Gustardwood common is an area of

common land Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect Wood fuel, wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

just north of the village of

Wheathampstead Wheathampstead is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, north of St Albans. The population of the ward at the 2001 census was 6,058. Included within the parish is the small hamlet of Amwell. History Settlements in this area were ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The bulk of the common is now used by the Mid-Herts Golf Club, which was formed in 1892. The first 9-hole course on Gustardwood common was officially opened for play in February 1893. It is one of the earlier

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

s in England. Additional land was purchased by the club from an adjacent farm, but the holes on the common, which is also still used for picnicking, retain a certain unique character. The only other famous historical association of the common is a link, in some historical records, with the legend of the famous highwaywoman, the "Wicked Lady", generally believed (although only after her death) to have been

Lady Katherine Ferrers Katherine Ferrers (4 May 1634 – c. 13 June 1660) was an English gentlewoman and heiress. According to popular legend, she was also the "Wicked Lady", a highwaywoman who terrorised the English county of Hertfordshire before dying from gunsh ...

References

Parks and open spaces in Hertfordshire Golf clubs and courses in Hertfordshire {{England-golfcourse-stub