Common land

Common land (a common) is land owned collectively by a number of persons, or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel.A person who has a right in, or over, common land jointly with another or others is called a commoner.This article deals mainly with common land in England, Wales and Scotland, where the extent is much reduced due to enclosure of commons from the millions of acres that existed until the 17th century. However, a considerable amount of common land still exists, particularly in upland areas, and there are over 7,000 registered commons in England alone.