1. Whatever happened to “once a highway always a highway”? It seems Hampshire County Council were not thinking straight when it decided to divert BW47 and FP3 from the ancient Linsted Lane. However, on:

2. 8th June 1968, John Ellis had founded The Broxhead Commoners’ Association. (BCA).
   1968 June Broxhead Commoners Association first meeting_000032

3. September 1973, he wrote a short explanation of his campaign to save the common and have it registered.
   1973 September JE explains his campaign to save Broxhead Common_000015

4. At the same time he wrote to Hampshire County Council to ask when the Commons Commissioner’s might deal with the registration of Broxhead Common.

5. You will see from their reply that Hampshire had not yet submitted the Broxhead case to the Commons Commissioners, even though they had preliminarily registered it. They advised that it may be five years before the many disputes were heard!
   1973, HCC to John Ellis12092021

6. John Ellis then wrote an update for the benefit of his Broxhead Commoners Association in the form of a Newsletter. In this he describes how several frustrated commoners had removed all of the unauthorized fencing on 28th July. This was something that they were legally entitled to do because the fences prevented them from exercising their rights of common. However, Mr Whitfield continued to deny the land he claimed to own, was in fact common land and stated his intention to replace the fencing.
   1973 September JE Message to BCA_000016

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