The heath's include a number of distinct areas.
Whitestone, Highgate and Hampstead Ponds Hampstead Heath has over 25 ponds; most of these are in two distinct areas: the Highgate Ponds and the Hampstead Ponds.
Whitestone Pond Whitestone Pond is a roughly triangular pond, centrally located on the heath's south side and
north-northwest of Queen Mary's House (
formerly a
care home and before that a
maternity hospital), across busy
Heath Street (A502). Originally a small
dew pond called the Horse Pond, it was renamed after a waypoint stone and is artificially fed. It has an exposed location, closely surrounded by roads, which limits its recreational use. It is the heath's best known body of water, and many people's introduction to Hampstead Heath's ponds.
Highgate Ponds Highgate Ponds are a series of eight former
reservoirs, on the heath's east (Highgate) side, and were originally dug in the 17th and 18th centuries. They include two single-sex swimming pools (the men's and ladies' bathing ponds), a model boating pond, and two ponds which serve as wildlife reserves: the Stock Pond and the Bird Sanctuary Pond. Fishing is allowed in some of the ponds, although this is threatened by proposals to modify the dams. The ponds are the result of the 1777 damming of Hampstead Brook (one of the
Fleet River's sources), by the Hampstead Water Company, which was formed in 1692 to meet London's growing water demands. However, historical drawings and paintings of the area show no mound other than a 17th-century windmill.
Hampstead Ponds The Hampstead Ponds are three ponds in the heath's south-west corner, towards
South End Green. Hampstead Pond No. 3 is the mixed bathing pond, where both sexes may swim.
Pond legal challenges and maintenance In 2004 the
City of London Corporation, rejected a proposal by the Hampstead Heath Winter Swimming Club to allow "early-morning, self-regulated swimming in the mixed sex pond on Hampstead Heath"; the corporation argued that it risked legal action by the
Health and Safety Executive if it allowed such swimming, since the executive had refused to give assurances to the corporation that it would not be prosecuted under the
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The swimmers successfully challenged this in the
High Court, which in 2005 ruled that members of the swimming club had the right to swim at their own risk, and that the corporation would not be liable under the act for injuries as a result. In January 2011 the City of London announced a scheme which it said would improve the safety of the dams, to guard against damage that might result from a very large, but rare, storm hitting London. The proposed engineering modifications of the dams were aimed at ensuring that three dams complied with the
Reservoirs Act 1975. With the passage of the
Flood and Water Management Act 2010 the City of London was advised that all the dams on the heath would need to comply with the reservoir safety regulations. The proposed works in 2011 included recommendations to improve the water quality of the lake, which had suffered from algae blooms. The proposals for the pond dams were extensively modified in 2012–2014. The proposals were challenged by a consortium of groups and societies collectively called "Dam Nonsense". In 2016, the dam project was completed, protecting the dams from collapse and providing ecological benefits. When the model boating pond was dredged in the previous year, during the project, a vintage Ford Cortina was found. It became a local landmark and someone scaled the security fence to clamp it. Many locals now accept the changes to the dams, as wildlife begins to soften the border between the artificial and the natural in this area.
Caen Wood Towers To the north east of the heath is a derelict site within the conservation area comprising the grounds and mansion of the former
Caen Wood Towers (renamed Athlone House in 1972). This historic building, currently in disrepair, was built in 1872 for Edward Brooke, aniline dye manufacturer (architect,
Edward Salomons). In 1942 the building was taken for war service by the
Royal Air Force and was used to house the
RAF Intelligence School, although the 'official' line was that it was a convalescence hospital. The Operational Record (Form 540) of RAF Station Highgate (currently in the National Archives,
Kew) was declassified in the late 1990s and shows the true role of this building in wartime service. The building sustained 2 near misses from
V-1 flying bombs in late 1944, causing damage and injuries to staff. The RAF Intelligence School remained in Caen Wood Towers until 1948, when the building was handed over to the Ministry of Health. It was then used as a hospital and finally a post-operative recovery lodge, before falling into disrepair in the 1980s. The NHS sold off this part of their estate in 2004 to a private businessman who is currently redeveloping much of the site; however the House and its gardens fall within the conservation area of Hampstead Heath.
Parliament Hill Fields Parliament Hill Fields lies on the south and east of the heath. It officially became part of the heath in 1888. It contains various sporting facilities including an athletics track, tennis courts and
Parliament Hill Lido. Parliament Hill itself is considered by some to be the focal point of the heath, with the highest part of it known to some as "Kite Hill" due to its suitability for
kite flying. The hill is high and is notable for its excellent views of the London skyline. The skyscrapers of
Canary Wharf and the
City of London can be seen, along with
St Paul's Cathedral and other landmarks, all in one panorama, parts of which are
protected views. The main staff yards for the management of the heath are located at Parliament Hill Fields.
Kenwood The area to the north of the heath is the Kenwood Estate and House – a total area of which is maintained by
English Heritage. This became part of the heath when it was bequeathed to the nation by
Lord Iveagh on his death in 1927, and opened to the public in 1928. The original house dates from the early 17th century. The
orangery was added in about 1700.
Hampstead Heath Woods One third of the Kenwood estate (Ken Wood and North Wood) is a biological
Site of Special Scientific Interest, designated by
Natural England.
The Vale of Health '' by
John Constable, 1827 The Vale of Health is a
hamlet accessed by a lane from East Heath Road; it is surrounded entirely by the heath. In 1714, one Samuel Hatch, a harness maker, built a workshop and was granted some land. By 1720, he had a cottage at what was subsequently called ''Hatch's
or Hatchett's Bottom
. A new name, regarded as a deliberate attempt to change the image of a developing location, the Vale of Health'', was recorded in 1801.
Extension The Extension is an open space to the north-west of the main heath. It does not share the history of common and heathland of the rest of the heath. Instead it was created out of farmland, largely due to the efforts of
Henrietta Barnett who went on to found
Hampstead Garden Suburb. Its farmland origins can still be seen in the form of old field boundaries, hedgerows and trees.
The Hill Garden and Pergola The Hill Garden and Pergola lie to the west of
Inverforth House (formerly The Hill), and were laid out from 1906 by
Thomas Hayton Mawson as private gardens for
Lord Leverhulme. After neglect in recent decades the garden and pergola are in the care of the
City of London Corporation, are being restored, and are open to the public but locked at night. Several buildings within the garden are individually
listed at grade II* or grade II. Those at grade II* include: the summerhouse at the western end of the pergola, which has extensive views over Hampstead Heath towards
Harrow on the Hill; a summerhouse to the south of the garden; the southern
pergola and terrace; the Cruciform pergola; a bridge; the Central Temple summerhouse; and the western pergola. The structures listed at grade II are: the pond and its architectural surround; and the garden terrace steps.
Golders Hill Park Golders Hill Park is a formal park adjoining the West Heath. It occupies the site of a large house that was bombed during World War II. It has an expanse of grass, with a formal
flower garden, a
duck pond and a separate water garden that leads to a separate area for
deer, near a recently renovated small
zoo. The zoo has donkeys,
maras,
ring-tailed lemurs,
ring-tailed coatis,
white-cheeked turacos and
European eagle-owls, among other animals. There are also tennis courts, a butterfly house and a
putting green. Unlike most of the rest of the heath, Golders Hill Park is fenced in, and is closed at night. ==Site of Special Scientific Interest==