View source for Chobham Common

{{Short description|Location near Chobham, Surrey, of a British tank research centre}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox SSSI
|image      = Chobham Common - geograph.org.uk - 158274.jpg
|name       = Chobham Common
|aos        = Surrey
|interest   = Biological
|gridref    = {{gbmappingsmall|SU 973 647}}<ref name=dsv/>
|area       = {{convert|655.7|ha|acre|abbr=off}}<ref name=dsv/>
|notifydate = 1993<ref name=dsv/>
|map        = [https://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271004332%27  ''Magic Map''] 
}}
'''Chobham Common''' is a {{convert| 655.7 |ha|acre|abbr=off|adj=on}} biological [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] north of [[Chobham]] in [[Surrey]].<ref name=dsv>{{cite web|url=  https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteDetail.aspx?SiteCode=S1004332&SiteName=&countyCode=41&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |title=Designated Sites View: Chobham Common | series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|access-date = 5 November 2018}}</ref><ref name=map>{{cite web|url= https://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271004332%27|title=Map of Chobham Common|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|access-date=  5 November 2018}}</ref>  It is a [[Nature Conservation Review]] site, Grade I<ref>{{cite book|editor-first=Derek |editor-last=Ratcliffe  |title=A Nature Conservation Review|volume=2 |page=119 |publisher= Cambridge University Press|location =Cambridge, UK  |year=1977|isbn= 0521-21403-3 }}</ref> and a [[national nature reserve (United Kingdom)|national nature reserve]].<ref>{{cite web|url=  https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteGeneralDetail.aspx?SiteCode=1006037&SiteName=chobham&countyCode=&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |title=Designated Sites View: Chobham Common  | series= National Nature Reserves|publisher=Natural England|access-date = 5 November 2018}}</ref> It is part of the Thames Basin Heaths [[Special Protection Area]]<ref>{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteGeneralDetail.aspx?SiteCode=UK9012141&SiteName=&countyCode=41&responsiblePerson=&unitId=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea=  |title=  Designated Sites View: Thames Basin Heaths | series= Special Protection Areas |publisher=Natural England|access-date =2 November 2018}}</ref> and the Thursley, Ash, Pirbright and Chobham [[Special Area of Conservation]].<ref>{{cite web|url=  https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteGeneralDetail.aspx?SiteCode=UK0012793&SiteName=&countyCode=41&responsiblePerson=&unitId=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |title=Designated Sites View: the Thursley, Ash, Pirbright and Chobham | series= Special Areas of Conservation|publisher=Natural England|access-date = 2 November 2018}}</ref> It contains three [[scheduled monument]]s.<ref>{{NHLE|num= 1005951 |desc=Earthwork NW of Childown Farm on Chobham Common  |access-date= 25   October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{NHLE|num=  1294242|desc= Memorial Cross, Chobham Common | access-date= 5   November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{NHLE|num= 1005950 |desc= 'Bee Garden' earthwork on Albury Bottom | access-date=5 November 2018}}</ref> Most of the site is managed by the [[Surrey Wildlife Trust]] as the Chobham Common nature reserve,<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.surreywildlifetrust.org/nature-reserves/chobham-common  |title=  Chobham Common  |publisher= Surrey Wildlife Trust |access-date=   5 November 2018}}</ref>  but the SSSI also includes a small private reserve managed by the Trust, [[Gracious Pond]].<ref>{{cite web|url=  https://www.surreywildlifetrust.org/nature-reserves/gracious-pond |title=   Gracious Pond |publisher= Surrey Wildlife Trust |access-date= 5 November 2018}}</ref>

==Animals==
* 26 species of [[mammal]] have been recorded on the site including the nationally rare [[European water vole|water vole]].
* 116 species of [[bird]] have been recorded. The Common is a nationally important breeding area for [[European nightjar]], [[woodlark]] and [[Dartford warbler]].
* 9 species of reptiles and amphibians have been recorded, including adders and the nationally rare [[sand lizard]].
* The Common is nationally important for its invertebrate fauna being the best site in the UK for [[spiders]], [[hymenoptera]] (bees wasp and ants) and [[ladybird]]s – it is one of the last two sites on the mainland UK for the red barbed ant ''[[Formica rufibarbis]]''.
* 23 species of [[dragonfly]]
* 33 species of [[butterfly]] including large colonies of the rare [[silver studded blue]] have been recorded.

==Plants==
* 390 species of [[Vascular tissue|vascular]] [[plant]]
* A good assemblages of [[bryophytes]], [[lichen]]s and [[fungi]] have been recorded.
** Of most note are the marsh club moss (''[[Lycopodiella inundata]]'') and Deptford pink (''[[Dianthus armeria]]'')
* A good assemblages of [[wetland]] species including sundews (''[[Drosera]]'') and marsh gentian (''[[Gentiana pneumonanthe]]''), and of heathland [[road verge]] species.

==History==
[[Peat]] and [[tumuli]] at the site suggest that, like other non-mountainous heaths, Chobham Common was transformed from to mostly shrubs, grass and bog when late [[Paleolithic Europe|Paleolithic]] [[farmer]]s and wood-gatherers cleared much of the primary [[woodland]] that before their arrival cloaked the country.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England |num=1008887 |desc=Bowl barrow 150m north-west of Pipers Green Stud |access-date=11 October 2013}}</ref> This exposed and degraded the fragile topsoils of 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. The specific earliest periods of occupation were the [[Neolithic period]] and the [[Bronze Age]]; analysis of peat cores from areas with similar [[geology]] and patterns of settlement elsewhere in southern [[Great Britain|Britain]] would suggest the [[heathland]] on Chobham Common emerged at some time during these periods.

An [[enclosure|inclosure award]] was made by Parliament in 1855 of part to the [[Arthur Onslow, 3rd Earl of Onslow|Earl of Onslow]] outright, the rest, for example, in 1911 comprising "several thousand acres of [[common land]]" was uninclosed but associated with his land, at which time [[Chobham]] remained a large parish (i.e. village or town) in southern England, covering {{convert|9057|acres}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42998 |title=Parishes: Chobham |editor-first=H. E. |editor-last=Malden |publisher=Institute of Historical Research |year=1911 |work=A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 3 |access-date=11 October 2013}}</ref>

In addition to the Great Camp of 1853, the common also hosted the Battle of Chobham Common in September 1871, as part of the Autumn Manoeuvres of that year.<ref name="Man's influence on Chobham Common">{{cite web |last1=Webster |first1=Graham |title=Man's influence on Chobham Common |url=https://chobhamcommon.wordpress.com/ |access-date=8 July 2015}}</ref>  During the First World War, trenching exercises were held in August 1915 in advance of Kitchener's Third Army's mobilisation in France.<ref name="Man's influence on Chobham Common"/>

[[File:Lake at Chobham Common - geograph.org.uk - 158276.jpg|thumb|Lake at Chobham Common]]

Chobham Common was used by the military during the 1920s and 1930s, and throughout the [[Second World War]].  Captured enemy tanks were also tested in the common as was equipment to detonate land mines using flails and probably caused the significant damage that lead to reseeding.<ref name="Man's influence on Chobham Common"/>

Immediately after the [[Second World War]], the southern part was [[plough]]ed 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, plants and associated small animals were recovering well. At this time the common was heavily grazed by [[rabbit]]s with little [[scrubland|scrub]] and large areas of close-cropped [[Calluna|heather]] and [[gorse]]. [[Myxomatosis]] reached the area in 1955 and consequently the heather and [[gorse]] on Chobham Common grew and scrub began to develop. By the 1960s scrub including [[Blackberry|brambles]] was starting to become a problem.  [[Surrey County Council]] purchased the slightly reduced area comprising the common from [[William Onslow, 6th Earl of Onslow]] for £1 per acre by in 1966.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.surreyheath.gov.uk/leisure/ParksandRecreationAreas/chobhamcommon.htm |title=Chobham Common |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061231070307/http://www.surreyheath.gov.uk/leisure/ParksandRecreationAreas/chobhamcommon.htm |archivedate=2006-12-31 |publisher=Surrey Heath Borough Council}}</ref>

===Monuments===
* There are three [[scheduled monument]]s on Chobham Common: a [[Bronze Age]] [[tumulus|barrow]], and two [[Earthworks (engineering)|earthworks]] of unknown date and origin known as "The Beegardens".
* [[Queen Victoria]] reviewed troops encamped on the Common, including the Light Brigade (famous from the "[[Charge of the Light Brigade]]"), before their departure to the [[Crimea]] during the [[Crimean War]] in 1853. The Victoria Monument erected on the site in 1901 commemorates this review.

==Maintenance==
The survival of Chobham Common as an extensive area of lowland [[Heath (habitat)|heath]] is largely due to the historic isolation of the [[Chobham, Surrey|Chobham]] area where traditional [[heathland]] management continued until the early twentieth century. While [[turbary]] (turf cutting) was still practised on a small scale at the beginning of the twentieth century it had ceased to be an important factor in the management of the Common by that time. Rough [[grazing]] and the cutting of [[Calluna|heather]], [[gorse]] and small [[tree]]s began to decline after 1914 and had almost completely ended by the time of the [[Second World War]]. Photographic evidence and verbal reports indicate that during the early part of the twentieth century large tracts of ''[[Calluna vulgaris]]'' (heather) with extensive areas of wet [[Heath (habitat)|heath]] and open [[bog]] dominated the Common. There was little scrub and the only [[trees]] of any great size were at the Clump on Staple Hill and the Lone Pine to the south of the Beegarden.

===Management===
In 1984, [[Surrey County Council]] produced the first management plan for Chobham Common which acknowledged invading scrub, [[fire]] and [[erosion]] as the main threats to the site. The Surrey Trust for Nature Conservation (now renamed the [[Surrey Wildlife Trust]]) had carried out small-scale scrub clearance work from 1974 onwards and [[Surrey County Council]] began clearing scrub on the Common from the 1970s onwards; however despite their best efforts the scrub continued to advance. While describing [[birch]] and [[pine]] invasion on the Common as ''“Possibly the most serious problem for nature conservation”'' the 1984 Management Plan states, ''“Widespread invasion control is difficult to justify financially. Intervention management will therefore be limited to the more significant open habitats and places where an acceptable level of tree cover can be maintained at low cost”''.

From the late 1980s, a more aggressive approach to scrub management was adopted together with more active conservation management starting with the large scale annual events for schools and volunteers such as ''“Purge the Pine”'' and ''“Free Christmas Tree”'' events. While these events, which involved over 1,500 volunteers in some years, dramatically reduced the threat to the Common from [[pine]] invasion, [[birch]] remained a major threat to the site.

The 1992 Management Plan took a much more positive approach to [[Habitat conservation|conservation]] management of Chobham Common. In the same year the site was proposed as a [[national nature reserve (United Kingdom)|national nature reserve]] (NNR) and a substantial grant covering a ten-year period was awarded to [[Surrey County Council]] under the [[Countryside Stewardship Scheme]] for the management of 280 hectares of the Common. The scheme was extended to cover the whole [[national nature reserve (United Kingdom)|NNR]] for a further ten years in October 2002. At the time of writing at least seventeen hectares of scrub management takes place each year together with at least twenty hectares of [[habitat conservation|conservation]] mowing, and [[bracken]] control. Bare ground creation and [[Calluna|heather]] cutting, and [[pond]], scrape and pool creation are also carried out to enhance [[bio-diversity]]. The restoration of [[Habitat conservation|conservation]] grazing on Chobham Common is seen as a priority by site managers.

==Fire==
[[Fire]]s occurred fairly regularly during the 1950s and 1960s and the whole of Chobham Common was seriously damaged by major fires in the early and mid-1970s which caused the loss of the smooth [[snake]] (''[[Coronella austriaca]]'') and [[sand lizard]] from the site and allowed extensive areas of [[Purple Moor Grass|purple moor grass]] and [[bracken]] to establish. Since 1976, a network of fire tracks and [[firebreak]]s has been created and progressively upgraded. Since 1990 [[Park ranger|ranger]]s and volunteers have [[fire]] watched during periods of high risk and in 2006 the [[Park ranger|ranger]]s were equipped with a fire fighting system. These measures together with close liaison with the Surrey Fire Service have served to reduce both the frequency and scale of fires on the site.

The major utilities that cross Chobham Common were constructed during the 1950s and early 1960s. The [[M3 motorway (Great Britain)|M3 motorway]] was completed in 1974 cutting the site in half. Some attempts were made at mitigation work at the time, but with hindsight they were both inappropriate and inadequate and large blocks of [[gorse]] (Ulex europeaus) developed in the zone of disturbance on either side of the [[motorway]] creating further fragmentation of the site and causing serious fire risks. Following serious fires in 2001 and 2002 the Department for Transport provided funding for clearance of the [[gorse]] in the zone of disturbance and this area is mown annually to suppress any [[gorse]] regrowth.

Strong summer heat can occur to dry out the long grass, shrubs and trees of acidic [[heath]] soil. When a fire breaks out, [[Surrey Fire and Rescue Service]] (in the case of the major May 2010 fire attracting rubbernecking, [[Surrey Police]] and Hampshire Fire and Rescue assisted) extinguish it in a range of vehicles and teams.

In August 2020, a fire on the common spread to the [[golf]] course at the [[Wentworth Club]] causing the abandonment of the final event of the [[Rose Ladies Series]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.skysports.com/golf/news/12176/12044904/wentworth-fire-rose-ladies-series-grand-final-cancelled |title=Wentworth Fire: Rose Ladies Series Grand Final cancelled |date=8 August 2020 |website=Sky Sports}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationalclubgolfer.com/news/justin-rose-ladies-series/ |title=Hull wins Rose Ladies Series after Grand Final cancelled due to wildfire |date=8 August 2020 |website=National Club Golfer |first=Alex |last=Perry}}</ref>

==Erosion mitigation==
The first [[car park]]s on Chobham Common were created in 1936 at Staple Hill and south of the Monument. After the [[Second World War]], the recreational use of the Common grew dramatically. This recreational use developed in an ad-hoc manner with walkers and horse riders creating tracks then abandoning them for new routes as they gullied and became impassable, causing wide scale [[erosion]] of the site.

It is also reported that during the 1950s and 1960s visitors regularly took vehicles onto Chobham Common further adding to the problem. An aerial photograph dated 1964 clearly shows severe [[erosion]] problems on Tank Hill and Staple Hill. By the time [[Surrey County Council]] acquired Chobham Common in 1968 there were nine car parks on the area covered by this plan. Initially the Council wished to develop a country park but these plans were soon dropped in favour of informal recreation and nature conservation.

[[Erosion]] and disturbance continued to be serious problems through the 1970s and 1980s. While attempts to restrict [[horse riding]] proved unsuccessful, by the late 1980s both walkers and riders were showing a marked preference for the growing network of high quality fire tracks.

In 1992, a consultative process began to resolve long running conflicts of interest between horse riders and other users, and to rationalise the [[Right-of-way (transportation)|rights of way]] networks in order to meet the needs of visitors while protecting sensitive habitats and [[species]]. Following a [[public enquiry]] in 1996 the present network of [[Right-of-way (transportation)|rights of way]] and agreed horse rides which incorporates the fire track network was installed. Since then there have been few serious [[erosion]] problems and disturbance has been greatly reduced.

==Rail access==
*[[Longcross railway station]]
Very limited service at this station. Alternatives are Virginia Water and Sunningdale.

==Access==
Chobham Common is open to the public, has six [[car park]]s, an extensive network of [[Trail|footpaths]], [[bridleway]]s, other tracks and three self-guided trails.

==References==
<references/>

{{commons category|Chobham Common}}

==External links==
* [http://www.surreywildlifetrust.org/reserves/chobham-common Chobham Common] (Surrey Wildlife Trust)
* [http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/designatedareas/nnr/1006037.aspx Chobham Common NNR] (Natural England)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110726072628/http://www.surreywildlifetrust.org/files/chobhammngtplan.pdf Chobham Common NNR Draft Management Plan 2007 – 2012]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110726072708/http://www.surreywildlifetrust.org/files/chobhamreport.pdf Chobham Common report on public consultations and recommendations for future management]
* [http://www.secret-bases.co.uk/eye-spy-uk-secrets3.htm Article on DSTL/QinetiQ Chertsey and Longcross Test Track (Chobham Tank Research Centre)]
* [https://chobhamcommon.wordpress.com/ Man's influence on Chobham Common, June 2015]
* [https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1004332.pdf Chobham Common SSSI citation, Natural England]

{{coord|  51.373|-0.604   |type:landmark_region:GB-BNE|display=title}}
{{SSSIs Surrey }}
{{Surrey Wildlife Trust }}
{{Surrey Heath}}

[[Category:National nature reserves in England]]
[[Category:Nature Conservation Review sites]]
[[Category:Special Protection Areas in England]]
[[Category:Special Areas of Conservation in England]]
[[Category:Surrey Wildlife Trust]]