On Tuesday 20 May, the University of Bristol, along with local residents and school children, invoked their ancient right to graze sheep on the Downs to fend off developers from the land and keep it as place of public recreation.
The ceremonial grazing of sheep once every five years by commoners keeps an 1861 special Act of Parliament active, providing protection for all 122 acres of The Downs, prohibiting damage to trees - as well as preventing horse-drawn wagons, fortune tellers and stone-throwing on the land.
Historically hundreds of sheep were grazed on the Durdham and Clifton Downs and until 1925, when the growing threat from motor vehicles made life increasingly hazardous for the sheep, Durdham Downs Commoners employed a full time shepherd.
For the event today 15 heritage breed sheep owned by shepherdess Melinda Baker were brought to The Downs for grazing in a small pen at the Westbury-on-Trym end of The Downs, with schoolchildren from Badminton School and Avonmouth C of E School alongside representatives from Bristol City Council, the Society of Merchant Venturers, the University of Bristol and the Friends of Avon Gorge and Downs Group among those in attendance.
Dignitaries at the event included the Lord Mayor Henry Michallat, High Sheriff Kalpna Woolf, and Deputy Lord-Lieutenant Colonel Jane Thompson, with Professor Judith Squires, Deputy Vice-Chancellor & Provost leading the University of Bristol delegation.
Professor Squires said: "This is ceremonial sheep grazing reminds us just how special the Downs is, providing the people of Bristol with a protected common land that brings invaluable relaxation and wellbeing to so many."
Nick Wray, Curator of the University of Bristol Botanic Garden, said: “The Bristol ‘Downs’ is used by almost 500,000 visitors a year, representing one of the most intensely used recreational public spaces in the UK.
“The University of Bristol is one of three founding member of the Avon Gorge & Downs Wildlife Project and continues to advise on best management practices based on research and expertise, with the University’s Botanic Garden involved in growing some of the UK’s rarest whitebeam trees and grassland plants for reintroduction to the Downs, Avon Gorge and Leigh Woods as part of ongoing programme of conservation.
“While today’s sheep grazing is a ceremonial act, it’s the grazing of animals, particularly sheep over thousands of years that has created this unique grassland community, that we all enjoy today.”