English Heritage has chosen Coombe Conduit, of Coombe Lane West in the royal borough of Kingston,  for one of 100 meadows that will be created across the country to mark the coronation of King Charles III.

The charity is establishing flower-rich grasslands right across England, restoring those that have been lost, and enhancing those that already exist.

Coombe Conduit joins famous locations from Stonehenge to Salisbury Plain along with many castles, abbeys and palaces that will see the meadows created and nurtured over the next 10 years.

Since the 1930s and the advent of post-war modern farming practices, the UK has lost 97 per cent of its meadows.

Prior to this, much of England's grassland – from meadows, road verges and lawns - would have been home to a much more diverse flora than we have today.

English Heritage said the creation and enhancement of wildflower-rich grasslands across England will not only benefit nature, but healthy grasslands are proven to tackle pollution and permanently lock away atmospheric carbon below ground.

Kate Mavor, English Heritage's Chief Executive, said: "The King's coronation is a significant moment in history and we wanted to mark it in a meaningful way, in a way that combines two of His Majesty's passions – nature and heritage.

"We're creating more natural spaces at the heart of our historic properties, ensuring that wildflowers and wildlife can flourish there once again, and helping our visitors to step back into history and experience something with which the sites' historic occupants would have been familiar."

She added: "In a decade's time, our coronation pledge will be an inspiring legacy of established, restored and new meadows at 100 of our historic sites – big and small – right across England.

"We hope that it will encourage local communities to get involved and help transform their local heritage sites into flower-rich meadows, which, in turn, will improve the quality and diversity of other grassland in the local area."

English Heritage is partnering with Plantlife – Europe's largest charity dedicated to saving wild plants and fungi – on this initiative.

Plantlife will support English Heritage by providing resources and expertise, skills development training and knowledge exchange opportunities as the project progresses.

Ian Dunn, Plantlife's Chief Executive, said: "This new and exciting partnership offers a lifeline to a hundred key grassland sites and their associated wildlife, and focuses on a chapter of English natural history lost and all but forgotten.

"Together, we look forward to a future where England's best historic sites boast the highest quality grasslands, supporting a myriad of diverse meadow plants and wildlife. With so many of our grassland wild plant species facing severe risks, this insightful initiative is unquestionably a step in the right direction."

Coombe Conduit is one of Kingston's most important ancient monuments. It was built around 1540 as part of a system to collect fresh water from springs on Kingston Hill and channel it to the palace of Hampton Court.

In its atmospheric interior visitors can see crystal-clear water still flowing into lead-lined cisterns in two brick-walled chambers, which are connected by an 80ft underground passage.

The passage leading to the middle chamber (Credit: English Heritage)

The imposing entry to the Conduit is a chapel-like building in stone and brick, topped with crow-stepped gables.

If you wish to visit the site or find out the Conduit opening hours, visit the English Heritage website here.