Ashcombe Bottom

Last updated

Ashcombe Bottom
Valley
Ashcombe bottom entrance.jpg
East Sussex UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Ashcombe Bottom
United Kingdom adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Ashcombe Bottom
Location within the United Kingdom
Area0.66 km2 (0.25 sq mi)
OS grid reference TQ373119
Civil parish
  • St Johns Without
District
Shire county
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Lewes
Postcode district BN7
List of places
UK
England
50°53′24″N0°02′53″W / 50.890°N 0.048°W / 50.890; -0.048 Coordinates: 50°53′24″N0°02′53″W / 50.890°N 0.048°W / 50.890; -0.048

Ashcombe Bottom ( TQ 373 119 ) is a 66 hectare (163 acre) woodland valley owned by the National Trust that runs south from Blackcap, East Sussex, England. The area is nested in the South Downs and can only be reached by walking or cycling from Lewes, Falmer, Ditchling Beacon or up the Clayton to Offham escarpment from Plumpton. It sits in the parish of St John Without and East Chiltington. The name Ashcombe refers to a Saxon named Aecci, not ash trees as might be assumed. It is part of the Clayton to Offham Escarpment Site of Special Scientific Interest. [1]

Contents

History

David Bangs, a Sussex field naturalist, says, "You can view Ashcombe in two ways. It is both old scrub on a transition to woodland, and recovering ancient woodland that has been through a very narrow ‘bottleneck’ in its recent history in which almost all of it was lost, together with much of its ancient woodland character". [2] There are no open growing veteran trees above ground as the area has been heavily damaged, but there are ancient stools of ash showing that a woodland had been there previously. The wood’s old name was ‘Bocholt’ or ‘Boxholt’. ‘Boc’ was Saxon for beech, although beech is rare there now. [2]

Silver-washed fritillary at Ashcombe Bottom Silver-washed fritillary at Ashcombe Bottom.jpg
Silver-washed fritillary at Ashcombe Bottom
Looking southeast over the east side of Ashcombe Bottom from Blackcap. View over Ashcombe Bottom, East.jpg
Looking southeast over the east side of Ashcombe Bottom from Blackcap.

The area is said to have acted as cover for Simon De Montfort’s troops waiting to commence the Battle of Lewes in 1264, and later to have been a place of attempted refuge from the slaughter. [3]

In around 1870 a primeval cavern, 3 metres across, broke open in Ashcombe’s hillside. It was found to contain two urns, one wheel-thrown and the other hand-moulded. [4]

In 1993, the area ( TQ 373 118 ) was bought by the National Trust with Blackcap, Mount Harry and the Clayton to Offham Escarpment. Since that time the woodland has managed better for biodiversity, although nightingale and turtle dove still follow the national trend and can only be heard rarely now.

Biodiversity

The area is species-rich and at least twenty-eight scrub species have been found there. It has scrub-grown oaks and silver birch, nut-laden hazel trees, tangling bryony skeins, rosebay willowherb, berry-laden spindle and honeysuckle and occasional wood sage. There is a lots of ash which is being managed for ash dieback. [2]

There are muntjac deer and have been occasional sightings of hen harrier and long-eared owl. In spring, the songs of blackcap, garden warbler, chiffchaff, common whitethroat and lesser whitethroat are dominant in the wood. Cuckoo can also be heard and, until the 1980s, the songs of nightingale and turtle dove were frequent. [5] Under the canopy of the trees, the rides have many butterflies and up-to twenty-eight species have been recorded in one visit, including white admiral, silver-washed and dark green fritillary as well as their commoner cousins: red admiral, peacock and comma. [6] Dormice are also present in the woods and surrounding areas. [7]

Eastern valley side

The best surviving chalk grassland is along the south east, where part of it is designated as statutory access land. The older fragments are dominated by a soft mat of rockrose, with cowslip in spring and devil’s bit in late summer. [2]

Western slopes

The western valley side has the older woodland and in the open areas there are patches of bluebell, with early purple orchid, barren strawberry and primrose. There are dingy and checkered skipper butterflies and rare thimble morel, bleach cup fungus and ribbed stark-cup fungi near the old thorn. [2]

Since the National Trust took it over the gentle slopes descending from Broad Shackles ( TQ 372 113 ) have recovered from being ploughed and now have barren strawberry, basil and autumn ladies' tresses orchid growing as well as devil’s-bit. Around the rockrose there are fairy rings of a large golden-tawny web-cap fungus in autumn. [2]

Related Research Articles

Brighton and Hove City and unitary authority in England

Brighton and Hove is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages.

Falmer Human settlement in England

Falmer is a small village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England, lying between Brighton and Lewes, approximately five miles (8 km) north-east of the former. It is also the site of Brighton & Hove Albion's Falmer Stadium.

Ditchling Human settlement in England

Ditchling is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is contained within the boundaries of the South Downs National Park; the order confirming the establishment of the park was signed in Ditchling.

Hassocks Human settlement in England

Hassocks is a large village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. Its name is believed to derive from the tufts of grass found in the surrounding fields.

Upper Beeding Human settlement in England

Upper Beeding is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the northern end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, four miles (6.4 km) north of Shoreham-by-Sea and has a land area of 1877 hectares (4637 acres). The site is a bridging point over the river: on the opposite bank are Bramber and Steyning, making the whole area somewhat built-up. The civil parish also includes the smaller village of Small Dole to the north, and the village of Edburton to the northeast.

East Chiltington Human settlement in England

East Chiltington is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. It is centred four miles (5.9 km) south-east of Burgess Hill and five miles (8 km) north-west of Lewes. It is a strip parish of 3.76 square miles (9.7 km2), stretching northward from the crest of the South Downs. The village church is 13th century in origin; the vicar also has charge of two churches in Plumpton. Near the church there is a pub called The Jolly Sportsman. The Sussex Greensand Way, a Roman road, runs from east to west through the centre of the parish.

Hamsey Human settlement in England

Hamsey is a civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The parish covers a large area and consists of the villages of Hamsey, Offham and Cooksbridge. The main centres of population in the parish are now Offham and Cooksbridge. Around the main settlements are enlarged fields, isolated old cottages and farms. The winding and undulating parish lanes between banks, old hedge rows, trees, flowery verges and ditches are rightly popular with cyclists and give good views of the Downs.

Iford, East Sussex Village in East Sussex, England

Iford is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is located two miles (3.2 km) south of Lewes. The parish lies on slopes of the South Downs in the valley of the River Ouse.

Kingston near Lewes Human settlement in England

Kingston near Lewes is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book and is located two miles (3.2 km) south of Lewes and is nestled in the South Downs. The parish is par of two Sites of Special Scientific Interest: the Lewes Brooks and Kingston Escarpment and Iford Hill.

Plumpton, East Sussex Human settlement in England

Plumpton is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is located five miles (8 km) north-west of Lewes. The parish measures 6.5 miles in length on its north–south axis and 1 mile at its widest on the B2116 Underhill Road. The southern half of the parish lies within the South Downs National Park and at the highest point, 214m (702 feet), the South Downs Way traverses the crest of Plumpton Plain. The parish includes the small village of Plumpton adjacent to the Downs and to the north the larger village of Plumpton Green where most of the community and services are based. Plumpton is known for its race course, and also Plumpton College, which farms over 2500 acres of land and has become one of the leading centres for land-based education in the UK.

St Ann Without Human settlement in England

St Ann Without is a civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. It covers an area to the west of the town of Lewes, including Long Hill.

St John Without Human settlement in England

St John Without is a small civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England, covering an area to the north-west of the town of Lewes.

Westmeston Human settlement in England

Westmeston is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England heavily dependent in amenities on larger Ditchling to the near-immediate northwest. It is four miles (6 km) south-southeast of Burgess Hill and (10 km) west of Lewes, on the northern slopes of the South Downs.

Streat Human settlement in England

Streat is a village and parish in the Lewes district of East Sussex, England, 3 miles (4.8 km) south-east of Burgess Hill and 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Lewes, within the South Downs National Park.

Pyecombe Human settlement in England

Pyecombe is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. The name 'Pyecombe' may derive from the Saxon "pic" meaning point or pike, in which case it may mean "valley marked by a projecting hill".

Clayton, West Sussex Human settlement in England

Clayton is a small village at the foot of the South Downs in the parish of Hassocks, West Sussex, England. It lies 41 miles (66 km) south of London, 6 miles (10 km) north of Brighton, and 28 miles (45 km) east northeast of the county town of Chichester. Other nearby towns include Burgess Hill to the north and Lewes, the county town of East Sussex east southeast. The Clayton Windmills, known as "Jack and Jill" sit on the hill above the village.

Clayton to Offham Escarpment

Clayton to Offham Escarpment is a 422.5-hectare (1,044-acre) linear biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which runs from Clayton in West Sussex to Lewes in East Sussex. Its ownership and management is divided between over fifteen landowners and farmers. Parts of Ditchling's Downs, e.g. TQ 323 133, and the scarp between Blackcap and Mount Harry, e.g. TQ 378 124, are owned by the National Trust. What remains of Ditchling Tenantry Down common at Ditchling Beacon is leased to the Sussex Wildlife Trust.

Blackcap, East Sussex Hill in the United Kingdom

Blackcap has been owned by the National Trust since 1993. It is on a peak of the South Downs, just south east of the village of Plumpton in East Sussex, England and west of Lewes. It is part of the Clayton to Offham Escarpment SSSI. The flatter landscape is made up of open ground with chalk paths, surrounded by thickets. The steeper ground leading up to the ridge is low-density woodland. The top is more open, with patches of pine woodland and gorse bushes, and there is a triangulation point.

Westdene Human settlement in England

Westdene is an area of the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex. It is an affluent northern suburb of the city, west of Patcham, the A23 and the London to Brighton railway line, north of Withdean and northeast of West Blatchington. It is on the Brighton side of the historic parish boundary between Brighton and Hove and is served by Preston Park railway station. It is known for its greenery and woodland and is very close to the South Downs, from which it is separated by the Brighton Bypass, and was built on the slopes of two hills.

Beeding Hill to Newtimber Hill

Beeding Hill to Newtimber Hill is a 321-hectare (790-acre) biological and geological Downland Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) north of Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2, and it includes Devil's Dyke Geological Conservation Review site.

References

  1. "Clayton to Offham Escarpment SSSI: Site detail". Natural England Designated Sites. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bangs, Dave (2008). A freedom to roam Guide to the Brighton Downs : from Shoreham to Newhaven and Beeding to Lewes. Brighton: David Bangs. ISBN   978-0-9548638-1-4. OCLC   701098669.
  3. English Heritage Battlefield Report: Lewes 1264 (1995) English Heritage
  4. "Miscellanies". Sussex Archaeological Collections. 22: 192–4. 1870. doi: 10.5284/1086564 .
  5. "Recent Sightings". The Sussex Ornithological Society. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  6. "Sussex Wildlife Trust: Ashcombe bottom". Sussex Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 28 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  7. Carole, Mortimer (6 April 2017). "Clayton to Offham Escarpment SSSI - ASHCOMBE BOTTOM: Unit Detail". Natural England: Designated Sites. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.