Gustardwood common is an area of common land

Common land

Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...

 just north of the village of Wheathampstead

Wheathampstead

Wheathampstead is a village and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans, in Hertfordshire, England. It is north of St Albans and in the Hitchin and Harpenden parliamentary constituency....

 in Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

, United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

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The bulk of the common is now used by the Mid-Herts Golf Club http://www.mid-hertsgolfclub.co.uk/, which was formed in 1892. The first 9 hole course on Gustardwood common was officially opened for play in February 1893. It is one of the earlier golf course

Golf course

A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...

s in England. Additional land was purchased by the club from an adjacent farm, but the holes on the common, which is also still used for picnicking, retain a certain unique character.

The only other famous historical association of the common is a link, in some historical records, with the legend of the famous highwaywoman

Highwayman

A highwayman was a thief and brigand who preyed on travellers. This type of outlaw, usually, travelled and robbed by horse, as compared to a footpad who traveled and robbed on foot. Mounted robbers were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads...

, the "Wicked Lady", generally believed (although only after her death) to have been Lady Katherine Ferrers

Lady Katherine Ferrers

Lady Katherine Fanshaw was, according to popular legend, the "Wicked Lady", a highwaywoman who terrorised Nomansland common in the English county of Hertfordshire in the 17th century before bleeding to death from gunshot wounds sustained during a robbery.-Legend:The legend is fairly well...

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