Spring Action Day
Common Land
The Friends of Bernards Heath (FoBH) exists for the interests of two of the three pieces of registered common land which lie within St Albans’ city boundaries; Bernards Heath and Sandridge Road Wastes.
Sandpit Lane Wastes are not included. Note that Beech Bottom Dyke, another Friends concern, is a Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM), but not common land and is owned by St Albans District Council (SACDC).
Continue reading “Common Land”Friends of Bernards Heath AGM
Photo Galleries
Early picture of Bernards Heath
and possibly the site of the 2nd battle of St Albans 1481.
See larger image here
This is the earliest picture of the Heath that we know of that dates from the early 19th century.
The picture comes from a document entitled ‘Our own country’ and is published by Cassell and Co. Ltd. It was digitised by the the University of California. No author is mentioned.
It has been suggested that the view is looking north towards Sandridgebury and another suggestion is that the building in the distance is more likely to be St Leonard’s Church, Sandridge.
It is interesting that most of the pictures in the document mentioned above are easily relatable to local buildings or scenery, including those in St Albans, but this view could have been related to many locations, perhaps even including the artist’s mind.
Update 14th June 2023
A chance meeting by Peter Burley with a former resident of Sandbridgebury House has confirmed that the building in the picture is indeed her former home. What better provenance – thank you Peter.
The picture is currently exhibited in St Albans Museum + Gallery.
Autumn Action Day
Please join us for Autumn Action Day 2022
Sunday 20th November
Meet at Heath House, Heath Farm Lane, AL3 5AE
from 9.30 am
Bring Gloves and secateurs if you have them.
Litter pickers and bags will be provided.
Accompanied children and dogs welcome.
Thank you everyone
who took part.
Searching for information on Bernards Heath
Want to find out what’s happening on the Heath, or perhaps some aspect of history, or even how the weather has been, then bear in mind that help is at hand. There is a lot of information on this website, so if the menu items do not lead you to the right places, here are some ways to find what you are looking for.
Type in your search words into the box to the top right of the sidebar (column on the right).
or
The archives are good for searching specific Posts. They date back to 2014. Click the right arrows for a monthly search
or
Most posts have a category and an alphabelical list of these appears on the right hand sidebar.
or
Is able to match your query to match almost anything in the website. Amazing!
What does the Friends of Bernards Heath do for you?
The Friends of Bernards Heath (FoBH) believe that the Heath provides an exceptional natural amenity for the locality and the Society exists in order to protect, preserve and where appropriate enhance the Heath for the benefit of the neighbourhood as a whole. Membership provides you with a forum to express your opinions about the Heath and an opportunity to help preserve it for future generations.
We liaise with the Countryside Management Service and St Albans District Council to update the Greenspace Action Plan for Beech Bottom Dyke and Bernards Heath.
This is just a selection of work done by the Friends of Bernards Heath.
Campaigns to protect the Lower Field
from further development
Planned interpretation boards for the Heath, Sandridge Road Wastes
and Beech Bottom Dyke
July Weather Records
Temperatures
Many parts of the UK broke all temperature records in July, even reaching more than 40°C in Lincolnshire. We measured a maximum of 37°C on the 19th with a hot wind which was especially trying.
Rainfall
Total rainfall only 7.5 mm. This is not a record, but taken with relatively low rainfalls over the previous 5 months, means that there could be a shortage of water.
See Weather History for more details all previous temperature and rainfall data.
St Albans High School for Girls Sports Field
The news that a large sports area development next to Bernards Heath was a surprise to many, since entry to the site is along Spinney Lane, which is part of the Heath. This lane is much used by pedestrians and forms part of a National Cycle Trail.
Continue reading “St Albans High School for Girls Sports Field”