Local Wildlife Site

Wildlife

The Canons was named after the canons of the Augustinian priory of St Mary Overie at Southwark, to whom the site was given by the villagers of Mitcham in the 12th century. The Canons Pond was formerly the fish pond of the priory and predates the Dissolution of the Monasteries, as does the nearby dovecote. In the Middle Ages, the pond was divided into two 'stew' ponds for the breeding of carp. It was enlarged and deepened by Robert Cranmer in 1664. The pond is now located within the grounds of the Canons Leisure Centre. It is concrete lined and has an old stone wall around three-quarters of its circumference; the rest is an earth bank. In 1994 the Council restored the pond to some of its former quality by destocking it of fish and removing accumulated silt. The pond has a good diversity of water plants, including much Canadian waterweed (Elodea canadensis), hornwort (Ceratophyllum sp.), duckweed (Lemna sp.), broad-leaved pondweed (Potamogeton natans), sizeable patches of white water-lily (Nymphaea alba) and some water-crowfoot (Ranunculus sp.). Around the pond, where pockets of silt have been left, damp-loving plants such as yellow iris (Iris pseudacorus), celery-leaved buttercup (Ranunculus sceleratus), water mint (Mentha aquatica), galingale (Cyperus longus), water figwort (Scrophularia auriculata), soft-rush (Juncus effusus) and spiked sedge (Carex spicata) can be found. The pond supports amphibians, especially frogs, and an array of aquatic insects, including four species of dragonfly (broad-bodied chaser, emperor, and blue-tailed and common blue damselflies). On one side of the pond, the bank supports trees including ash (Fraxinus excelsior), elm (Ulmus sp.), sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), willow (Salix sp.), Italian alder (Alnus cordata) and birch (Betula sp.). The footpath around the pond is freely accessible when the Leisure Centre is open, and provides a pleasant access to nature for its users. A short walk takes in two other ponds, Cranmer Green and Three Kings. An interesting comparison can be made between them.