View source for Witley Common

{{Short description|Woodland and heath near Witley, Surrey, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{needs more sources|date=February 2024}}

{{Infobox park
| name           = 
| image          = Witley - Witley Common Visitors Centre - geograph.org.uk - 165201.jpg
| image_size     = 
| image_alt      = 
| image_caption  = Witley Common Visitors Centre
| map            = <!-- or | map_image = --> 
| map_width      = 
| type           = Woodland and heath
| location       = 
| nearest_town   = [[Witley]]
| coordinates    = {{coord|51.154|-0.675|type:landmark_dim:2000_region:GB-SRY|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| area           = 
| created        = 
| operator       = [[National Trust]]
| visitation_num = 
| status         = 
| designation    = 
| open           = Yes
}}

'''Witley Common''' is an area of woodland and heath, close to [[Witley]], [[Surrey]], England. It is part of a much larger [[SSSI|Site of Special Scientific Interest]], the [[Thursley, Hankley and Frensham Commons]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Witley Common |url=https://www.arc-trust.org/witley-common |website=Amphibian and Reptile Conservation |language=en |date=3 December 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Bowl barrow on Witley Common 250m north of Stable Lake 06.jpg|thumb|left|Bowl barrow on Witley Common]]The land has been occupied since the [[Bronze Age]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Witley Common {{!}} Surrey Archaeological Society |url=https://www.surreyarchaeology.org.uk/content/witley-common |website=www.surreyarchaeology.org.uk |publisher=Surrey Archaeological Society}}</ref> &mdash; it features a group of four [[bowl barrow]]s which have been dated to this period.<ref>{{NHLE|grade=Scheduled monument|desc=Bowl barrow 200m east of Penmead Copse: one of a group of four bowl barrows on Witley Common|num= 1009504 |date=22 September 1992}}</ref> It has been used as common land by many generations over the centuries &mdash; particularly for grazing, turf-cutting and, during the 16th and 17th centuries, for [[iron]] workings.<ref>{{cite web |title=Parishes: Witley |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/surrey/vol3/pp61-69 |website=British History Online |publisher=Victoria County History |access-date=7 February 2025}}</ref>

Witley Common again proved useful during the [[World War I|First]] and [[Second World War]]s when the land was used by the army as a training camp ([[Witley Camp]]) with up to 20,000 soldiers based there at one point. The poet, [[Wilfred Owen]], was posted there in June 1916,  after completing his basic training, to be commissioned into the 2nd Battalion, [[Manchester Regiment]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Witley Common and war poet Wilfred Owen |url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/surrey/witley-and-milford-commons/witley-common-and-war-poet-wilfred-owen |website=National Trust |access-date=7 February 2025}}</ref>

In the late 1940s, the common was gradually restored to its pre-war condition.

Today it is managed by the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]], to provide a mixture of habitats for wildlife, with [[birch]], [[oak]] and [[pine]] woodland, as well as open [[heathland]]. Birdlife includes [[willow warbler]]s,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lawn |first1=M. R. |title=Late Territorial Behaviour of Willow Warblers Phylloscopus trochilus |journal=Journal of Avian Biology |date=1994 |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=303–307 |doi=10.2307/3677277 |jstor=3677277 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3677277 |issn=0908-8857|url-access=subscription }}</ref> [[tree pipit]]s and [[woodlark]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Witley and Milford Commons |url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/surrey/witley-and-milford-commons |website=National Trust |access-date=7 February 2025}}</ref> The area is populated by many rare species.{{clarify|date=February 2025|reason=rare species of what?}} The area is a water catchment for the upper reaches of the [[River Wey]].

==Witley Centre==
Witley Common contains a nature information centre, known as The Witley Centre, built and managed by the National Trust. The centre features a countryside exhibition and often hosts school groups and children's holiday activities.

==References==
{{ref list}}
==External links==
*[http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/sccwebsite/sccwspages.nsf/LookupWebPagesByTITLE_RTF/Witley+Common?opendocument Surrey County Council]
*[http://www.nwsurreyrspb.org.uk/Witley270806.htm Ornithologist review]
*[https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/187683 Photo]
*[https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/witley-and-milford-commons information at the National Trust]



{{Surrey Hills AONB}}

[[Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Surrey]]
[[Category:National Trust properties in Surrey]]


{{Surrey-geo-stub}}