Please become a "Friend" of the Commons and help protect some of
South Oxfordshire’s Common Land.

Nettlebed and District Commons is the collective name for 227 hectares (560 acres) of Common Land in South Oxfordshire administered by Conservators appointed under the powers of "The Nettlebed and District Commons (Preservation) Act 1906." The Commons cover a wide and varied habitat including beautiful beech, birch and oak woods, heathland, grassland, clay pits, an ancient earthwork, an old well and miles of tracks and paths.

The Commons included are:

Nettlebed Common - Lower Common Wood  - Oxlands Bottom  -  Highmoor Common Wood
Witheridge Hill  - Peppard Common - Kingwood  Common

Since 1906, the Nettlebed and District Commons have been defined and protected by an Act of Parliament which also established the Commons Conservators.

The nine Conservators have the responsibility of managing the commons which includes preventing encroachment, and organising grass cutting, pond clearance, tree surgery and litter collection. More recently they have enlisted the help of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), to help manage parts of the Commons for wildlife.

In 1995 BBOWT prepared a management plan for the Commons detailing a range of nature conservation projects. Funding was obtained for ten years from the Countryside Stewardship scheme administered by the Department of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA). This money enables the Conservators and BBOWT to implement maintenance and improvement of the heathland on Nettlebed, Kingwood and Peppard Commons, the grassland on Nettlebed and Peppard Commons and the marshland on Nettlebed Common. Over the ten years, approximately 25 hectares (60 acres) will be managed as heathland.

Heathland is a rare and threatened habitat in Britain and especially in Oxfordshire. Much has been lost to housing and other development, forestry and through the abandonment of grazing. Management work is needed in order to keep the open heaths from becoming scrub and woodland which shade out the characteristic heather. The ideal management for heathlands is grazing. BBOWT and the Conservators are looking at how grazing could be re-instated on Kingwood and Peppard Commons. This would provide a more sustainable way of keeping parts of the Commons open in the future.

"The Friends of Nettlebed and District Commons" is open for all to join and has the objective of involving as many local residents as possible with the Common Land.

"Friends" are asked to pay a minimum annual subscription of £10, due on the 1st of April, and to help   where possible by:
- making donations to the Conservators
- taking part in conservation work
- being aware of day to day tidiness
- reporting any problems and
- acting as ambassadors for the Commons to the general public.

The Commons Conservators receive some money in the form of grants, but these do not cover all the costs. The Countryside Stewardship funding does not cover all the costs of the nature conservation projects and much of the work has been achieved by volunteers.

The Conservators and BBOWT would be delighted if you would give us your support by becoming a "Friend of the Commons". On joining, we will send you a specially produced 21 page booklet describing the Commons and their history. We will then send you regular newsletters and invite you to attend meetings and, if possible, help with work parties.
Please help us look after this wonderful legacy by filling in and returning the reply slip.
(please follow this link)