Common Land is privately owned land with ‘Rights of Common’ over that land, most commonly to graze animals.
First enshrined in law in the Magna Carta in 1215, Common Land traditionally sustained the poorest people in rural communities who owned no land of their own, providing them with a source of wood, bracken for bedding and pasture for livestock. Over one-third of England’s moorland is common land.
At one time nearly half of the land in Britain was Common Land, but from the C16th onwards the gentry excluded Commoners from land which could be ‘improved’ through agriculture. That is why most Common Land is now found in areas with low agricultural potential, but areas which we know hold value for high conservation significance and natural beauty.
Common Land now accounts for 3% of England, but this includes large tracts of our most well-loved and ecologically rich landscapes including Dartmoor, the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and Shropshire Hills.
What is Commoning?
Commoning is an ancient land management practice that dates back to 1215, building on principles first set out in the Magna Carta.
It involves a group of farmers – from one or two to over 100 – having “commoners rights” to graze their animals (mostly sheep but also cattle, pigs, horses…and even ducks) on a shared piece of land – the common – without fences or boundaries between them.
The sheep don’t need fences, through flock memory passed down through the generations they stay on their patch of the common, known as a heaf or heft in northern England, and a lear in the south west.
The sheep belong on their heaf. The commoners belong on their family farms, and the commoners rights belong with the farm. The common itself belongs to a private individual or a charity or a utility company, or a combination of these. And the National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty where our commons sit are designated as ‘protected areas’ by and for the nation.
But the heritage of commons isn’t just about commoners and livestock, it’s about some of the UK’s most spectacular landscapes, its most valuable biodiversity, its geology and pre-history, and its history of settlement and industry. And beyond that it’s also about natural systems such as the water and carbon cycles, which shape and support our everyday lives locally, nationally and internationally.
Commoning Today
Today Commoners are economically dependent on government support payments though their value to history and landscape is not rewarded in livestock prices.
In order to deliver environmental goals Commoners often need to graze fewer animals. Beyond Brexit, current funding will be withdrawn and by 2024 they face the loss of half their support. Defra do not expect public payments for public benefits to be available to all farmers until 2028.
If Commoners leave the land, ancient knowledge will be lost, and the intricate equilibrium of these landscapes, ecosystems and breeds will break down irretrievably. In turn, a way of life, and a living part of our history, will be lost
Commons and Our Natural and Cultural Heritage
In the past commons were the backbone and the rock (literally) of our civilisation, and the turn of these quiet sentinels has come again.
We must protect them, for their intrinsic value but just as importantly, for what they can offer to people who may never visit them. This is heritage writ large; as commons provided for our ancestors so they can provide for our descendants, and once again we must work with our environment to shape and secure our future.
Commoners graze their livestock (sheep, cows, ponies) on Common Land. This use of land for pasture -without ploughing or planting -has protected landscapes for over 1,000 years. It has ensured the survival of thousands of ancient monuments and has enabled wildlife such as rare birds and butterflies to thrive, as grazing maintains the balance of the delicate upland ecosystems.
Commoning is also an ancient (though intangible) part of our history. Commoning families preserve traditions and practices upheld since the Magna Carta unchanged for centuries but recently enjoyed by so many via James Rebanks’ book ‘The Shepherd’s Life’.
Embracing an uncertain future for Commons: converting risk into opportunity
But the heritage of commons isn’t just about commoners and livestock, it’s about some of the UK’s most spectacular landscapes, its most valuable biodiversity, its geology and pre-history, and its history of settlement and industry.
And beyond that it’s also about natural systems such as the water and carbon cycles, which shape and support our everyday lives locally, nationally and internationally.
Centuries’ old farming practices on Commons are unexpectedly relevant to many of our 21st century challenges – physical and mental wellbeing, rural economic sustainability, food quality and security, flood management and climate change… However, these issues present challenges and risks for commons and commoning, but stakeholders in commons – owners, commoners and agencies – can work together to agree how to tackle them.
Working together as a ‘Coalition of the Willing’ is important, as commons have always been shared – and sometimes contested – spaces; relationships on some commons are comfortable and enabling whilst on others there is disagreement.
Commons encapsulate the many different aspects of decisions around land management – and agendas can be single issue – it can only be about nature, it must be about trees, save farming, abandon farming, my right to roam, the desire to fundraise for health and environmental causes can be detrimental to the very environment we seek to conserve.