Castle Woods - Oxleas Woodlands, Shooters Hill, London, UK - Flora and Fauna Information Signs on Waymarking.com

The information board contains both a map and background description of the area. It also shows sketches of some of the flora and fauna to be found. The description reads:

Oxleas Woodlands
Oxleas Meadow
Welcome to Oxleas Woodlands, one of the last remaining ancient woodlands in London. The 8,000 year old Oxleas Wood was designated as a Site of Special Interest in 1984 in recognition of the importance of the thousands of species of plants and animals which have lived here since the last ice age.

The site of the car park was once a water treatment works to soften the water fed to the Royal Herbert Hospital. The hospital was demolished in the 1920s. Further along the path is Severndroog Castle which was erected in 1784 as a memorial to Sir William James Bart by his wife for his efforts to protect the Malabar Coast from pirates in 1713.

Over the years, Oxleas has produced wood for fuel and building materials for homes and ships. Wild animals, fruits and herbs have provided food and medicines and woodland clearings were used for grazing stock. 'Oxleas' derives from the Saxon word meaning 'pasture for oxen'. The woodlands form part of the Green Chain Walk, which runs from Thamesmead, the Thames Barrier and Erith though to Crystal Palace Park.

The castle has been used for various survey works, because it stands at such a high point. In 1797, Ramsden's 36° theodolite was installed when England and France were "mapped" trigonometrically. The castle was used again in 1848 when the Royal Engineers carried out a survey of London. It was also used as a lookout post during World War II.

In 1847 the Castle was under threat from a proposal to build a 10,000 catacomb cemetery in terraces on the site. The Rose Garden here is built on the original site of Castlewood House which was built in the 1870s and demolished in the 1920s.

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