Commons, Greens and Allotments Archives Index DEFRA, HLRO and The National Archives February 2007 Contents Introductory Note Introductory Note .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Website Details .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Main Index Contents of Main Index ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 County Listings ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 General References Royal Commission on Common Land: County Returns, Visits & Report ..................................................................................................................................................... 93 Commons Registration Act 1965: Returns and Related Files .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 97 General Surveys, Lists, Reports and Memoranda ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 99 Appendix 1. Details of TNA Record Series Details of Record Series referenced in the Main Index ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 101 Appendix 2. TNA Series Listings MAF 1 Enclosure and Regulation of Common Land .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 109 MAF 2 Enclosure Acts: Awards and Orders .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 132 MAF 4 Schemes of Regulation: Metropolitan Commons ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 139 MAF 30 Schemes of Regulation: Commons outwith the Metropolitan area .................................................................................................................................... 140 MAF 3 Deeds of Declaration and Orders of Limitation ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 147 BD 1 Orders of Limitation (Wales) .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................152 BD 3 Schemes of Regulation (Wales) ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 153 Appendix 3. DEFRA Pink Slips File: Case Schedules Metropolitan Commons Acts 1866–98: Schemes of Regulation ............................................................................................................................................................................... 155 Commons Act 1899: Schemes of Regulation ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 156 Law of Property Act 1925: s193 Deeds of Declaration ............................................................................................................................................................................................................175 Law of Property Act 1925: s193 Orders of Limitation ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 184 Commons Act 1876: Provisional Order Confirmation Acts .................................................................................................................................................................................................188 Commons Act 1908: Ministerial Orders ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................189 Introductory Note This index is intended as a finding-aid for anyone seeking information on a specific area of land that is, or is thought to be, a common, green or other statutory open space. It covers records held by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA); The National Archives (TNA); and the House of Lords Records Office (HLRO). For the most part, these concern the actions, since the mid-C19 th , of the public authorities and public agencies, and of private owners, under the legislation affecting common land. The scope of the records, then, is limited. They do, however, constitute a relatively inclusive catalogue of the administrative activities of central government for the period concerned. Main Index The main index [pp 3–92] is arranged alphabetically, by county. It lists the names of specific sites (commons, greens, allotments, open spaces…) and references them to the records described above. Where the status of a site is not known, the name of the location (e.g. parish or township) is given. The county order reflects that of the DEFRA ‘Pink Slips’ file (see overleaf). All ‘DEFRA’ references are to this file. The ‘FCP’ references are to the ‘Forest and Commons Papers’ of the Open Spaces Society, which are held at the House of Lords Record Office. All other references are to records held by The National Archives at Kew. Details of the relevant TNA Record Series are to be found in Appendix 1 [pp 101–08]. Full listings of some of the more important Series are included in Appendix 2 [pp 109–54]; with corresponding schedules for the DEFRA ‘Pink Slips’ File in Appendix 3 [pp 155–89]. General References This section [pp 93–100] covers groups of records that may contain information on specific sites, together with one or two individual records of interest. The most important of the record-groups are (a) the files of the Royal Commission on Common Land; and (b) those of the Open Spaces Society on the registration work undertaken by its members for the 1965 Commons Registration Act. Copies of the County Surveys/Returns to the Royal Commission are to be found in both the OSS Papers at HLRO (FCP/2/605– 56) and in TNA Series MAF 96 (MAF 96/197–238). From the dates, it is the OSS files that are the more comprehensive. However, they are missing the Returns for Hampshire, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire and Surrey. The gaps are filled by MAF 96. The two sets of records are therefore indexed together in a combined list [p 93]. MAF 96 also includes the files produced by the Royal Commission in its ‘field visits’ to various parts of the country [p 94]. These may well contain valuable information on specific sites. Internet Access The index was compiled from on-line sources. Initially, this would probably be the easiest way to obtain further information on particular records or record-groups. Details of the relevant Websites are provided overleaf. The ‘Pink Slips’ file may be downloaded from the DEFRA Website or searched on-line. The other Websites provide dedicated search facilities. Each has its own idiosyncrasies. So it is probably best to start from the Home Page. Commons Act 2006 Schedule 2 of the Commons Act 2006 provides for the ‘reregistration’ of certain areas of land that were provisionally but not finally registered under the 1965 Act; and for the registration of ‘missed’ commons that are clearly recognised as such in law. The present index was produced with these provisions in mind. Many other records will be of interest in