HAY MEADOW ON THE VILLAGE GREEN

Stroud Common is shown on the 1808 OS drawing (Figure 3) and the boundary of the Common is shown clearly on the mid-19C Tithe Award Maps (Figure 4). But by 1871, the old common was being subdivided into fields, one of which is the current village green. The village green was so designated under the Commons Registration Act (1965 and 1971) as Hampshire Village Green 31. As such, the public can use the village green for quiet recreation if it does not interfere with the landowner’s management.

Vegetation surveys in 1998 and 2000 revealed a wide range of grasses and flowering plants. However, the main interest is in rough grassland supporting many small mammals attracting birds of prey such as buzzards, red kites, kestrels and barn owls and the summer development of tall flower-rich grassland attracting a wide range of butterflies and moths, bumble bees and other insects and unusual spider species.