Brill Common for the People

Bernwood Forest was disafforested because James I and Charles I needed money even more than they needed venison and so, after long and stormy investigation and debate, the area was divided and sold to wealthy landowners. But the humbler people of Brill were far from satisfied. Reports of the time tell of:

inhabitants out of a refractory disposition (pulling) down the said fences and gates

Eventually more adequate compensation was made to the people of Brill; 48 acres of land, now known as Brill Common, remained as common land to compensate the villagers for the loss of the rights that they enjoyed in the royal Forest.

One small sector of the South Hills area of Brill common is marked on old maps as 'Kissing Acre', kissing probably being a corruption of 'Christian'. Within this plot was Brill's old Pest House, a temporary structure where the diseased and demented were houses before they died.

Brill Common has not always been so attractive as it is today. At the height of the Brill brick industry, the area more resembled a muddy quarry. Later (and within living memory) the hills and hollows left by centuries of clay-digging were used by the villagers as repositories for household rubbish and the contents of privies.

Our Common today is enjoyed by walkers, picnickers, kite-fliers and nature lovers of all ages. People come from miles around to enjoy the wide views and bracing breezes, and local people treasure this pocket of open wildness. But modern-day management of the Common is not easy. Balancing the vulnerabilities of the environment and the wishes of visitors presents a constant challenge. The Common needs to be grazed by animals to prevent the encroachment of bracken and bush, yet fencing and cattle-grids are contentious and costly items.


	Brill Common for the People Bernwood Forest was disafforested because James I and Charles I needed money even more than they needed venison and so, after long and stormy investigation and debate, the area was divided and sold to wealthy landowners. But the humbler people of Brill were far from satisfied. Reports of the time tell of: inhabitants out of a refractory disposition (pulling) down the said fences and gates Eventually more adequate compensation was made to the people of Brill; 48 acres of land, now known as Brill Common, remained as common land to compensate the villagers for the loss of the rights that they enjoyed in the royal Forest. One small sector of the South Hills area of Brill common is marked on old maps as 'Kissing Acre', kissing probably being a corruption of 'Christian'. Within this plot was Brill's old Pest House, a temporary structure where the diseased and demented were houses before they died. Brill Common has not always been so attractive as it is today. At the height of the Brill brick industry, the area more resembled a muddy quarry. Later (and within living memory) the hills and hollows left by centuries of clay-digging were used by the villagers as repositories for household rubbish and the contents of privies. Our Common today is enjoyed by walkers, picnickers, kite-fliers and nature lovers of all ages. People come from miles around to enjoy the wide views and bracing breezes, and local people treasure this pocket of open wildness. But modern-day management of the Common is not easy. Balancing the vulnerabilities of the environment and the wishes of visitors presents a constant challenge. The Common needs to be grazed by animals to prevent the encroachment of bracken and bush, yet fencing and cattle-grids are contentious and costly items.