be stinted, that is, a limit would be put on the number of animals each commoner was allowed to graze. These regulations were responsive to demographic and economic pressure. Thus rather than let a common become degraded, access was restricted even further.

The lord of the manor must only exercise his rights so far as to leave a "sufficiency" of resource for commoners. This was at issue in 1889 when the lord of the manor and owner of Banstead Downs and Heath, a Mr Hartopp, excavated gravel and threatened to reduce the available pasture.