Greenham & Crookham Commons 25th Anniversary

A Brief History of the Commons

For hundreds of years, Greenham and Crookham Commons was heathland open to the public, forming the largest continuous tract of open heath in Berkshire. Situated on a plateau formed at the end of the last ice age, it has been the home to an abundance of wildlife, as well as being common land for farmers to work on.

In 1941, it became of major importance in the war effort when it was repurposed as an RAF airfield. A a couple of years later, this was turned over to the US Air Force and, during D-Day, General Eisenhower was present to watch some of the 10,000 planes set off from the area. Throughout the Cold War, Greenham and Crookham Commons was a key site for US operations but it became more well-known for its protests in the 1980s.

In 1981, the site became most famous for the Greenham Commons Women’s Peace Camp. Angered by the news that the US were storing nuclear missiles at the base, a group of women marched from Cardiff to Greenham and chained themselves to the gates. This protest soon increased in size and, in 1982, the ‘Embrace the Base’ action involved 30,000 women holding hands to surround the base, forming the largest female protest since the fight for the right for women to vote. The Peace Camp remained a presence at the base and, by 1991, all missiles were removed, with the US and British Air Forces leaving the base a year after. Although the base was empty, the Women’s Peace Camp remained as a protest against nuclear weapons, eventually leaving in 2000.

It was around this time, 25 years ago, that Greenham and Crookham Commons was reopened to the public. Nowadays, the Commons are a hub of activity, for wildlife and people alike. The Control Tower, built between 1951 and 1953, lay dormant for many years but was reopened in 2018 and now hosts schools and community groups for educational visits, and is home to our wonderful café.  The grounds host a range of flora and fauna and have been managed by BBOWT since 2014, on behalf of West Berkshire Council. Walking around the grounds today, you may stumble across nightingales, skylarks, over thirty species of butterfly, and the rare spectacle of hundreds of autumn lady's-tresses orchids in late-Summer, flowering into a snowy white bloom with a coconutty fragrance.

We take great pleasure in being able to celebrate the beauty of Greenham and Crookham Commons today, 25 years on from its reopening, and look forward to many more years of nature conservation on these grounds.