This work focuses on some common land within 3 miles of Oxford City centre known as Port Meadow and Picksey Mead. The wealth of ecological, historical and archaeological information now available for these areas of grassland is thoroughly described. A section deals with the history of the control or management of the upper reaches of the River Thames and the adjacent grassland, while the third section looks at change in these grassland communities and comparison with other grassland systems in lowland England.