As I see it, the Land was in common ownership only until 1066 AD. Then William I distributed the land amongst his 180 barons. However, he promised the English people would be able to exercise their previous rights (pasture, roam etc), hence "common land".
That's important -- all land was (is?) owned by 180 barons (not sure how many families survived till today), it's just the government restricted land owners to prevent people using it in some cases. Yes it was called "common land". But it doesn't mean its owner is common people.
That's important -- all land was (is?) owned by 180 barons (not sure how many families survived till today), it's just the government restricted land owners to prevent people using it in some cases. Yes it was called "common land". But it doesn't mean its owner is common people.