Chobham Common - History

History

It is believed that, like other inland heaths, Chobham Common was created when early farmers cleared the primary woodland that once cloaked the country. This exposed and degraded the fragile soils that underlie the site, creating the conditions favoured by heathland. After the initial clearance the area would have been kept free of trees by grazing and fuel gathering. There is evidence that the area was occupied during the Neolithic period and the Bronze Age; analysis of peat cores from areas with similar geology and patterns of settlement elsewhere in southern Britain would suggest the heathland on Chobham Common was created at some time during these periods.

Chobham Common was used by the military during the 1920s and 1930s, and throughout the Second World War, when it was severely damaged by tanks.

Immediately after the Second World War, the southern part of the Common was ploughed and seeded with an annual grass to allow the natural vegetation to re-establish, while the area north of Staple Hill, which was not as heavily damaged, was allowed to recover naturally. By the 1950s, the Common was recovering well with large tracts of open heath. At this time the Common was heavily grazed by rabbits with little scrub and large areas of close cropped heather and gorse. Myxomatosis reached the area in 1955 and consequently the heather and gorse on Chobham Common grew on and scrub began to develop. By the 1960s scrub was starting to become a problem.