Editing Clapham Common (section)

== The bandstand ==
In the centre of the park is a bandstand constructed in 1890. It is the largest bandstand in London and a Grade II [[listed building]]. For many years it was also erroneously thought to be one of the bandstands first erected in 1861 in the [[Royal Horticultural Society]]'s gardens in [[South Kensington]], which would have made it the oldest surviving cast iron bandstand in Europe. However, further research has shown that these bandstands went to [[Southwark Park]] and [[Peckham Rye]], and it appears that the Clapham bandstand was fabricated to a very similar design almost thirty years later.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1587372 | jstor=1587372 | title=The Royal Horticultural Society Bandstand Mystery: Or, What Happened to the First Cast-Iron Bandstands? | last1=Conway | first1=Hazel | journal=Garden History | date=2001 | volume=29 | issue=2 | pages=214–216 | doi=10.2307/1587372 | url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bandstands: Pavilions for music, entertainment and leisure |url=https://artsandculture.google.com/story/pAVh_mguwrE_Kg |website=Google Arts & Culture |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bandstand - Southwark Park |url=https://www.londonremembers.com/memorials/bandstand-southwark-park |website=London Remembers |language=en}}</ref>
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|Description = Clapham Common bandstand, a Grade II listed building, in 2023}}

The bandstand's maintenance had been neglected by Lambeth Council for thirty years, and by 2001 it was thought to be in danger of collapse and had to be shored up with scaffolding for five years. In 2005–2006, a full restoration of the bandstand and surrounding landscape took place, partly funded by an £895,000 lottery grant from the [[Heritage Lottery Fund]] matched by £300,000 from Lambeth Council and a further £100,000 from local fundraising efforts and the proceeds of the ''Ben and Jerry's Summer Sundae'' event held on the common.<ref name="CCMP" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Ben & Jerry's Sundae 2005 - eFestivals |url=https://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/benandjerry/2005 |website=www.efestivals.co.uk}}</ref> The drainage bund around the bandstand was restored with granite setts during the summer of 2011 at a cost of £12,000 to resolve design faults in the earlier works.<ref>[http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/83390CD7-8196-4264-BD5E-B3493BF95881/0/Ward_Purse_Committed_Projects_201011.pdf LB Lambeth Ward Purse committed projects] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120130015315/http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/83390CD7-8196-4264-BD5E-B3493BF95881/0/Ward_Purse_Committed_Projects_201011.pdf |date=30 January 2012 }}</ref>