Bishopswood Meadows is a nature reserve situated within the Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the county of Somerset, England. The reserve comprises five fields totalling 9.3 hectares (23 acres); [1] all of the fields are on a gentle north-facing slope with the River Yarty at the base. [2] The reserve, formerly part of Woodend Farm, was purchased by Somerset Wildlife Trust in 1991–92. [1]
The underlying geology is mostly lower Lias Group clays and limestone. [1] In the second half of the 19th century an extensive lime burning industry was based around the Bishopswood area.
The impact of this is still obvious today with a Lime Kiln, distinctive key hole shaped quarry, spoil heaps (tailings), access tracks and paths still clearly discernible within the reserve.
Much of the soil on the Blackdown Hills is very acidic. After the 1851 Inclosure Acts there was a huge demand for lime as farmers wanted to spread lime on the newly enclosed commons to reduce the acidity of the soil. As a result, an extensive lime burning industry grew around the Bishopswood area and continued throughout the century. Quicklime was also an essential resource for the building industry. Quicklime (Calcium Oxide) was mixed with water to make slaked lime which was used as a putty and whitewash. It was also mixed with sand to make lime mortar, often considered superior to modern cements as it allows the building to breathe. The kiln, which has a capacity of 19 tons, is of stone construction and stands at approximately four meters high. It was sited to make use of the prevailing wind and was ignited with brushwood. The kiln is lined with red shale or slate and would have reached a temperature of 1000 °C in its hottest point, the burning zone. Limestone and fuel (coal or culm) were placed in alternating layers at the top of the kiln. The limestone would have come from the adjacent quarry and it is likely that the fuel was from South Wales, transported via the Chard Canal. The burnt "lump lime" (quicklime) fell through a grate at the bottom of the kiln and was removed from below.
Much of the wildlife interest at the reserve is due to its history of quarrying activity. The mix of calcareous (lime rich) and neutral soil conditions attract an interesting range of animals.
Many calcareous species such as cowslip, quaking grass and dwarf thistle thrive in the reserve's old quarry and spoil heaps. The early purple orchid is also common in some areas.
One field consists of unimproved rush pasture with species such as common spotted orchid, marsh marigold and ragged robin. The River Yarty is also an important habitat, used by otter, kingfisher, dipper and golden-ringed dragonfly.
All of the fields in the reserve have thick hedgerows of hazel, hawthorn, field maple, ash, holly amongst others. Dormice can be spotted amongst these hedgerows as well as common blue, ringlet and marbled white butterflies.
The reserve is managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust who aim to maintain the existing wildlife rich areas and increase the species diversity of the reserve.
The Blackdown Hills National Landscape is a National Landscape along the Somerset-Devon border in south-western England, which were designated in 1991 as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). In November 2023, it has become 'Blackdown Hills National Landscape' The area encompasses a set of hills of the same name.
Dove Holes is a village in the High Peak district of Derbyshire, England. It has a population of about 1,200 (2001), shown in the 2011 Census as being included in the population of Chapel-en-le-Frith. It straddles the A6 road approximately three miles north of Buxton and three miles south of Chapel-en-le-Frith. Trains run from Dove Holes railway station into Manchester.
The Minera Limeworks were extensive lime quarries and kilns at Minera in Wrexham, Wales. It was located at grid reference SJ253520, near the villages of Gwynfryn, Minera, and Coedpoeth and was locally referred to as The Calch.
Browne's Folly, or Brown's Folly, is a folly tower sitting within a 39.9 hectare biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) near the English village of Bathford in Somerset, notified in 1974: the site itself is known as the Farleigh Down Stone Quarry and is managed as a nature reserve by the Avon Wildlife Trust (AWT). The tower was built in 1848 and is a Grade II listed building.
The Cheddar Complex is a 441.3-hectare (1,090-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Cheddar around the Cheddar Gorge and north east to Charterhouse in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, England, notified in 1952.
The Griggsville Landing Lime Kiln is located near village of Valley City, Illinois in Pike County. The periodic lime kiln is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a designation it gained in August 1999. It is actually within the boundaries of the Ray Norbut State Fish and Wildlife Area. The kiln represents an example of an 1850s lime kiln, one of the best-preserved examples of such a kiln. In its heyday the kiln's raw product would have been quicklime. The kiln is one of twelve Pike County sites included in the National Register of Historic Places. Some other examples are the Lyman Scott House, in Summer Hill and the New Philadelphia Town Site, somewhere near Barry, Illinois.
Batts Combe quarry, grid reference ST460550 is a limestone quarry on the edge of Cheddar village on the Mendip Hills, Somerset, England.
Penwyllt is a hamlet located in the upper Swansea Valley in Wales. It lies within a part of the Brecon Beacons National Park in the traditional county of Brecknockshire; currently administered as part of the unitary authority of Powys.
There are several nature reserves in the surroundings of Nailsea, North Somerset, England, which is located at 51°25′55″N2°45′49″W.
Stenders Quarry is a 2.8-hectare (6.9-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, notified in 1966 and renotified in 1990. The site is designated as an SSSI for its important geological features, although there is also a diversity of plants and animals recorded.
Wotton Hill is a hill on the edge of the Cotswold Hills in Gloucestershire, England, 0.5 miles (0.80 km) north of Wotton-under-Edge. The Cotswold Way passes over the hill.
Hobbs Quarry, Longhope is a 1-hectare (2.5-acre) geological and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, England, notified in 1966. It is situated midway between Longhope and Dursley Cross in the Forest of Dean. Adjacent woods are Kiln Wood and Coleman's Wood. The site was managed by the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. Ownership changed to an independent Charitable Trust - Hobbs Nature Reserve Trust - on 1 August 2023. The Management Plan is similar to the one GWT had agreed with Natural England, combining conservation and research work on the geological exposures and preservation of the valuable natural environment. An explanatory website is under development to aid any groups planning educational visits. Local specialists are available to assist with these if required.
Swift's Hill is a 9.15-hectare (22.6-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1966 and renotified in 1984.
Harpur Hill Quarry is a disused limestone quarry on Harpur Hill, Derbyshire, England. Limestone was extracted there from 1835 to 1952 for lime burning at lime kilns to produce quicklime. The quarry was used by the Royal Air Force as a chemical weapons storage depot during the Second World War, the largest such depot in the United Kingdom. Afterwards a number of captured German chemical munitions were disposed of at the site by burning, which was only partially successful. The RAF depot closed in 1960 and the site is now vacant.
Ridley Bottom is a 1.1-hectare (2.7-acre) nature reserve in Gloucestershire. The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).
The Milwaukee Falls Lime Company is the former owner of a limestone quarry and lime kilns located in Grafton, Wisconsin. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. The quarry and kilns are now Lime Kiln Park, which also features a pavilion, playground, walking paths, sledding hill, horseshoe pits, and disc golf course.
Betchworth Quarry and Lime Kilns is a 27-hectare (67-acre) nature reserve north of Betchworth in Surrey. Betchworth Quarry only is managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust. It is part of the Mole Gap to Reigate Escarpment Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation.
A limepit is either a place where limestone is quarried, or a man-made pit used to burn lime stones in the same way that modern-day kilns and furnaces constructed of brick are now used above ground for the calcination of limestone (calcium carbonate, CaCO3) and by which quicklime (calcium oxide, CaO) is produced, an essential component in waterproofing and in wall plastering (plaster skim).
Quarry Moor is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, or SSSI, at the south edge of Ripon, North Yorkshire, England, and adjacent to the A61 road. It contains an outcrop of Magnesian Limestone, exposed by former quarrying. 255 million years ago this limestone was the peripheral sediment of a tropical sea. The land was donated in 1945 to the people of Ripon by the town's mayor, Alderman Thomas Fowler Spence, a varnish manufacturer. The land was notified as an SSSI in 1986 because its calcareous grassland supported a large diversity of plant species. The site features a Schedule 8 protected plant, thistle broomrape. The land is protected as a nature reserve, and it is also managed as a recreational area. Therefore, its calcareous grass area is fenced off for protection and study, but it also contains a car park, information signs, a children's play area, accessible paths, benches, and dog waste bins.
The Buxton lime industry has been important for the development of the town of Buxton in Derbyshire, England, and it has shaped the landscape around the town.