The name Hangmans Wood dates back to at least the mid-17th century, when it was recorded on an estate map.[4] Trees in the wood include oak, ash, sycamore and wild cherry.
Investigating a denehole in Hangman's Wood
The wood contains a number of deneholes which were investigated by the Essex Field Club at the end of the 19th century.[5] There is normally no access to the deneholes, but permission can be obtained from the council.[6] The deneholes are the most important underground hibernation sites for bats in Essex, with three species; brown long-eared bat, Natterer's bat and Daubenton's bat. The oak woodland is ancient, and it provides a feeding habitat for the bats.[1]
The deneholes in the wood, which were sometimes known as Cunobeline'sgold mines,[7] are described by English Heritage as medieval or post-medieval and were used for chalk or flint mining.[8] The origin of these deneholes is discussed by Tony Benton.[5] There appears to have been more than 70 holes in the wood at one time, concentrated to the north of the wood. Most only survive now as shallow dips in the ground.
The bridlepath which crosses Grangewood Avenue and runs beside Woodside School to connect Hangman's Wood with nearby Terrel's Heath is part of an ancient route from Coalhouse Point in East Tilbury to the bridge or causeway at Aveley.[9]
↑ The council will issue a descent licence for those who are prepared to abide by a number of simple rules and fill in an insurance slip. The address is: Recreation Manager, Recreation Department, Blackshots Lane, Grays, Essex, RM13 2JU.
Thurrock is a unitary authority area with borough status in the English ceremonial county of Essex. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The local authority is Thurrock Council.
A denehole is an underground structure consisting of a number of small chalk caves entered by a vertical shaft. The name is given to certain caves or excavations in England, which have been popularly supposed to have been created by the Danes or some other of the early northern invaders of the country. The common spelling Dane hole is adduced as evidence of this, and individual names, such as Vortigern's Caves at Margate, and Canute's Gold Mine near Bexley, naturally follow the same theory. The word, however, is probably derived from the Anglo Saxon den, a hole or valley. The lack of evidence found in them has led to long arguments as to their function.
The Essex Wildlife Trust (EWT) is one of 46 wildlife trusts which cover the United Kingdom. The EWT was founded in 1959, and it describes itself as Essex's leading conservation charity, which aims to protect wildlife for the future and the people of the county. As of January 2017, it has over 34,000 members and runs 87 nature reserves, 2 nature parks and 11 visitor centres.
Rainham Marshes is an RSPB nature reserve in the east of London, adjacent to the Thames Estuary in Purfleet, Thurrock and the London Borough of Havering. In 2000, the area of land was bought from the Ministry of Defence, who used it as a test firing range. With no activity for several years, the nature reserve was officially opened to the public in 2006. It has maintained much of its medieval landscape, and is the largest area of wetland on the upper parts of the Thames Estuary.
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.
Norsey Wood is a 67.2 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Billericay, Essex. It is also a Local Nature Reserve and a Scheduled Monument.
Little Thurrock is an area, ward, former civil parish and Church of England parish in the town of Grays, in the unitary authority of Thurrock, Essex. In 1931 the parish had a population of 4428.
Hardwick Wood is a 15.5 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest southwest of Hardwick in Cambridgeshire. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Terrel's Heath is, in spite of its name, an area of woodland in Chadwell St Mary named on the 1938 six-inch Ordnance Survey map.
The Chafford Gorges Nature Park is a 200-acre (81 ha) nature reserve located in Chafford Hundred, England and managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. It includes two Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Grays Thurrock Chalk Pit has been designated for its biological interest, and Lion Pit for geological interest.
Croker's Hole is a 4.4 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Upper Lambourn in Berkshire.
Danbury Ridge Nature Reserves are a group of nature reserves totalling 101 hectares near Danbury in Essex, England. They are managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust, and most of them are in Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Two areas, the Backwarden and Hitchcock's Meadow, are part of Danbury Common SSSI, and Woodham Walter Common, Birch Wood, Pheasanthouse Wood, Poors Piece, Scrubs Wood, and a small area in Pheasanthouse Farm, are part of Woodham Walter Common SSSI.
Grays Thurrock Chalk Pit is a 17.3 hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest in Grays in Essex. It is part of Chafford Gorges Nature Park, which is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.
Purfleet Chalk Pits is a 10.7 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Purfleet in Essex. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.
West Thurrock Lagoon and Marshes is a 66.1 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in West Thurrock in Essex.
Eaton Chalk Pit is a 0.16-hectare (0.40-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the southern outskirts of Norwich in Norfolk.
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.
