A Pasture in Common: A Twentieth-Century Environmental History of Ewyas Harold Common (Herefordshire)

Abstract

This paper examines the decline in the use of one Herefordshire common and how this is reflected in changes in the common's ecology. Direct field observation and biological evidence have been combined with oral histories and documentary sources, particularly the records of the Commoners Association and the National Farmers Union Branch Records, photographs, and maps in reconstructing these changes. The paper explores how the common has been recursively valued as its diminished productive use has been accompanied with increased recognition, although without formal designation, of its importance as a refuge for wildlife and as an amenity resource. These changes, however, present challenges for the traditional structures for the governance of the common as, in post-war years, the number of active graziers has declined and the community of commoners has become increasingly gentrified.