Bromyard Downs
Bromyard Downs is an area of registered common land, and a scattered settlement, just outside the town of Bromyard in Herefordshire, England. The 114 hectares of downs rise to over 700 ft where a plateau dominates the escarpment overlooking the town. The downs are a combination of gorse and grassland, wood and coppice.
| Bromyard Downs | |
|---|---|
 looking north towards the crest of Bromyard Downs | |
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| Type | Common land |
| Location | north of the town |
| Nearest city | Bromyard |
| Coordinates | 52.196°N 2.489°W |
| Operated by | Herefordshire Council |
| Designation | AONB |
As of 2018 there were 88 registered commoners, some of whom with livestock grazing rights under the Commons Act 2006. Rights under the act include pasturage, estover and turbary.
History
It originated in the ancient past from a parcel of manorial waste ground that belonged to the feudal manor of Bromyard. The common has changed hands many times. The medieval period was one of prosperity for the tanners and clothiers of Bromyard, in a part of England where there were more sheep than people. Livestock used to graze on the downs, where people with common rights could share the grass. During the agricultural revolution its ownership was shared by various aristocratic owners, including from nearby Buckenhill Manor, and Brockhampton Court.
A feature on the common is the outline of an old disused horse racecourse that was created by soldiers and tenant farmers returning from the Napoleonic Wars.
During World War One Bromyard had an internment camp, and many housed there were Sinn Fein-IRA. The Second World War brought preparative measures for any possible German invasion, allowing the Mercian Marquis to construct underground bunkers in the dense forest.
Leisure
The downs play host to a clutch of voluntary and community groups. There is a caravan club which occupies a field on the downs.[1] The last remaining pub on the downs, The Royal Oak is a 'black and white' half-timbered house dating back at least 300 years.[2]