One of the new arrivals to the Heath

BEFORE Hampstead Heath won protection from development in 1862, the open space had for centuries been working land – a place for foraging, gathering, coppicing, quarrying and grazing.

And this history of land management has been brought back to life this week as a flock of rare breed sheep have been given the green expanses of the Heath extension to nibble grass.

The City of London, who manage the Heath, have joined forces with conservation group The Heath and Hampstead Society, the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, and Heath Hands to bring a flock of five rare-breed Norfolk Horn and Oxford Down ewes to graze on the extension.

They are there from 8am to 7pm throughout this week. Heath and Hampstead Society vice chair John Beyer said: “The sheep have the task of nibbling away at Creeping Cinquefoil and other plants smothering the anthills on that part of the Heath.

“We are all looking for ways to manage the Heath in a more ecological manner.”

John Beyer watches the sheep

The anthills also provide a valuable larder for Heath Woodpeckers – and so keeping them trimmed has knock-on benefits for other wildlife. Added to this, sheep encourage a range of flora by selective grazing, and their ability to keep grasses and plants trimmed reduces the need for Heath Rangers to use heavy machinery.

The sheep travelled from Mudchute City Farm in the Docklands, as they did in 2019 as part of a pilot scheme. There are plans to make it an annual event. Sheep grazed on the Heath as recently as the 1950s and in times past, the Heath was a key resting point for herds driven to market by shepherds and their dogs from Gloucestershire.

Many pines planted on the East Heath are known as Wayfarers. They are evergreen trees that stood out in winter months and gave shepherds a point to aim for. During the Second World War the Heath had allotments and, in more recent years, it hosted the famous BBC TV flagship sheep show, One Man and His Dog.

It saw shepherds and their four-legged helpers compete on the slopes of Parliament Hill. As part of the scheme, conservation group the London Natural History Society is surveying the land the sheep are grazing on – and will return afterwards to monitor the effects. T

he City of London’s open spaces chairman, William Upton, added: “Reintroduction of grazing like this has been an aspiration for many years, as it could play a key role in creating new rich and diverse habitats for the Heath’s wildlife.”