BEllKIIAMSTED COMMON. 59 



when creating him Duke of Cornwall, and from that 

 time, till a few years ago, the property was an appanage 

 of the Duchy of Cornwall, but for many years past it 

 was leased to the owners of Ashridge, with a special 

 reservation of the Commoners' rights. 



The adjoining domain of Ashridge was from an 

 early date the property of the Earls of Bridgewater, 

 and on the death of the last of this line (the Duke of 

 Bridgewater), came into possession of Earl Brownlow, 

 the grandfather of the present owner. So long as the 

 Manor and its Common were vested in the Duchy of 

 Cornwall, there was little danger of inclosure. In an 

 evil time, however, and in pursuance of an unwise 

 policy, the Council of the Duchy of Cornwall, in 1S62, 

 was induced to sell their estate to the Trustees of the 

 late Lord Brownlow, for the sum of 143,000. These 

 Trustees wanted the Common, not for the purpose 

 of turning it into cultivated land, but as an addition to 

 Ashridge Park. They had no sooner become possessed 

 of the manorial rights of Berkhamsted, than they com- 

 menced a series of proceedings, with the object of 

 getting rid of the Commoners and inclosing the Com- 

 mon. Their first act was to negotiate with the people 

 of Berkhamsted for the substitution of a metalled and 

 shorter road for the grass drive which traversed the 

 whole length of the Common from north to south, and 

 which formed the means of communication between 

 the town of Berkhamsted and the districts north of 

 the Common. The consent of the vestry of the parish 

 was obtained for this ; but apparently they were left 



