Greenham and Crookham Commons cover nearly one thousand acres south east of Newbury, Berkshire, England. The website Greenham: a Common Inheritance interprets and enriches the Greenham story through a digital archive of more than 3,500 objects acquired by the West Berkshire Museum in Newbury over more than a century.

Some of the images on the website have been chosen from the Museum's own collection, others have been loaned by people who have played a part in the Greenham story. The last fifty years are chronicled through a collection of press cuttings and photographs made available by the Newbury Weekly News.

For centuries, Greenham and Crookham Commons remained unspoiled, with just a few archaeological remains testifying to the lives of its early occupants. By the 19th century, smallholdings, farms and country houses appeared on its wooded margins.

With the outbreak of war in 1939, the rural idyll was shattered and for the next half-century, the Commons were fenced as a major airfield arose on the site. During the 1980s the United States Air Force based cruise missiles there and the site became an international focus for anti-nuclear protest.

With the ending of the Cold War, the missiles were withdrawn, the base closed and the fence was torn down. Now Greenham and Crookham Commons are once again open to all and form a valuable open space, whilst a thriving business park occupies the former military headquarters.

With its combination of explanatory text and fascinating digital images, West Berkshire Council's website Greenham: a Common Inheritance will enable its users to form their own impression of this unique part of South East England.