West Common

West Common is the address of houses bordering the Common south of 'Coach Lane', which led from the village to Rothamsted Manor before the Lime Avenue through Rothamsted Park was planted in the late 1870s.  All properties along the fringes of the common or 'waste' land belonged to the Rothamsted estate, including the current main (library) building of Rothamsted Research, and No.1 West Common, where the first five Directors of Rothamsted lived.

In the 1930s West Common Way opened up the new West Common estate, and in the 1960s this was extended southwards towards Beesonend Lane.  This is the part which is now commonly known as "West Common".