Shrubhill Common is a 9.8 hectare Local Nature Reserve in

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a new ...

in Hertfordshire,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was Dacorum's first Local Nature reserve, its LNR status being declared on 10 October 1995. and it is still owned and managed by

Dacorum Borough Council The Borough of Dacorum is a local government district in Hertfordshire, England that includes the towns of Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted, Tring and Kings Langley. The district, which was formed in 1974, had a population of 137,799 in 2001. Its ...

. The site is

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, or to cut turf for fuel. A person who has a ...

, and it is part of the Chilterns

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of ...

. The common is woodland and scrub, together with two fields which are chalk grassland. Previously horse grazed, the site is now maintained by mowing. There are over 100 species of wild flowers, and herbs such as

marjoram Marjoram (; ''Origanum majorana'') is a cold-sensitive perennial herb or undershrub with sweet pine and citrus flavours. In some Middle Eastern countries, marjoram is synonymous with oregano, and there the names sweet marjoram and knotted marj ...

and

basil Basil (, ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' , also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also k ...

. In 2014 23 species of butterfly were recorded, including marbled whites. On 26 May 2023, it was recorded over 10 species of butterfly. There is access from Shrub Hill Road.

References

{{coord, 51.7539, -0.502 , type:landmark_region:GB-BNE, display=title Local Nature Reserves in Hertfordshire Hemel Hempstead Common land in England