

Illustrations

Northfield Allotments illustration
Northfield Allotments: Panorama of the allotments viewed from the Model Cottages which were built at the SE corner in 1869
Panorama of the allotments viewed from the Model Cottages which were built at the SE corner in 1869

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Northfield Allotments

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Northfield Allotments claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Northfield Allotments before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Northfield Allotments ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Northfield Allotments

In research
Northfield Allotments appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Northfield Allotments in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Northfield Allotments is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics London Borough of Ealing, Urban agriculture, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Northfield Allotments outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study Northfield Allotments in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Northfield Allotments means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Northfield Allotments out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Northfield Allotments in simple terms?

Northfield Allotments are allotments in the Northfields district of Ealing. They are the oldest allotments in London, having been created from common land in 1832 as Ealing Dean Common Allotments.

Why does Northfield Allotments matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Northfield Allotments?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Northfield Allotments.

Tags

  • London Borough of Ealing
  • Urban agriculture

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