Your Common Needs You! Please help ensure the effective future management of Epsom Common. Please visit www.greenstat.org.uk and tell us what you think about how Epsom Common is being managed today. Just follow the online instructions and please choose the Parks and Open Spaces Questionnaire. Thank you for your help.

Access

Epsom Common Local Nature Reserve is situated in the Southern half of the Borough. There are many access points to the site. By car, the main access point is the Stew Ponds car park off Christ Church Road.

The site is accessible by pedestrians from the following locations:

• Wells Road near the crossroads
• Castle Road
• Wheelers Lane
• Churchside
• Bramble Walk
• Bracken Path
• Woodcock Corner (via Ashtead Common); and
• Via the link from Ashtead Common, near Ashtead Common Pond.

The site can be accessed by cyclists and horse riders from:

• Stew Ponds car park
• Christ Church Road opposite the bridleway running alongside West Park Hospital
• Wells Road near the crossroads
• Woodcock Corner (via Ashtead Common); and
• Via the link from Ashtead Common, near Ashtead Common Pond.

View a map and tour of Epsom Common Local Nature Reserve. 

The Reserve is open all year round. The paths and tracks on the site are for pedestrians, horse riders and cyclists only. Please remember, when visiting the countryside, to act responsibly and show consideration for wildlife and other visitors. Dog walkers are welcome on the site but are reminded to keep their dogs under close control and that it is an offence to allow a dog to foul any open space. Please put all dog faeces in a bag and place it in a dog waste bin or litter bin. For more information about responsible access to the countryside, please look at the countryside access website.

Public access is managed by maintaining a large network of paths and rides. The system is based on the circular hard surfaced 'All Weather Track' which follows the perimeter of the main part of the Common (4.8 Km). Within the 'All Weather Track' there is a network of very wide grass 'Summer Horse Rides' and many smaller paths. The 'Summer Horse Rides' are closed during the winter to prevent them being cut up by horses' hooves.

If you are a cyclist or horse rider, please read our leaflet 'Common Sense Horse Riding and Cycling on Epsom Common LNR'. You can request your free copy via Customer Services on 01372 732000.

How to get to Epsom Common LNR:

BY TRAIN: From Epsom or West Ewell Stations.
BY BUS: There are regular bus services from Epsom to Christ Church Road.

Activities

Activities available on Epsom Common Local Nature Reserve are Walking, Cycling, Running, Horse Riding, Dog Walking, Nature Watching, Fishing (Stew Pond only), Football (Webb's Folly Only), Guided Walks and volunteering (Tel 01372 732000 and ask to speak to a member of the Countryside Team or email contactus@epsom-ewell.gov.uk). Please note that there is a risk of coming in to contact with ticks on Epsom Common and we recommend that you check yourself, children and pets after each visit, especially over the spring and summer periods. Ticks can carry a disease called Lymes Disease which requires medical treatment. For information on ticks, how to remove them and Lymes Disease please visit the NHS Direct website.

Facilities

The Reserve is 436 acres in size. The site is managed to allow good public access whilst maintaining and improving its biological diversity. The site has a range of distinctive habitats hosting an abundance of wildlife. For those wishing to explore on foot, by bicycle or by horse, Epsom Common is a wild and wonderful site.

History

The recorded history of Epsom Common goes back to Saxon times, when England was a feudal agricultural society. The people of a small village like Epsom were under the control of the Lord of the Manor. Epsom Common, like other commons, was the land belonging to the Lord of the Manor which was not under cultivation. The Lord and certain local people with commoners' rights made use of the Common or 'Waste' for a range of uses. The Lord would usually have exclusive rights for timber and to hunt and fish, whilst the Commoners would have rights to graze animals and collect fire wood.

At this time, Epsom Common was owned by the Abbey Of Chertsey, making the Abbot of Chertsey the Lord of the Manor. Although long gone, the monks left their mark by constructing a huge fish pond which is still with us today and known as 'The Great Pond', shown below (please note, fishing is not permitted on this pond today).

So far as we know, very little of note happened to the Common during the Medieval period. In the sixteenth century the Abbey of Chertsey succumbed to Henry VIII and the dissolution of the monasteries, with the Common passing into the ownership of a new Lord of the Manor of Epsom.

At the start of the seventeenth century, a period of change started which brings us to the present day. In the drought of 1618 a local cowherd called Henry Wicker discovered a spring on the common from which his cows would not drink. On investigating, he found that the water was a strong aperient and the news soon travelled about the common's cure for constipation!!

Epsom Well

So began a 100 year period where Epsom became one of the best known Spa towns in England. There is much debate as to why Epsom lost its position as a leading Spa Town, however by the 1740s the bottling of water and making of salts had ceased and by the 1780s the buildings surrounding the well had been demolished and the site became 'Old Well Farm' in 1812.

At the end of the eighteenth century, the rise of horse racing and the world famous Derby race in June led to the loss of Epsom Downs from the Common and the boundaries we have today.

During the nineteenth century, the Common was threatened by housing development and was saved by a public enquiry and the increasing popularity of the Common for picnicking made easier by the rise of the railways. This serves to show that local people have valued their Common for fresh air and exercise for a very long time!

In 1935 the Council purchased the Common and still own the site today. During the Twentieth Century, the Common landscape has seen a huge change as a consequence of the enormous change to local peoples' daily lives. The local people living around the Common no longer own cattle, goats or pigs and the Common has changed from a largely open grazed landscape into a largely wooded landscape.

Today the Council manages the Common for nature conservation whilst still allowing good public access. The nature conservation value of Epsom Common is recognised by Natural England, the Government's wildlife advisor, who designated the Common as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in the 1950s and in 2001 the Common was also designated a Local Nature Reserve (the largest in Surrey). In recent years cattle have been reintroduced to help control scrub encroachment.

Link to more information about grazing

If you would like to learn more about the history of Epsom Common there are other excellent sources of information, the most comprehensive of which is a booklet produced by the Epsom Common Association. The booklet is called 'Epsom Common' (Local Guide No. 5), published by 'Living History Publications', and is available at local libraries and through local book shops.

The Council also provides an annual history walk taking you on a three hour walk around the site. To check the date of this walk, please view our Events Calendar.

Leaflets

There are currently two leaflets about Epsom Common Local Nature Reserve. The leaflets are available from the Information Centre at Horton Country Park, the Town Hall and can be requested via the Customer Services on 01372 732000.

• The general site leaflet 'Epsom Common Local Nature Reserve', showing paths and giving information on the wildlife and history of the site
• 'Common Sense Horse riding and Cycling', giving information about safely accessing the site.

In addition there is also the aforementioned comprehensive booklet produced by the Epsom Common Association. The booklet is called 'Epsom Common' (Local Guide No. 5), published by 'Living History Publications' and is available at local libraries and through local book shops.

Links

The Epsom Common Association also maintain a web site giving information on Epsom Common and can be accessed through the following link: www.epsomcommon.org.uk.

Management Plan

Nature conservation and public access on Epsom Common Local Nature Reserve are managed via a ten year management plan which commenced during 2005. The plan has been published in agreement with Natural England who guide the Council's management of the site for nature conservation. To view the plan please click on the link below.

Epsom Common Local Nature Reserve Management Plan (pdf - 2.11mb)

Projects

Epsom Common's Grazing project has been the central focus of the site's management for almost a decade. Historically, local people exercised their Commoners' rights to graze animals on the Common and therefore the site was a much more open habitat than it has been in recent years. As woodland and scrub has encroached on the Common, much of the wildlife associated with open habitat, such as the sky lark, has been lost. Since 1997 the Council has been seeking to reverse this decline in diversity by clearing some of this encroaching vegetation and reintroducing grazing.

Volunteers & Community Groups

For many years Epsom Common has benefited greatly from the efforts of local volunteers.

Epsom Common Association
The Epsom Common Association was formed in 1974 by Mr T Dowman and other residents living on the Wells Estate next to the Common. The Association formed because of a perception that the wild nature of the Common was threatened. The Association managed to persuade the Council to improve access by creating the all-weather circular horse ride and to protect verges. The shining achievement of the Association was the restoration in 1980 of the medieval 'Great Pond' which was drained over a century previously. The restoration of the 'Great Pond' is a great example of what local people can achieve.

Volunteers from the ECA restoring Great Pond

Today the Association is still thriving. In recent years a volunteer work party, the ECOVOLS, has been formed to carry out nature conservation tasks and the Association continues to work closely with the Council. If you would like to find out more about the Epsom Common Association, please contact its Chairman, Vic Hayden, on 01372 812399 or log onto www.epsomcommon.org.uk.

Lower Mole Countryside Management project
The Lower Mole Countryside Management Project has been working on Epsom Common for many years carrying out work to improve public access and for nature conservation. In recent years, the project has assisted in the reintroduction of grazing to help control scrub and encouraging the rejuvenation of the remaining heather areas. To find out more about the project and their work to reintroduce grazing, contact them on 01372 743783 or visit their website at www.countryside-management.org.uk

NESCOT College
We are also very grateful for the assistance of students from NESCOT who visit the Common regularly to carry out nature conservation tasks such as woodland thinning, ride management and scrub clearance.

Wildlife

Epsom Common Local Nature Reserve is a nationally important wildlife site and is designated as a 'Site of Special Scientific Interest' (SSSI). The Common's status as a SSSI is due to a range of rare insects associated with dead wood and as its importance as breeding bird habitat. In 2001, Epsom Common also became a Local Nature Reserve, adding to the Common's protection. The starting point for anyone wishing to study the Commons wildlife is to know its geology. Epsom Common lies on a very thick layer of London Clay, unlike the nearby chalklands of Epsom and Walton Downs.

Today the Council manages the Common to allow good public access, whilst at the same time maintaining and improving the ecological diversity of the site. The Common has a range of distinctive habitats from mature ancient Oak woods, to developing Birch and Oak woods, to Hawthorn Scrub, to grazed open acid grassland with Heather and finally a variety of wetlands.

Ancient Oak Pollards on Epsom Common

There are many species of trees plants which provide habitats for a range of mammal, bird and insect species. The Common holds many wildlife treasures, such as Common Spotted and Southern Marsh Orchids, Purple Emperor butterflies; the list is long and each time you visit you're sure to see something different. Look out for Roe deer in the meadows and Heron on 'Great Pond'.



By maintaining the varied nature of the habitats on Epsom Common it is hoped it will remain, as it always has, rich in wildlife and a peaceful place of relaxation for local residents.