man-made landscape, first recorded in Domesday (1086). The Common has a very strong character and has always been an important feature of the hamlet around which the village grew, providing grazing land, furze and wood for gathering and gravel for building and road making. The Common has had many uses throughout the ages: Defensive fortifications during the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1813) A large star-shaped Fort with artillery batteries, redoubts and earthwork fortifications were built on the racecourse astride the Margaretting Road in response to an invasion threat by French forces on the Essex coast. These defence works were decommissioned around 1813. Galleywood Racecourse (1759–1935) The historic Galleywood Racecourse on Galleywood Common in the Borough of Chelmsford, Essex was the scene of the Chelmsford Races for at least 176 years. It was one of the oldest English racecourses. Although records show existence in 1759, other reports indicate that racing took place there much earlier. Various members of royalty journeyed to Chelmsford Races including Edward VII. There was a siding for the racecourse at the railway nearby on New Road adjacent to Hylands, where horses and important visitors would arrive. The racecourse was renowned for its beauty and it was popular but the fact that it crossed main roads four times caused difficulties by the late 1930s. It was occupied by the Army and closed during WW2 and with more road traffic, re-opening for races in 1945 became impossible. Chelmsford Golf Course (1893–1912) In 1893 when the 9-hole golf course, designed by Tom Dunn, opened on Galleywood Common the game bore little relation to what it is today. It was played with a gutta-percha ball and clubs with hickory shafts hence the seemingly generous “Par” score allocations for each hole. Cyril Yorker who caddied in 1910 described the course as no Gleneagles or Wentworth, just a great expanse of gorse and heather where more time was spent hunting for the balls than actually playing. Chelmsford Golf Club was constituted in 1893 and played on Galleywood Common until they moved to Widford in 1912. Brickworks Brick making in the 19th and early-20th centuries Army Training Ground and Artillery Defences (1914–1918) The Grandstand and the Common were taken over by the Army for the duration of the First World War. Army Training Ground and Anti-Aircraft Defences (1939–1945) The Grandstand and the Common were taken over by the Army for the duration of the Second World