| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 | |
| Location | Bedfordshire |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | SP936292 |
| Interest | Geological |
| Area | 1.6 hectares |
| Notification | 1988 |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Double Arches Pit (formerly known as New Trees Pit) was a sand quarry near the village and civil parish of Heath and Reach, Bedfordshire, England. It is now a Site of Special Scientific Interest [1] [2] and a Geological Conservation Review site. [3]
Archaeological excavations have concluded that a good-sized Roman settlement existed there, with multiple pieces of pottery and a Roman well being discovered. [4] [5]
The pit was opened by J. Arnold & Sons Limited in 1916. In 1927, the site was subject to a valuation in accordance with the Rating and Valuation Act 1925. The valuer who visited the site recorded its size as 19.149 acres (7.749 ha). The following is an extract from his notes:
Saw foreman 22/8/27. Pit started during war. Plenty of sand, but has run out on east side near brook. Untopping now about 12 feet, increasing. About fifteen men working. Does not know output. Sand taken in trucks pulled by engine and horses to road. Light Railway from there. Excellent sand. Sifted for special contracts before it leaves the pit.
The pit was mentioned in an article in the Cement, Lime & Gravel magazine, describing the site as "largest and most important of the Firm's workings", and described the site as having a system of 'locos' used to transport materials around the site. The site used to be the furthest point along the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway that was constructed to provide a means of transporting sand from a series of quarries in the area. [6] The site closed in 1985. [7]
An application was made to designate the pit a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1988. The application was made on the basis that it was the best accessible exposure to Lower Greensand and Gault in the Leighton Buzzard area. This helps geologists study fossil and environmental changes in the area's history, particularly for the interval covering the Leymeriella tardefurcata and Douvilleiceras mammillatum ammonite zones. The application also mentions a "unique example of channelling in the junction beds" and "clear development of the Cirripede bed.". [3] A site assessment on 12 February 2008 identified the site to be in a "Favourable" condition, and gave the size as 4.22 acres (1.71 ha). [8]
There is no access to the site but it can be viewed from the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway's Stonehenge Works on Mile Tree Road.
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county is administered by three unitary authorities: Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, and Borough of Luton, after Bedfordshire County Council was abolished in 2009.
Leighton Buzzard is a market town in Bedfordshire, England, in the southwest of the county and close to the Buckinghamshire border. It lies between Aylesbury, Tring, Luton/Dunstable and Milton Keynes, near the Chiltern Hills. It is 36 miles (58 km) northwest of Central London and linked to the capital by the Grand Union Canal and the West Coast Main Line. The built-up area extends on either side of the River Ouzel to include its historically-separate neighbour Linslade, and is administered by the Leighton-Linslade Town Council.
Linslade is a town in the Central Bedfordshire unitary authority area of Bedfordshire, England. It borders the town of Leighton Buzzard, with which it forms the civil parish of Leighton-Linslade. Linslade was transferred from Buckinghamshire in 1965. Before then, it was a separate urban district. It remained a part of the Diocese of Oxford until 2008 when it joined Leighton Buzzard in the Diocese of St Albans.
South Bedfordshire was, from 1974 to 2009, a non-metropolitan district of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. Its main towns were Dunstable, Houghton Regis and Leighton Buzzard.
Toddington is a large village and civil parish in the county of Bedfordshire, England. It is situated 5 miles north-north-west of Luton, 4 miles (6 km) north of Dunstable, 6 miles (10 km) south-west of Woburn, and 35 miles north-north-west of London on the B5120 and B579. It is 0.5 miles from Junction 12 of the M1 motorway and lends its name to the nearby motorway service station. The hamlet of Fancott also forms part of the Toddington civil parish.
Heath and Reach is an English village and civil parish near the Chiltern Hills in Bedfordshire. It is 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Leighton Buzzard and 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Woburn and adjoins the county boundary with Buckinghamshire. Nearby places are Leighton-Linslade, Great Brickhill and the Duke of Bedford's Woburn Abbey, Woburn Safari Park and Woburn Golf Club.
Eaton Bray was a rural district in Bedfordshire, England from 1894 to 1933.
The Leighton Buzzard Light Railway (LBLR) is a light railway in Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, England. It operates on 2 ft narrow-gauge track and is just under 3 miles (4.8 km) long. The line was built after the First World War to serve sand quarries north of the town. In the late 1960s the quarries switched to road transport and the railway was taken over by volunteers, who now run the line as a heritage railway.
Central Bedfordshire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It was created in 2009.
Felmersham Gravel Pits is a 21.6 hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest between the villages of Felmersham and Sharnbrook in Bedfordshire. It was notified under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in 1986 and the local planning authority is Bedford Borough Council. The site is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Roxton is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England about 7 miles (11 km) north-east of the county town of Bedford.
Oak Bank School is a co-educational special school with academy status located in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, England. The school accepts pupils from all over the Central Bedfordshire area.
Kensworth is a village and civil parish located in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. The parish is located on the edge of Dunstable Downs, and includes the hamlets of California and Kensworth Lynch.
Biddenham Pit is a gravel pit and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), 0.41 hectares in size located in Biddenham, Bedfordshire. The pit was notified to Bedford Borough Council and Bedfordshire County Council under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) in 1988, and is also a Geological Conservation Review site. The site is owned by Persimmon Homes and Kier Homes, with management advice given by Natural England.
Nares Gladley Marsh is a 5.1 hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire. It was notified in 1990 under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the local planning authority is Central Bedfordshire Council.
Nine Acres Pit is a 20.7 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Importance north-east of Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire. It was notified in 1986 under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the local planning authority is Central Bedfordshire Council. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.
