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Historic England (HE) has offered an introduction to the history of England’s Village Greens.
HE writes:
… The idea of a quintessential village green is a neat grassy area, probably surrounded by old cottages, where fetes and village activities take place. A duck pond, a pub, and an ancient church might be nearby. A war memorial and benches under trees where people can watch the world go by…
Although many village greens across the country may fit this description, the reality is far more diverse. Village greens can also be a tiny scrap of land, such as ponds or wildlife havens. They can be vast open spaces that are covered in scrub or woodland. They can also be found in towns and cities, and are not always green. However, all village greens have one thing in common. They are all places where lawful recreation has traditionally taken place by a significant number of local people, as of right and without challenge or permission, for at least 20 years. It is believed there are around 3,650 village greens in England that are formally registered and therefore protected from development. Most are in the south and east. It is thought that many hundreds more are unregistered. Here, we look at the fascinating and occasionally turbulent history of England’s village greens.
The origins of village greens
Many village greens in England originated in the early Middle Ages (from around the 5th to the 10th century), although some may have been earlier. A number had unplanned origins, formed when changes to agriculture meant scattered ancient communities gradually developed into villages, expanding into the fringes of existing small commons where cattle, sheep, pigs, and horses traditionally grazed. These often became village greens by default. In the later Middle Ages, some greens were planned and incorporated when new villages were laid out for resettling populations. Greens were locations for markets and fairs or when there was a need to tightly group local housing for fortification purposes, preventing livestock theft and providing security at night during times of unrest.
During the 17th to 19th centuries, several Acts of Parliament enclosed open fields and common land, restricting use to legal owners. With millions of hectares of land lost to the public, village greens became increasingly important for amenity, recreation and grazing. There was no formal recognition of village greens until the Commons Registration Act of 1965. With this Act, over 3,000 greens that fulfilled the 20-year rule were legally registered with unitary authorities and county councils, gaining protection from development. In 2006, a new Commons Act introduced new procedures for registering greens. These new laws make registering before any planning issues arise even more important. An average of 10 village greens a year over the last decade have been registered, but many hundreds remain unregistered. In 2000, the number of village greens increased through an innovative scheme that saw 245 celebratory Millennium Greens established in cities, towns and villages throughout the country, managed by local trusts and volunteers. The village green in Little Shelford, Cambridgeshire, is thought to be one of the smallest in the country and was created by popular local vote in 2015.
What are village greens used for?
Although most village greens originally would have been used mainly for markets, commerce and the grazing of livestock and horses, other uses gradually emerged, including sports. The oldest sporting feature on a village green that still exists today is the quintain in Offham, Kent. It would probably have been used by medieval and Tudor knights for jousting practice. Another early use was archery. King Henry VIII decreed that all males aged 7 to 60 should own bows and arrows, with local communities required to provide shooting butts for practice. Today, the law approves using village greens for ‘lawful sports and pastimes,’ a phrase qualifying almost any form of recreation.
For centuries, markets and fairs have been a feature of village greens. The custom continues today in the form of local fetes, often offering the nostalgia of tug-of-war, dog shows, homemade cakes and jams, and vegetable competitions, all raising money for local causes. Spacious village greens are also sometimes used as for funfairs and circuses. Celebrations of all kinds on village greens are generally recognised, from maypole and Morris dancing to fireworks displays, carnivals, music festivals, and carol singing. Many village greens host local cricket matches. Others have football pitches marked out. Village greens with war memorials are also used for the annual remembrance of local members of the community who died in past conflicts.
Law and order
Over the centuries, some village greens have been sites for uprisings and unrest, symbolising the struggle of those seeking better pay and working conditions. Village greens were used as meeting places during the Peasants’ Revolt in 1381. This ultimately defeated the popular movement against serfdom and the poll tax, led by Wat Tyler, started in Essex and Kent and ended in London. One of the most celebrated and notorious village greens associated with dissent was Tolpuddle, where, in 1834, local farm labourers lawfully gathered under the village sycamore tree to discuss the possibility of forming a trade union. Their meeting was heavily suppressed, with 6 workers later sentenced to deportation to Australia. A huge public demonstration and petition to release these ‘Tolpuddle Martyrs’ resulted in full pardons 2 years later.
Crime and punishment
As well as being protest sites, village greens could be places of public punishment. Stocks (where local offenders were held sitting, imprisoned by their feet) and pillories (where culprits stood upright with their head and arms secured in a wooden frame) had been used for over 1,000 years. Offenders were often mocked and pelted with eggs, rotten fruit, and vegetables by locals. Pillories were only abolished in 1837, while stocks continued to be used until the latter part of the 19th century.
Protecting village greens
Many groups help to protect and preserve village greens, parks and green spaces across England. The Open Spaces Society has been supporting local groups with the registration of village greens for decades. Other examples include the charity Fields In Trust, established in 1925, which works to protect parks and green spaces. Local preservation societies such as Oxford Preservation Trust also conserve green open spaces, as well as historic buildings.
In 2006, New Haven Town Council in East Sussex attempted to register its West Beach as a village green. It was turned down on appeal by the Supreme Court, which accepted the argument from the owners (the port authority) that the traditional public use of the tidal beach with no defined boundaries had not been ‘as of right’ but by implied licence. Several unregistered greens across the country still face threats to their existence, including development such as housing and road building. However, in 2024, local people in Havering, East London, succeeded in registering (and therefore protecting) their village green from future development.
