Castles Built on Common Land: Nick Hayes, interviewed

Caught by the River · Oct 26, 2026

‘Contrary to what the law might say, building a castle on common land doesn’t stop it being common land. Its past haunts its present’ writes Nick Hayes in his latest book, ‘The Medicine Tree‘ — a beautiful exploration of the journey the Hardwick Estate is taking to repair its colonial roots, and our October Book of the Month. In this month’s author interview, Nick speaks to Tallulah Brennan about the countryside as Arcadia, how education comes into the problem of land ownership and reparations, and what a reassertion of a commons culture might look like.

Read an extract from the…