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Roughdown Common is a biological
It is one of the few examples of unimproved 
The entrance points to the mine were sealed to human access in 1994, and the site instead became a bat hibernaculum, and is the home of a small colony of Brown long-eared bats.
The site is always open and there is access from footpaths starting at the junction of Roughdown Road and Roughdown Avenue. An explanatory panel, placed by the Box Moor Trust, stands by the quarry entrance near the Roughdown Avenue railway bridge.
Starting in September 2017, the Box Moor Trust, working in conjunction with
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
in Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England. It is located north-west of London; nearby towns and cities include Watford, St Albans and Berkhamsted. The population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 cens ...
in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
. The planning authority is Dacorum Borough Council. The site is Common land
Common land is collective land (sometimes only open to those whose nation governs the land) in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel.
A person ...
, and it is owned by the Box Moor Trust having been officially bought by the trust in April 1886 from the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's. It is part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...
. The Common is a steeply sloping chalk hill in south Hemel Hempstead.
History
It was formerly the site of a large chalk quarry featuring a pillar and stall mine, an entrance to which still exists, however, it is sealed off for human entry. During the construction of theGrand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the Canals of the United Kingdom, British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another to Birmi ...
where it flows through Boxmoor, the navvies who carried out the work lived on an encampment at Roughdown Common. The navvies where not the only group that made use of the Common; in 1809 a Good Friday funfair was held in the chalk pit, while 1939 saw the first recorded football match on the site, played by young evacuees from London. The war theme continued in 1946 when prisoners of war - who were based in a P.O.W. camp at nearby Howes Retreat - cleared scrub at the site.
Present day
It is one of the few examples of unimproved calcareous
Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime (mineral), lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of Science, scientific disciplines.
In zoology
''Calcare ...
grassland in Hertfordshire. The dominant grasses are meadow fescue and meadow oat-grass, and other flora includes colonies of orchids, including Common Spotted, Fly and Pyramid
A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...
varieties, as well as common juniper. Roughdown Common is the only known site in Hertfordshire in which Juniper regenerates naturally.
The grassland habitat is maintained by sheep grazing. In September, 2016 the first recorded sighting of the Jersey Mocha moth in the county occurred on the Common.
The entrance points to the mine were sealed to human access in 1994, and the site instead became a bat hibernaculum, and is the home of a small colony of Brown long-eared bats.
The site is always open and there is access from footpaths starting at the junction of Roughdown Road and Roughdown Avenue. An explanatory panel, placed by the Box Moor Trust, stands by the quarry entrance near the Roughdown Avenue railway bridge.
Starting in September 2017, the Box Moor Trust, working in conjunction with Natural England
Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...
will begin felling self-seeded trees and clearing scrub at the site in order to encourage the reestablishment of calcareous species originally found there.
In October 2019, Juniper picked on Roughdown Common was used by Puddingstone Distillery to create a gin. The distillery had teamed up with the Box Moor Trust and released the beverage in order to celebrate the Trust's 425th Anniversary. It was the first gin to be made in Hertfordshire using natural Juniper.
See also
* List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Hertfordshire * Box Moor TrustReferences
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