Naphill Common

Hallmark May 2025. NAPHILL COMMON

Naphill Common is the largest fully wooded common in the Chilterns, with an area of about 70 hectares (170 acres), lying between the villages of Naphill and Bradenham.  Most of the Common belongs to the West Wycombe Estate, but a small portion is owned by the National Trust’s Bradenham Estate.  It contains many rare species and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, as well as being part of the Chilterns Special Area of Conservation and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Up to a century ago, it was grazed and so was open heathland containing a number of veteran trees, but today it is heavily wooded, mostly with self-seeded beech.  These trees have grown too dense, so the Estate has a rolling plan to reduce their number to the recommended (by the Forestry Commission) 100 broadleaf trees per hectare.  The Common was formerly described as a “juniper forest”, but today only four specimens survive.  We’ve taken cuttings and have planted nine saplings, eight of which are thriving.

Nature

The Common has six ‘dew ponds’, natural depressions that fill with rainwater, which they retain, being lined with the clay that forms the upper few metres of the soil.  Such ponds naturally dry out during the summer (some completely) and refill during the winter and the flora and fauna that inhabit them have adapted to this changing environment.  The water is very pure and is a habitat for many species, including the Great Crested Newt.  

The Common is home to over 80 species of birds, over 120 species of insects, over 200 species of plants and 400 species of fungi (all enumerated on our website), several of them locally and even nationally, rare.

Archaeology

The Common has a bank and ditch feature forming a D-shaped enclosure, typical of a 2,000-year-old Romano-British Farmstead, which would have contained a wooden roundhouse.  There is a dew pond nearby, which would have been a useful water source.

At the ‘bottom’ (Bradenham end) of the Common are the mysterious ‘Clumps’ a series of ring-shaped banks on which were planted specimen trees, most not found elsewhere on the Common.  It seems most likely that these were Victorian decorative features, added to enhance the grounds of Bradenham Manor.

Of more recent origin are the tank tracks, traces of which are still visible along the Common edge.  During WW2 the former Broom & Wade factory in the centre of High Wycombe manufactured Churchill tanks which were (off) road tested on the Common.

Friends

The Friends of Naphill Common was set up in 2008, with aims:

• To conserve and enhance the natural, historic and cultural heritage of the Common.

• To promote the understanding and enjoyment of the Common.

• To encourage community involvement in caring for and use of the Common.

We are the largest subscription organisation in Naphill, with nearly 100 members paying our £10 pa subscription (a real bargain).  Our regular activities include two guided walks each month and two working parties each week, which keep footpaths open and maintain the ponds (during winter, once the amphibians have left) which would otherwise fill up and gradually vanish.  There are also annual events such as bat walks, fungus walks, ‘minibeast safaris’ (for children of all ages) and history walks, all of which are free and open to all.

We would encourage you to come along and give some of our activities a try – full details along with (much) more information can be found on our web site: naphillcommon.org.uk

Chris Miller

Chairman – Friends of Naphill Common.