Sketches On Hampstead Heath: The Upper Pond

Sketches on Hampstead Heath [in nothwest London]: the Upper Pond, 1871. 'Visitors who have not been there of late years will be grieved and rather astonished when they see the cruel havoc which has been wrought in that which was formerly a picturesque bit of wild rustic scenery, where the eye could repose with pleasure. The whole space on the summit of the hill, both to the right and to the left of the high road which passes over it from Hampstead to Highgate, has been ruthlessly dug up for gravel or sand'. From "Illustrated London News", 1871. Creator: Unknown. (Photo by The Print Collector/Heritage Images via Getty Images)