Selborne Common is a biological

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

west of Selborne in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. It is a

Nature Conservation Review ''A Nature Conservation Review'' is a two-volume work by Derek Ratcliffe, published by Cambridge University Press in 1977. It set out to identify the most important places for nature conservation in Great Britain. It is often known by the initi ...

site, Grade I, and is part of the East Hampshire Hangers

Special Area of Conservation A special area of conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

. It is managed by the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

Topography

The Common occupies the crown of Selborne Hill, an easterly guardian of the Hampshire Downs. The highest part has an elevation of above sea level. The southerly and westerly flanks slope away gently; on the other sides the contours are steeper. The steepest slope of all, with a maximum gradient of about 50%, overlooks the village and is called "Selborne Hanger". To the west of this is Coneycroft Hill, which in places is almost as precipitous. Between Selborne Hanger and Coneycroft Hill is a deep dell.

Geology

The soil on the Common consists of

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

with

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

s, overlying the

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...

of which the South Downs are made. The watercourses are underground and discharge into the Oakhanger Stream, flowing north-eastwards, and the Caker Stream, flowing northwards. Both ultimately join the

River Wey The River Wey is a main tributary of the River Thames in south east England. Its two branches, one of which rises near Alton, Hampshire, Alton in Hampshire and the other in West Sussex to the south of Haslemere, join at Tilford in Surrey. Onc ...

Flora

The steepest slopes are clad in ancient beechwood (''Fagus sylvatica''): a "hanger", in East Hampshire, is just such a beechwood. The plateau is occupied by more beechwood, mixed with other broad-leaved species such as English oak (''Quercus robur''), ash (''Fraxinus excelsior'') and hawthorn (''Crataegus monogyna''), and in places is scrubby. A small part of the plateau comprises open grassland with scattered

gorse ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are na ...

(''Ulex europaeus'') and stands of

bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family (biology), family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that undergo alternation of generations, having both large plants that produce spores and small ...

(''Pteridium aquilinum''). Other, smaller areas of chalk grassland have recently been recreated elsewhere. The Common is noted for its wild flowers, with thriving communities of

yellow archangel ''Lamiastrum galeobdolon'', the yellow archangel, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family (biology), family Lamiaceae. It is native to Europe and western Asia but it is widely introduced in North America and elsewhere. It is the only s ...

(''Galeobdolon luteum''), wood spurge (''Euphorbia amygdaloides'') and wood anemone (''Anemone nemorosa''). Spurge-laurel (''Daphne laureola'') is sparsely but widely distributed. The Common is also home to such interesting species as

stinking hellebore ''Helleborus foetidus'', known variously as stinking hellebore , dungwort, setterwort and bear's foot, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to the mountainous regions of Central and Southern Europe and As ...

(''Helleborus foetidus''), green hellebore (''H. viridis'' ssp. ''occidentalis''), bird's nest orchid (''Neottia nidus-avis''), violet helleborine (''Epipactis purpurata''), the extreme rarity ''E.'' x ''schulzei'' (first British record here, 1931), and green-flowered helleborine (''E. phyllanthes'').

Fauna

Various rare molluscs and insects have been recorded. Butterflies on the Common include the

Duke of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy () was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by the Crown lands of France, French crown in 1477, and later by members of the House of Habsburg, including Holy Roman E ...

(''Hamearis lucina''), silver-washed fritillary (''Argynnis paphia'') and purple emperor (''Apatura iris''). The avifauna includes most of the species typical of broad-leaved woodland in southern England, such as

sparrowhawk Sparrowhawk (sometimes sparrow hawk) may refer to several species of small hawk in the subfamily Accipitrinae The Accipitrinae are the Family (biology), subfamily of the Accipitridae often known as the "true" hawks. The subfamily contains 73 s ...

(''Accipter nisus''), stock dove (''Columba oenas''),

tawny owl The tawny owl (''Strix aluco''), also called the brown owl, is a stocky, medium-sized owl in the family Strigidae. It is commonly found in woodlands across Europe, as well as western Siberia, and has seven recognized subspecies. The tawny owl' ...

(''Strix aluco''), European green woodpecker (''Picus viridis''), great spotted woodpecker (''Dendrocopos major''),

garden warbler The garden warbler (''Sylvia borin'') is a common and widespread small bird that breeds in most of Europe and in the Palearctic to western Siberia. It is a plain, long-winged and long-tailed typical warbler with brown upperparts and dull white ...

(''Sylvia borin''),

blackcap The Eurasian blackcap (''Sylvia atricapilla'') is a bird usually known simply as the blackcap. It is a common and widespread typical warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences across the five subspec ...

(''S. atricapilla''), chiffchaff (''Phylloscopus collybita''), spotted flycatcher (''Muscicapa striata''), marsh tit (''Parus palustris''),

nuthatch The nuthatches () constitute a genus, ''Sitta'', of small passerine birds belonging to the family Sittidae. Characterised by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet, nuthatches advertise their territory using loud, simple songs. Mo ...

(''Sitta europaea''), treecreeper (''Certhia familiaris'') and jay (''Garrulus glandarius''). Buzzards (''Buteo buteo'') regularly hunt over the tree canopy.

Hobby A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing other ...

(''Falco subbuteo''),

woodcock The woodcocks are a group of seven or eight very similar living species of sandpipers in the genus ''Scolopax''. The genus name is Latin for a snipe or woodcock, and until around 1800 was used to refer to a variety of waders. The English name ...

(''Scolopax rusticola''), common firecrest (''Regulus ignicapillus'') and brambling (''Fringilla montifringilla'') are occasional visitors. Selborne Common is a reliable place to find the wood warbler (''Phylloscopus sibilatrix''). Roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus'') and

dormouse A dormouse is a rodent of the family Gliridae (this family is also variously called Myoxidae or Muscardinidae by different taxonomists). Dormice are nocturnal animals found in Africa, Asia, and Europe. They are named for their long, dormant hibe ...

(''Muscardinus avellanarius'') are resident mammals.

History and management

From the prehistoric or Romano-British period there is evidence of a field system, which may have been re-used during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. The Common has not been ploughed since then. Earthworks on the western boundary have tentatively been dated to the mid thirteenth century, when Newton Park was emparked. An earth bank, running across the Common, has been dated to around 1750 and was probably used to protect

coppice Coppicing is the traditional method in woodland management of cutting down a tree to a tree stump, stump, which in many species encourages new Shoot (botany), shoots to grow from the stump or roots, thus ultimately regrowing the tree. A forest ...

woodland from grazing animals. During the eighteenth century, the

lord of the manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

felled beeches on the Common. Local people exercised their common rights to graze cattle and sheep and to collect firewood, activities which continued into the 1950s. In mediaeval times the nearby Selborne Priory was lord of the manor of Selborne; the manor subsequently passed to

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

, which donated it to the

in 1932. Cattle have recently been reintroduced in an attempt to reconstruct the ancient, flower-rich, wood-pasture habitat which commoning produced and which has almost disappeared from England. A dew pond, Wood Pond, is situated near the western boundary.

Gilbert White

Selborne Common is internationally famous for its association with the eighteenth-century naturalist,

Gilbert White Gilbert White (18 July 1720 – 26 June 1793) was a "parson-naturalist", a pioneering English naturalist, ecologist, and ornithologist. He is best known for his '' Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne''. Life White was born on 18 Jul ...

Access

The Common is freely accessible to all, subject to the National Trust's byelaws. It is best approached from Selborne, via the (steep) Zig-Zag or Bostal paths (car park behind the Selborne Arms public house, Ordnance Survey reference ). A more level track leads to the Common from Newton Valence; footpaths join it also from the south-east and north-west. After rain and especially in winter, some paths can become very muddy. Selborne Common is on the Hangers Way.

References

Bibliography

*Brewis, Anne, et al. (1996) ''The Flora of Hampshire''. Harley Books,
Summary of the archaeology by Chris Webb, Property ManagerThe Common Lands of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight: A Biological Survey
{{SSSIs Hampshire National Trust properties in Hampshire Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Hampshire Geography of Hampshire Nature Conservation Review sites Special Areas of Conservation in England