Greenham & Crookham Commons Register of common rights

Greenham and Crookham Commons exist as common land, and commoners' rights on them exist, only because they were registered under the Commons Registration Act of 1965.


The registration process

The registration authority was Berkshire County Council. Landowners and other parties (e.g. commoners) could submit areas of land to be registered as common land, and could submit rights (e.g. to take turf or to graze animals) to be registered as rights of common. Those claiming rights had to submit a map showing the property which they owned or occupied and which the rights derived from.

Our commons were registered as several distinct common land units:

Multiple registrations

Most properties claiming rights over Greenham Common made very similar, or identical, register entries for CL13, CL14 and CL55. But this does not mean that rights are added together - for example if a property has a right to turn out five goats in CL13, CL14 and CL55, the total right is still only for five, not fifteen.

Crookham and Greenham Commons adjoin, and there is no fence separating them. Registered rights to graze animals are therefore regarded as applying to both commons. So a commoner with grazing rights on any of the CL units can allow their animals to roam the entire area. Commoners with rights to take wood, gravel etc. may also exercise the rights over both commons, although certain activities such as gravel digging may be restricted to particular locations.

Notes on rights

No commercial use

No right other than that to graze animals may be used commercially. Rights to take (for example) gravel, gorse or firewood are for use by the registered property only, not to take quantities to sell or give away.

Wood

With few exceptions, the right to take wood (typically for fuel or fence repairs) refers only to dead wood. It does not generally mean the right to cut living branches or cut down trees.

Grazing rights

There is wide variation in grazing rights, from one animal up to fifty-four. The reason is that traditionally, the number of grazing rights would depend on how many animals each commoner could over-winter on their own land. Records of the Greenham and Crookham Courts Leet suggest that the accepted figure was one horse or cow for each 1.5 acres (0.61 ha).

Rights not attached to properties

In most cases the rights still belong with the property and are exercisable by the occupier. There are a few properties for which this is not the case, with the rights being owned "in gross" meaning they are now exercised by a person who does not own or occupy the property.

Transcription and enhancement of register entries

The table below is based on a transcription from the handwritten register documents, by the Legal Department at West Bekshire Council. Postcodes were not used in the original registration process, and most registrations were made by house name rather than number. Modern-day postcodes and some numbers have been added subsequently.

Registration maps for (most of) the properties registered in 1968 can be viewed using the links in the table below. Properties are listed alphabetically by name, using the current expression if it differs from the one used in the 1960s.

Map image quality - not our fault!

The map images are scans, of photocopies, of black-and-white photocopies, of the originals, which would have been black-and-white base maps with a coloured border hand-drawn around around the property. These now show as a thick black outline.

Limitation of grazing rights

To reduce over-grazing, the Commission can set limits on the number of animals
to be grazed on the commons at certain times each year. Limits for 2025 are...

Cattle:

Jan - Apr: 0 cattle

May: Maximum of 50 adult cattle

Jun: Maximum of 100 adult cattle

Jul - Dec: No limit other than the maxima registered for each property

Other animals:

No limit other than the maxima registered for each property



The list below includes links to each property's map and a summary of its rights. You can narrow down a search for a particular property using the search box, to look for a particular string of letters in the property names.

Righted property address (updated 2018 09 04 from web searches)Grid ref: Follow link to view mapRights Held in grossGrazing rights textMax animalsMax cattleMax equinesMax sheep/
goats
Max pigsMax poultryWoodTurfPeatSandGravelGorse / furzeBushesBrackenEdible nutsLeaf mouldGrassPiscary
Aldern Bridge Farm
RG20 4HQ
49070 63797Nothirty cattle and two horses32302YYYYY
Alders, Bishops Green
RG20 4HT
(50012 63583)Noone pony or goat111YYYY
Alderwood House, Basingstoke Road
RG19 8HW
50553 63968NoYYYY
Beech Cottage, 78 Bury's Bank Road
RG19 8DD
50891 64955NoYY
Beechwood Cottage, 80 Bury's Bank Road
RG19 8DD
50924 64980NoYYYY
Beggars Roost, Crookham Common Road
RG19 8EG
54101 64252NoYY
Brackenhurst, Basingstoke Road
RG14 7HQ
48900 64229NoYYYY
Broad View, 5 Bury's Bank Road
RG19 8SL
48371 65332Notwo horses, ponies or goats222YY
Brookwood, Bishops Green
RG20 4HT
49666 63653NoYY
Brushwood, Thornford Road
RG19 8EL
51477 64110YesYY
Bunker Farm, Basingstoke Road, Newbury
RG14 7HQ
rights formerly of Sandleford PlaceNo (now attached to Bunker Farm)five cattle, or horses or donkeys555
Chapel Farm or The Vicarage, New Road, Greenham
RG19 8RZ
48608 65680Nosix cattle or horses666YY
Combe House, Crookham Common Road
RG19 8BP
52642 64857NoYYYY
Comptonwood, Crookham Common,
RG19 8EL
52322 64130NoYY
Cootes, Thornford Road
RG19 8EL
51040 64062NoYY
Crookham House, Crookham Hill
RG19 8DG
Now multiple properties
52525 64850NoYY
Earlswood, 19 Bury's Bank Road
RG19 8BY
49178 65185NoYY
Elizabeth Cottage, Thornford Road
RG19 8EL
51230 63926Notwo sheep or two goats22YY
English Mink Farm, Crookham Common Road
RG19 8DG
52711 64698Notwo horses or two pigs or two cows2222YYYY
Foxhold Farm, Thornford Road,
RG19 8EL
51398 64029Notwenty cattle2020YY
Goldfinch Hollow, Basingstoke Road
RG19 8HW
50695 64198Notwo horses22YYY
Gorse Cottage, Basingstoke Road
RG19 8HW
50629 63730NoYY
Green Cottage, 60 Bury's Bank Road
RG19 8DD
50713 64950NoYY
Greenham Croft, Bishops Green
RG20 4HT
49738 63646Noeight horses and two cows1028Y
Harwood House, Basingstoke Road,
RG19 8HR
50165 63680Notwo ponies and two goats422YY
Heads Hill Cottage, Heads Hill
RG19 8EW
50893 64069NoYY
Heathgate, Pinchington Lane
RG19 8SR
48230 65242NoYYY
Highgate House, 54 Bury's Bank Road
RG19 8DB
50565 64983Notwo goats and one horse312YY
Hillcrest, Heads Hill
RG19 8EW
50751 64140NoYY
Holly Tree Cottage, 44 Bury's Bank Road
RG19 8DB
50314 65149Notwo goats, one cow and one horse4112YYY
Hollybush Cottage, Crookham Common52053 64375Notwo pigs22YY
Hornbeam 15 Bury's Bank Road
RG19 8BY
49114 65191NoYYYY
Limberlost Farm, Crookham Common Road
RG19 8DH
53517 64937NoYY
Little Foxhold, Thornford Road
RG19 8EL
51163 63910NoYY
Lodge Farm (Newbury Riding School)47523 64872Yes10 ponies and 10 cattle101010YY
Long Cottage, Heads Hill
RG19 8EW
50767 64113Noone pony or cow111YY
Loxley, Old Thornford Road
RG19 8EU
51937 64101NoYY
Martindale Farm, Basingstoke Road
RG19 8HW
50685 63845Noup to twelve cows1212YYYY
Mostyn, 6 Bury's Bank Road
RG19 8SL
48464 65363Notwo cows or horses, and one goat3221YY
Newbury & Crookham Golf Club, 33-35 Bury's Bank Road
RG19 8BZ
49546 65303NoY
Oak Cottage, 46 Bury's Bank Road
RG19 8DB
50460 65111Nothree horses and two goats532YYYYYYYY
Oak Cottage, 46 Bury's Bank Road
RG19 8DB
(50460 65111)NoYY
Oak Perridge, Thornford Road
RG19 8EN
51678 63951Noone cow, one goat, two ducks and two geese6114YY
Old Thatched Lodge, 92 Bury's Bank Road,
RG19 8DD
51160 65038NoYY
Orchard House, Heads Hill
RG19 8EW
50924 63936NoYY
Periwinkle Cottage, Basingstoke Road
RG19 8HR
50196 63735NoYYY
Phare Views, Bishops Green
RG20 4HT
49616 63699No 2 cattle or 2 horses or 4 sheep or 4 goats4224YY
Pinchington Lodge, Pinchington Lane
RG19 8SR
48171 65103Notwenty-seven horses and twenty-seven goats542727YYY
Reades Cottage, Heads Hill
RG19 8EW
50851 63918NoYYY
Ridley Cottage/Woodlands Cottage, Basingstoke Road
RG19 8HR
50370 63573NoYY
Sandleford Place, Newtown Road
RG20 9AY
47573 64000Notwenty four cattle or horses or donkeys24 19
( 5 sold off )
1919YYYY
Silver Trees, 7 Bury's Bank Road
RG19 8SL
48485 65369Notwo cows or horses222YY
Spring Cottage, Heads Hill
RG19 8EW
50901 64151NoYY
St. Gabriels School, Sandleford Priory, Newtown Road
RG20 9BD
47702 64510NoYYYYY
Thatched Cottage, Crookham Common Road
RG19 8BR
52993 64538Notwo ponies and two cattle422YY
The Briars, 18 Bury's Bank Road
RG19 8BY
49159 65179NoYY
The Bungalow, Aldern Bridge
RG20 4HQ
49101 63802Notwo horses22YYYYY
The Cottage, GreenhamNow multiple properties
48159 65345Nosix horses or six cattle666YYY
The Larches, Basingstoke Road
RG19 8HW
50438 64112Notwo horses22YYYY
The Malthouse, Crookham Common Road
RG19 8EE
54336 64319NoYY
Thornford Cottage, Thornford Road
RG19 8EN
51826 63975NoYY
Well Green, Pinchington Lane
RG19 8SR
48199 65231Noone horse or pony11YYYY
Wellmoor, 31 Bury's Bank Road, Newbury
RG19 8BZ
49327 65104NoYYYY
Westcombe, 58 Bury's Bank Road
RG19 8DD
50670 64934Notwo goats or two sheep22YY
White Lodge, Bishops Green
RG20 4HS
50090 63501NoYY
Wild Hedges, 66 Bury's Bank Road
RG19 8DD
50752 64947NoYY