There are 92 separately registered commons, most without physical boundaries between them. The Forest of Dartmoor Common is central and the largest, and the 'Commons of Devon' surround and abut the Forest boundary. Of these, Willsworthy and the Burrator reservoir catchment are no longer legally common land because their commoners were bought out a century ago, by the War Office and Plymouth City Council respectively, although they remain open moorland.
Outside that ring there are some manorial commons detached from the core bloc, notably to the southwest and in the east, especially around Widecombe-in-the-Moor. These were originally 'waste of the manor' and tended to alter in area over time, depending on the economic state of the manor. Most of the commoners were also tenants of the Lord of the manor and his or her court administered use of the common.
