Chaceley Meadow SSSI

Chaceley Meadow
Site of Special Scientific Interest
	Location within Gloucestershire
Location	Gloucestershire
Grid reference	SO857306
Coordinates	51°58′27″N2°12′32″W / 51.97413°N 2.20885°W Coordinates: 51°58′27″N2°12′32″W / 51.97413°N 2.20885°W
Interest	biological
Area	1.8 ha (4.4 acres)
Notification	1954
	Natural England website

Last updated March 16, 2023

Chaceley Meadow (grid reference SO857306 ) is a 1.8-hectare (4.4-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1954 and renotified in 1993.^[1]^[2] It lies on the eastern edge of Chaceley village and is about half a mile west of the River Severn.

Plants

A colourful variety of flowers may be seen throughout spring and summer. These include cuckoo flower, marsh-marigold, great burnet, meadowsweet, common knapweed, meadow vetchling, marsh ragwort, meadow buttercup, sorrel, ragged-robin, reed canary-grass, sweet vernal-grass and meadow brome. The wet conditions encourage many sedges including brown sedge, oval sedge, yellow sedge and carnation sedge. The slender spike-rush (Eleocharis uniglumis) grows in this meadow which is rare in Gloucestershire.^[4]

Surroundings

The meadow is surrounded by mature hawthorn and blackthorn hedge and includes old white willow pollards. This habitat supports many birds, including tawny owl and turtle dove.^[4]

Conservation

The meadow is traditionally managed by a late summer hay cut, which allows wildflowers to set their seeds. There is then cattle grazing. The willow pollards are recut regularly to reduce the risk of splitting.^[4] There are earlier cuts every 3 years to help to increase the frequency of rarer species found in the field which include common knapweed, yellow rattle, cuckoo flower, bird's foot trefoil and marsh bedstraw. This helps remove nutrients at the peak of the hay growing season.^[5]

Publications

Kelham, A, Sanderson, J, Doe, J, Edgeley-Smith, M, et al., 1979, 1990, 2002 editions, 'Nature Reserves of the Gloucestershire Trust for Nature Conservation/Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust'

Related Research Articles

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

Midger is a 65.7-hectare (162-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest straddling the border of Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire, notified in 1966 and renotified in 1984. Since the last revision in 1974, the size has been reduced to a 56-hectare (140-acre) site. It lies east of Hillesley, Gloucestershire and north of Hawkesbury Upton, South Gloucestershire. It is at the head of the Kilcott Valley.

Badgeworth SSSI is a 3.08-hectare (7.6-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire notified in 1954 and renotified in 1983. Part of this site is owned and managed by the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust as a nature reserve.

Strawberry Banks is a 5.06-hectare (12.5-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1993.

Ashleworth Ham is a 104.73-hectare (258.8-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is a large area of grassland on the Severn floodplain, north of Ashleworth in Gloucestershire, England. It is registered as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and was notified in 1974 and renotified in 1985. Ashleworth Ham received this designation because it is one of three sites in the Severn Vale where migratory waterfowl winter.

Brassey is a 2.1-hectare (5.2-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1954 and renotified in 1983. It is situated on the north side of the Windrush Valley, midway between Naunton and Upper Slaughter. The reserve comprises sloping, unimproved limestone pasture. There is a fast-flowing stream. This site is one of the few freshwater marshes in Gloucestershire. The stream joins the River Windrush.

Daneway Banks is a 17-hectare (42-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1954 and renotified in 1983. It lies half a mile west of Sapperton and is part of a group of wildlife sites in the Frome Valley that includes Siccaridge Wood and Sapperton Canal reserves. The site is in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

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.

Box Farm Meadows is a 8.3-hectare (21-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1985. This was formerly known as Balls Green Pastures. The reserve is situated at the southern edge of Box village and one mile east of Nailsworth.

Lower Wye Gorge is a 65-hectare (160-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1954 and renotified 1987. The site includes two Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust nature reserves being Ban-y-gor Wood and Lancaut. The Natural England citation states a revision for Lancaut inclusion.

Dymock Woods is a 53-hectare (130-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1990. The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).

Clarke's Pool Meadow is a 1.8-hectare (4.4-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1997. It lies on the flat top of 'Old Hill' about half a mile south of Blakeney. The site consists of two fields which were purchased by the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust in 1997. The site was designated an SSSI in the same year and it is one of the finest surviving traditional hay meadows in Gloucestershire.

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.

Salmonsbury Meadows is an 18-hectare (44-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1985. The site is listed in the 'Cotswold District' Local Plan 2001-2011 as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).

Gwen and Vera's Fields is a 0.28-hectare (0.69-acre) nature reserve in Gloucestershire.

Wingmoor Farm Meadow is a 3-hectare (7.4-acre) nature reserve in Gloucestershire. The site is listed in the ‘Tewkesbury Borough Local Plan to 2011’, adopted March 2006, Appendix 3 'Nature Conservation',' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).

Mythe Railway Nature Reserve is a 2.8-hectare (6.9-acre) nature reserve in Gloucestershire. The site is listed in the ‘Tewkesbury Borough Local Plan to 2011’, adopted March 2006, Appendix 3 'Nature Conservation',' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).

Three Groves Wood is a 3.3-hectare (8.2-acre) nature reserve in Gloucestershire. The site is listed in the ‘Stroud District’ Local Plan, adopted November 2005, Appendix 6 as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).

Sapperton Valley is a 3.7-hectare (9.1-acre) nature reserve near Chalford in the Stroud district of Gloucestershire, England. The site is managed by the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust under leasing arrangements with the Bathurst Estate, in place since 1964.

References

↑ Natural England SSSI information on the citation
↑ Tewkesbury Borough Local Plan to 2011, adopted March 2006, Appendix 3 'Nature Conservation', Sites of Special Scientific Interest Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
↑ Tewkesbury Borough Local Plan to 2011, adopted March 2006, Appendix 3 'Nature Conservation', Key Wildlife Sites Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
1 2 3 4 Kelham, A, Sanderson, J, Doe, J, Edgeley-Smith, M, et al, 1979, 1990, 2002 editions, 'Nature Reserves of the Gloucestershire Trust for Nature Conservation/Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust'
↑ Natural England report on the unit status

SSSI source

External links

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust
Natural England (SSSI information)

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[NE_citation-1] Natural England SSSI information on the citation

[2] Tewkesbury Borough Local Plan to 2011, adopted March 2006, Appendix 3 'Nature Conservation', Sites of Special Scientific Interest Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine

[3] Tewkesbury Borough Local Plan to 2011, adopted March 2006, Appendix 3 'Nature Conservation', Key Wildlife Sites Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine

[GWT_nature_reserve_handbook-4] 1 2 3 4 Kelham, A, Sanderson, J, Doe, J, Edgeley-Smith, M, et al, 1979, 1990, 2002 editions, 'Nature Reserves of the Gloucestershire Trust for Nature Conservation/Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust'

[5] Natural England report on the unit status

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v t e Biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire
Summarised data for all sites (biological and geological)
Ashleworth Ham Astridge Wood Badgeworth Barnsley Warren Barton Bushes Bigsweir Woods Blaisdon Hall Bourton Down Box Farm Meadows Boxwell Brassey Brooks Head Grove Buckshraft Mine & Bradley Railway Tunnel Bull Cross, The Frith and Juniper Hill Bushley Muzzard, Brimpsfield Caerwood and Ashberry Goose House Chaceley Meadow Clarke's Pool Meadow Cleeve Common Cockleford Marsh Collinpark Wood Coombe Hill Canal Coombe Hill Cotswold Commons and Beechwoods Cotswold Water Park Crickley Hill and Barrow Wake Daneway Banks Dean Hall Coach House & Cellar Devil's Chapel Scowles Dingle Wood Dixton Wood Dymock Woods Edge Common Elmlea Meadows Frampton Pools Highbury Wood Hobbs Quarry Hornsleasow Roughs Hucclecote Meadows Innsworth Meadow Juniper Hill, Edgeworth Kempley Daffodil Meadow Kingscote and Horsley Woods Lark Wood Leckhampton Hill and Charlton Kings Common Lineover Wood Lower Woods Lower Wye Gorge May Hill Midger Minchinhampton Common Nagshead Old Bow and Old Ham Mines Old River Severn, Upper Lode Pennsylvania Fields, Sedbury Poor's Allotment Puckham Woods Range Farm Fields River Wye Rodborough Common Rough Bank, Miserden Salmonsbury Meadows Selsley Common Severn Estuary Severn Ham, Tewkesbury Shorn Cliff and Caswell Woods Slade Brook Soudley Ponds Speech House Oaks Stenders Quarry Stinchcombe Hill Strawberry Banks Swanpool Wood and Furnace Grove Swift's Hill Sylvan House Barn The Hudnalls The Malvern Hills Tudor Farm Bank Turvey's Piece Upper Severn Estuary Upham Meadow and Summer Leasow Upper Wye Gorge Walmore Common Westbury Brook Ironstone Mine Whelford Meadow Wigpool Ironstone Mine Wildmoorway Meadows Winson Meadows Woodchester Park Workman's Wood Wotton Hill Yarley Meadows
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