The common land and commoners of Ashdown Forest facts for kids

Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, England, is a huge natural area. It used to be a royal hunting forest, created after the Norman conquest of England. Today, it covers about 6,400 acres (which is like 9.5 square miles!).

Most of the forest's map we see today comes from 1693. Back then, more than half of the old medieval forest became private land. The rest was kept as "common land." This common land is now looked after by a group called the Board of Conservators. It's completely open for everyone to visit, and it's the biggest area like this in South East England.

What is Ashdown Forest's Common Land?

The common land in Ashdown Forest is made up of special areas. These areas are officially registered under a law from 1965. Only certain people, called "commoners," have special rights to use these lands in specific ways.

The Lord of the Manor of Duddleswell owns this common land. Since 1988, the Ashdown Forest Trust (which works with East Sussex County Council) has been in charge. Since 1885, a group called the Board of Conservators has protected and managed this common land.

The common land is spread out in many pieces across Ashdown Forest. This happened because of a big split in the forest in the late 1600s. Commissioners from the Duchy of Lancaster were brought in to solve a long argument about who could use the forest. This argument even led to a lawsuit against 133 commoners!

In 1693, the commissioners decided that over half of the 13,991 acres of the old forest would become private land. But they saved the remaining 6,400 acres as common land. Much of this common land was in smaller pieces around the edges of the forest, near towns and villages. Even though the Lord of the Manor still owned the land, their rights to use it were limited. For example, only commoners could let their animals graze there.

Today, the common land of Ashdown Forest is mostly the same land set aside in 1693. The public can visit these areas, but there are rules set by the Conservators. Some extra pieces of land have been added more recently by the Conservators. Sometimes, small changes happen, like when land is swapped because of military needs. To know exactly if a piece of land is common land, you often need to check detailed maps held by the Board of Conservators.

Understanding Rights of Common

A "right of common" is a special permission. It means one or more people can use or take something that naturally grows on someone else's land.

The rights of common in Ashdown Forest have changed over time. The ones that still exist today are controlled by the Conservators and have local rules. They include:

• Pasturage (or grazing rights): This is the right to let sheep, cattle, goats, geese, or "mill horses" (horses used for power) graze on the forest. The number and type of animals allowed depend on what was registered in 1965. Sheep only became part of these rights in the 1870s. Sadly, because of dangerous traffic and money problems, no animals have grazed on the open forest since sheep were removed in 1985.
• Estovers: Today, this means the right to cut birch, willow, or alder trees. This wood is for use in a commoner's "ancestral hearth" (their fireplace at home). This can only be done at certain times and in certain areas chosen by the Conservators. In the past, estovers included four different types of wood:
  • House-bote: Wood for repairing a house.
  • Fire-bote: Wood for fuel in the commoner's house.
  • Plough-bote: Wood for fixing farm tools.
  • Hay-bote: Wood for repairing fences around the commoner's land.
• Brakes and Litter: This is the right to cut brake (bracken fern) and heather. It also includes collecting "litter" (like leaves and twigs). The main reason for this was to use it as bedding for livestock in winter on the commoner's land.

Today, every commoner has some or all of these rights to different degrees. These rights are linked to the properties they own, not to the people themselves. How much a commoner could use their rights (like how many animals could graze or how much wood could be cut) depended, and still depends, on the size of their land. Most properties with common rights have the same rights, but some might be missing certain ones.

Some rights of common found in other English forests do not apply to Ashdown Forest. These include:

• Pannage: The right to let pigs graze in the forest. Pigs would eat acorns and beech nuts. This was once very important; in 1297, almost 2,700 pigs grazed the forest! But this right seems to have disappeared by about 1500. This might be because the large beech and oak woodlands were lost. This loss could be linked to the fast growth of the local iron industry from the late 1400s, which needed a lot of charcoal.
• Turbary: The right to cut turf or peat for fuel. This right was made illegal in 1885 when the first Ashdown Forest Act was passed. It was causing too much damage to the forest floor in the 1800s.
• Piscary: The right to fish in the lakes, ponds, or streams of the forest.
• Marling: The right to take soil or stone for use on the commoner's land.

Who are the Forest Commoners?

An Ashdown Forest commoner today is someone who has a specific right to use the registered common land of the Forest. These rights are connected to the land itself, not to people or houses. To become a commoner, a person must buy "commonable" land. If someone sells their commonable property, they stop being a commoner. If a commonable property is sold in smaller parts, the rights are divided based on the size of each part.

After the 1885 law that set up the current forest rules, all commoners must pay a "Forest Rate." This payment is based on the size of their commonable land. It helps pay for the Conservators to manage the forest. Commoners also get to choose five representatives to be on the Board of Conservators.

Over time, commonable properties were divided into smaller pieces. This greatly increased the number of commoners. However, commoners started using their rights less and less, especially after World War II. Commoners who had small farms around the forest found it hard to compete with cheaper food from other places. Many decided to stop their hard work and moved to jobs in nearby towns or retired. Some even sold their land to people looking for a nice country home.

In 1965, more than half of the 1,300 commoners did not register their rights under the new law. Perhaps they found the process too complicated or just didn't care. Because of this, they lost their common rights forever. Today, about 730 properties in and around Ashdown Forest still have common rights. But very few owners actually use them. Most commoners live near the forest, in villages, hamlets, or on small properties. However, some live much further away.

It's important to know that commoners, historically, were not always "common" people. They were simply people whose land had common rights attached to it. They could be poor tenants or landowners with small farms trying to make a living from the forest. But they could also be important local landowners with high social standing. For example, in the 1800s, a lawyer named Bernard Hale led the commoners in a famous legal fight against the Lord of the Manor. Other commoners supporting him included Sir Percy Maryon-Wilson, the Duke of Norfolk, and Lady Shelley.

How Commoning Shaped the Forest's Landscape

The heathland look of Ashdown Forest is largely thanks to the commoners over many centuries. Their activities helped shape and manage the forest. They grazed animals, cut trees for firewood, mowed bracken and other plants for animal bedding, and regularly burned some vegetation. All these actions were very important in stopping bushes and trees from growing too much. This helped keep the land open heathland.

Also, the commoners fought against the forest being enclosed (turned into private land) in the 1600s. This meant almost half of the original forest stayed as common land. In the 1800s, they again resisted attempts to limit their rights. This eventually led to the creation of the Board of Conservators. This group now manages the forest for everyone's benefit. So, it's mostly because of the commoners that the forest remains a large, beautiful, open heathland today. It's the biggest public access area in south-east England.

Unfortunately, commoning quickly declined after World War II. This had a big negative effect on the forest's landscape and nature. Without people's help, heathland gets old and woody, bracken spreads, and birch and other trees start to take over. From the late 1940s onwards, a lot of the forest's open heathland was lost to bushes and trees. This put many special and rare plants and animals that rely on heathland in danger. It also threatened the forest's famous open views, which are so well shown in Shepherd's Winnie-the-Pooh drawings. Because of this, the Board of Conservators has had to become much more active. They now work hard to fight the spread of bushes and trees and bring the heathland back to a healthy state.