History
The Commons Local Nature Reserve is situated on the south eastern edge of Welwyn Garden City; its nearest landmark is the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital. It has three entrances, they can be found on Howlands, The Commons and Caponfield open space.
For anyone visiting the Commons with a love of the countryside it is quite a unique experience. The 15 hectares is set within the urban fringe landscape has a diverse mix of habitats including, fen, woodland, grassland and arable. The land that makes up the reserve was originally purchased by the Garden City Company in the 1940’s for the expansion of the new town from the Hatfield Park Estate. Its purpose then was to accommodate the expansion of the new town of Welwyn Garden City in post war Britain. However, the land was never used for building, most likely because of the wet nature of the landscape. The land eventually ended up in the hands of The Commission for New Towns.
The pastoral landscape of fields and hedgerows in 1940 had changed very little over the centuries; the boundaries of the reserve today are as they were in 1840. By researching the way the land has been used, which has involved looking at maps, documents, examining land features, such as wood-banks, old pollards, river terraces and looking at grassland composition we now have a greater understanding of how the Commons has evolved.
Commonswood Nature Watch was still in its infancy in 1994 after forming to work with the teachers of Commonswood School to bring wildlife closer to its children. The group expanded and was soon spreading its wings into the local environment and the land which is now the reserve. The 14 hectares was offered for disposal by The Commission for New Towns, the owners, in 1995 under their Invest in Success Scheme. The Council and local business offered £5000 for the land as part of a proposal that involved Commonswood Nature Watch and the school. Community involvement was the key to the unanimous acceptance by the Board of The Commission. The deeds where handed over to the Chairman of The Council at the time, the late Jack Lonergan, in Howlands Meadow, this was Jacks last official act before his retirement from public life.
