Ardley Cutting and Quarry

Last updated

Ardley Cutting and Quarry
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Railway cutting, close to Ardley nature reserve - geograph.org.uk - 116956 cropped.jpg
Location Oxfordshire
Grid reference SP 535 272 [1]
InterestBiological
Geological
Area40.1 hectares (99 acres) [1]
Notification 1988 [1]
Location map Magic Map

Ardley Cutting and Quarry is a 40.1-hectare (99-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Bicester in Oxfordshire. [1] [2] It is a Geological Conservation Review site [3] and an area of 11 hectares (27 acres) is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust as Ardley Wood Quarry. [4] The site contains a Scheduled Monument, Ardley Wood moated ringwork, a Norman defended enclosure. [5]

The quarry and railway cutting exposes rocks dating to the Bathonian stage of the Middle Jurassic, about 167 million years ago. It is described by Natural England as of national importance for the understanding of the Jurassic Period in Britain as it allows correlation of rocks of the Oxford area to be correlated with those of the Midlands. The site has calcareous grassland with diverse vertebrates, including the internationally protected great crested newt. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust</span> Wildlife conservation charity

The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), is a wildlife trust covering the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ketton Quarries</span>

Ketton Quarries is a 115.6-hectare (286-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Ketton in Rutland. It is a Geological Conservation Review site, and an area of 27.5 hectares is managed by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College Lake nature reserve</span> Local nature reserve in Buckinghamshire, UK

College Lake is a 65 hectare nature reserve in a former chalk quarry in Pitstone in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire. It is one of the flagship reserves of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, and it has an information centre, education facilities, a café, toilets and a shop. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The area east of the lake is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest called Pitstone Quarry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rushbeds Wood</span> Nature reserve in Ireland

Rushbeds Wood is a 56-hectare (140-acre) nature reserve near Wotton Underwood in Buckinghamshire, managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT). It is a surviving fragment of the ancient Bernwood Forest. The reserve is part of Rushbeds Wood and Railway Cutting, an 80.2-hectare (198-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. This includes a section of the Chiltern Main Line railway cutting, which runs along the north-east side of the BBOWT reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roade Cutting</span>

Roade Cutting is a 15.2-hectare (38-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest along the West Coast Main Line north from Roade in Northamptonshire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shipton-on-Cherwell and Whitehill Farm Quarries</span>

Shipton-on-Cherwell and Whitehill Farm Quarries is a 30-hectare (74-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Kidlington in Oxfordshire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dry Sandford Pit</span>

Dry Sandford Pit is a 4.2-hectare (10-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Abingdon-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site and it is managed as a nature reserve by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hook Norton Cutting and Banks</span> Site of Special Scientific Interest in Oxfordshire

Hook Norton Cutting and Banks is a 6.7-hectare (17-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Hook Norton in Oxfordshire. The site is in three areas, two of which are managed as a nature reserve called Hook Norton Cutting by Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. and are designated a Geological Conservation Review site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirtlington Quarry</span>

Kirtlington Quarry is a 3.1-hectare (7.7-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Kirtlington in Oxfordshire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site, and it is part of the 7.4-hectare (18-acre) Kirtlington Quarry Local Nature Reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodeaton Quarry</span>

Woodeaton Quarry is a 7.3-hectare (18-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Oxford in Oxfordshire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cothill Fen</span>

Cothill Fen is a 43.3-hectare (107-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Abingdon-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. It is a Special Area of Conservation and parts of it are a Geological Conservation Review site, a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 1, and a National Nature Reserve. It also includes two areas which are nature reserves managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, Lashford Lane Fen and Parsonage Moor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horsehay Quarries</span>

Horsehay Quarries is a 8.4-hectare (21-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Bicester in Oxfordshire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyehill Quarry</span>

Lyehill Quarry is a 2.8-hectare (6.9-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Oxford in Oxfordshire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ardley Trackways</span>

Ardley Trackways is a 63.6-hectare (157-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Bicester in Oxfordshire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharp's Hill Quarry</span>

Sharp's Hill Quarry is a 2.4-hectare (5.9-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Banbury in Oxfordshire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Designated Sites View: Ardley Cutting and Quarry". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  2. ↑ "Map of Ardley Cutting and Quarry". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  3. ↑ "Ardley Cuttings & Quarries (Bathonian)". Geological Conservation Review. Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  4. ↑ "Ardley Wood Quarry". Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  5. ↑ Historic England. "Ardley Wood moated ringwork (1015554)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  6. ↑ "Ardley Cutting and Quarry citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 30 March 2020.

Coordinates: 51°56′28″N1°13′23″W / 51.941°N 1.223°W / 51.941; -1.223

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.