Barnes Common is a local nature reserve on common land in the south east of Barnes, London, England, adjoining Putney Lower Common to the east and bounded to the south by the Upper Richmond Road.[4] Along with Barnes Green, it is one of the largest zones of common land in London with 49.55 hectares (122.4 acres) of protected commons.[5] It is also a local nature reserve.[1] Facilities include a full-size football pitch and a nature trail.[1]
Singer and rock musician Marc Bolan died on the common on 16 September 1977 when the car carrying him as a passenger slammed into a tree,[6] at what is now Marc Bolan's Rock Shrine. He was found unconscious in the wreckage of the purple Mini, which, driven by his girlfriend, Gloria Jones, failed to navigate a small humpback bridge, near Gipsy Lane on Queens Ride, Barnes, south-west London, lost control and struck a steel-reinforced chain link fence post, and he was pronounced dead at the scene on the arrival of paramedics near the post located in the woods.[citation needed] Jones was critically injured but was conscious after the crash and survived.
Cricket match
In August 1736, the common hosted a cricket match between Surrey and London. This is the only time that a reference to the common is found in surviving cricket records.[7]
