Botwell Common was an unenclosed area of common land used for grazing by the parishioners of Hayes. In 1814 the land was enclosed and divided up into a number of parcels, the greater part of the site going to John Baptist Shackle.

There were also two large gravel pits on the site at this time (occupying seven and five acres each), in the areas now occupied by formal public open space. It is likely that the remnant hedges along the edges of these areas are enclosure hedges, which would have been planted around this time.

By about 1850 the Shackle family were operating brickworks over most of the current area. These were were backfilled with clay and other materials and after the Second World War the site was used for the testing of radar equipment for armoured vehicles. The Thorn-EMI company continued to use the site until the early 1990s and relics of the testing facilities remain on site, including a testing tower and a derelict trailer.

Much of the site was formerly managed as arable land, but was more latterly entered into Set-Aside and allowed to develop as grassland, being cut annually for hay by the agricultural tenant.


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