Pillow mounds
I wonder how many people realise rabbits are not a native British species? They are from southern Europe and the Romans brought some here.
But it wasn’t until William the Conqueror invaded in 1066 that the mammals were introduced in large numbers.
The Normans built warrens and for the first time rabbits could be farmed for meat and fur.
Around 2,000 of these sites are still visible across southern England and Wales, from Hatfield
Forest in Essex to Mynydd Melyn in Pembrokeshire. These give the impression of large pillows made of earth which is why they’re called pillow mounds.
In the Middle Ages rabbits were known as coneys and the pillow mounds were called coney garths, an enclosure for rabbits.
The rabbit farming of the past lives on in place names: there’s Coneyhurst in Sussex, Coney Hill in Gloucester and Coneygar Hill in Dorset. There’s even a field called Coneys on our farm.