Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
by1876perceptionshadchangedandtheCommonsActofthatyearputtheemphasisonregulationrather
than enclosure. In terms of the conservation of common land one of the most important pieces of legisla-
tionisSection194oftheLawofPropertyAct1925.ThisappliestoalltheGowercommonsandprohibits
a number of actions unless the prior consent of the Welsh Assembly Government has been obtained. The
Act has helped protect commons across Britain from the erection of buildings, the construction of car
parks and other similar proposals. Fencing is often permitted to contain animals so long as adequate pub-
licaccessisallowed.TheNationalTrustActof1907setoutthattheTrustshouldkeepallthecommonsit
owns 'unenclosed and unbuilt on as open spaces for the recreation and enjoyment of the public', and the
commons that it owns are therefore accessible in their entirety.
Another key piece of legislation is the Commons Registration Act 1965, which required that all com-
monlandormanorialwasteshouldberegisteredwiththeCountyCouncils,whichweredesignatedasRe-
gistration Authorities. People claiming ownership of land and those who grazed it or claimed other rights
hadtoregistertheirclaims.Anumberofsmallareasofcommonlandhavebeenlostasaresultofthis:for
example, Gabriel Powell's survey of 1764 refers to 16 acres of common land on Worms Head, which is
not on the current register. To qualify for grazing rights on the Gower commons a farmer had to own land
adjoining or adjacent to the common and for every 1.5 acres (0.6 hectares) of farmland they were entitled
toclaimgrazingonthecommonforonecow,oronehorse,orfivesheep.Thetotalfixednumberandtype
ofanimalsthateachcommonerisentitledtograzeisknownastheir'stint'.Noonecouldhaveanticipated
how complex the registration process would be. Hearings to decide claims on the Gower commons have
still not been completed, 34 years after the passing of the Regulations in 1971, and they are probably the
last areas of common land in Britain to be registered. There is a great difference, however, between legal
and actual grazing levels, with the number of animals present at any one time being much lower than the
legal number (Fig. 113). Commons do, however, accumulate astonishing numbers of rights.
As described in Chapter 4, from the Norman period onwards all land was presumed to be manorial,
that is situated in a manor, this being the principal social, agricultural and economic unit. Some land was
cultivated solely for the benefit of the lord and was known as his 'demesne' land. All of the common
land of Gower was included in either a demesne manor or a mesne manor, the latter being manors held
by vassals of the lord. Land not suitable, or needed, for cultivation was considered as 'manorial waste',
and people gradually acquired by custom certain rights in relation to this waste. Even as late as the mid
nineteenth century, when the tithe commissioners surveyed Llangennith parish, the large hill and dune
commons were still described in the tithe award as 'Lord's Waste'. The prevention and control of en-
croachments on common or manorial land was an important matter for the steward of the Lordship of
Gower.FromtheearlymedievalperiodonwardsthecommonsprovidedavaluableresourcefortheLord's
tenants, providing additional grazing, as well as economic benefits such as the right to cut gorse for feed
and bracken for bedding, to remove turf and to quarry stone. The manorial tenants themselves fiercely
guarded the area over which their common rights could be exercised, and their successors continue to do
so today.
