Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve

Last updated

Kingley Vale
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Looking down Kingley Vale.jpg
Location West Sussex
Grid reference SU 822 112 [1]
InterestBiological
Area204.4 hectares (505 acres) [1]
Notification 1986 [1]
Location map Magic Map

Kingley Vale is a 204.4-hectare (505-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Chichester in West Sussex. [1] [2] It is also a Special Area of Conservation [3] and a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. [4] An area of 147.9 hectares (365 acres) is a national nature reserve. [5] Part of the land area designated as Kingley Vale SSSI is owned by the Forestry Commission [6]

Contents

The site is managed by Natural England. It has an information centre and a nature trail. [7] There is a large area of grass downland and shrubland with a number of old yew trees. From the top there are views over Sussex and the south coast. There are a number of walks and bridleways around the NNR.The main walk (known as the "Hidden Landscape Trail") focuses on the Devil's Humps, Goosehill Camp and Auxiliary units of World War II, as well as highlighting other hidden ancient features. [8]

The reserve car park is at West Stoke about five miles northwest of Chichester, [9] and there are footpaths leading up from the village of Stoughton. [8]

Natural features

An ancient yew Ancient yew, Kingley Vale 33.JPG
An ancient yew

Kingley Vale has one of Europe's most impressive yew forests. The forest contains yews as much as 2,000 years old, which are some of the oldest living organisms in Great Britain. [10] Their survival is remarkable because most ancient yew trees across Europe were felled after the 14th century, being the preferred material for the staves of English longbows.

In 1472, with the increasing popularity of the longbow, the English government enacted a "yew tax" of four "bowestaffs" for every cask of wine unloaded at an English harbour. [11] This sparked a rush for ancient yew trees across Europe, decimating the forests. [11] Kingley Vale is one of the few major stands remaining; most yews elsewhere are solitary trees or small stands. [11]

Other tree species in Kingley Vale include oak, ash, holly and hawthorn. Numerous ash trees were felled because of Ash dieback fungal infection that affected much of the South Downs in the 2010s. This has created new clearings in the woods for other plants to grow. The chalk grassland is home to many flowers and herbs that form a diverse mosaic of species. Over 50 species of birds are found, although only six species breed in the yew woodland. Mammals include deer, yellow-necked mouse, water shrew and dormouse. The 39 species of butterfly at Kingley Vale are mainly found in the grassland. [12]

Heritage sites

The Devil's Humps The Devil's Humps - geograph.org.uk - 1503594.jpg
The Devil's Humps

Kingley Vale has a rich and diverse heritage with remains of a Romano-Celtic temple at Bow Hill. [13] Iron Age settlement site known as Goosehill Camp, [14] the Devil's Humps Bronze Age round barrows and prehistoric flint mines. There are also a number of unidentified archaeological remains in the form of linear earthworks, a rectangular enclosure known as Bow Hill Camp and evidence of settlement at the base of the hill. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Downs</span> Range of chalk hills in southeast England

The South Downs are a range of chalk hills in the south-eastern coastal counties of England that extends for about 260 sq mi (670 km2) across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the east. The Downs are bounded on the northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose crest there are extensive views northwards across the Weald. The South Downs National Park forms a much larger area than the chalk range of the South Downs, and includes large parts of the Weald.

<i>Taxus baccata</i> Species of conifer in the family Taxaceae

Taxus baccata is a species of evergreen tree in the family Taxaceae, native to Western Europe, Central Europe and Southern Europe, as well as Northwest Africa, northern Iran, and Southwest Asia. It is the tree originally known as yew, though with other related trees becoming known, it may be referred to as common yew, European yew, or in North America English yew. It is a woodland tree in its native range, and is also grown as an ornamental tree, hedge or topiary. The plant is poisonous, with toxins that can be absorbed through inhalation, ingestion, and transpiration through the skin. Consuming any part of the tree, excluding the aril, can be deadly and the consumption of even a small amount of the foliage can result in death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sussex Wildlife Trust</span> Conservation charity which aims to protect natural life

The Sussex Wildlife Trust (SWT) is a conservation charity which aims to protect natural life in Sussex. It was founded in 1961 and is one of 46 wildlife trusts across the UK and the Isle of Man and Alderney. As of 2024, it had 38,000 members and manages 2,000 hectares of land for nature. It is a registered charity and in the year to 31 March 2019 it had an income of £5.7 million and expenditure of £4 million, resulting in net income of £1.7 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lavant, West Sussex</span> Village and parish in West Sussex, England

Lavant is a civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England, 2.2 miles (3.5 km) north of Chichester. It includes three villages: Mid Lavant and East Lavant, which are separate Anglican parishes, and the much smaller West Lavant. It takes its name from the River Lavant which flows from East Dean to Chichester.

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

Queendown Warren is a 22.2-hectare (55-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-east of Rainham in Kent. It is a Local Nature Reserve, a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2, and a Special Area of Conservation. It is in the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust, and part of it is owned by Plantlife.

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

Westfield Wood is a 5-hectare (12-acre) nature reserve north of Maidstone in Kent, which is managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust. It is part of the Wouldham to Detling Escarpment Site of Special Scientific Interest and Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. It is also in the North Downs Woodlands Special Area of Conservation and the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Dean, West Sussex</span> Village and parish in West Sussex, England

West Dean is a village, Anglican parish and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England 5 miles (8 km) north of Chichester on the A286 road just west of Singleton. The parishes include the hamlets of Binderton and Chilgrove.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stoughton, West Sussex</span> Village and parish in West Sussex, England

Stoughton is a village and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England located nine kilometres north west of Chichester east of the B2146 road, on a lane leading to East Marden. The parish has a land area of 2,987 hectares. In the 2001 census 631 people lived in 255 households, of whom 286 were economically active. At the 2011 Census the population including Walderton had increased to 659. The parish is crossed from west to east by the Monarch's Way long-distance footpath, which passes through the villages of Stoughton and Walderton. There is one pub, The Hare and Hounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Funtington</span> Village and parish in West Sussex, England

Funtington is a village and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies on the B2146 Road 4.5 miles (7.2 km) west of Chichester. The parish also contains the villages of East and West Ashling, West Stoke and the Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve lies at its northern tip. There is a farm produce shop and a pub at the centre of the village. Funtington Primary School is in the village of West Ashling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lady Park Wood National Nature Reserve</span>

Lady Park Wood National Nature Reserve is a 45-hectare (110-acre) nature reserve straddling the borders of Gloucestershire in England and Monmouthshire in Wales. Most of the wood is in Wales – where it forms Wales' easternmost point – but it is managed under agreement with Natural England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goosehill Camp</span> Historic site in West Sussex in West Sussex, England

Goosehill Camp is a prehistoric earthwork that dates back to the Iron Age. It consists of two concentric banks and ditches. The inner enclosure has one entrance and surround two levelled hut sites. Goosehill Camp is within the Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve, on the South Downs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devil's Humps, Stoughton</span> Bronze Age barrows

The Devil's Humps are four Bronze Age barrows situated on Bow Hill on the South Downs near Stoughton, West Sussex. They are situated on a downland ridgeway crossed by an ancient trackway, above Kingley Vale. The Devil's Humps are counted among the most impressive round barrows surviving on the South Downs. The Devil's Humps are within the Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve. The two bell barrows together with two pond barrows and a cross dyke are listed as Scheduled Ancient Monument 1008371, while the two bowl barrows are listed as Scheduled Ancient Monument 1008372.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bull Cross, The Frith and Juniper Hill</span> Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, England

Bull Cross, The Frith and Juniper Hill is a 42.33-hectare (104.6-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1954. The site is listed in the ‘Stroud District’ Local Plan, adopted November 2005, Appendix 6 as an SSSI and Regionally Important Geological Site (RIGS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shorn Cliff and Caswell Woods</span> Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, England

Shorn Cliff And Caswell Woods is a 69.2-hectare (171-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1986. The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bow Hill, Sussex</span> Hill in West Sussex

Bow Hill is an elongated hill ridge, 206 metres (676 ft) high, and running roughly from north to south in the South Downs, in the county of West Sussex, England. It has a prominence of 74 metres.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Designated Sites View: Kingley Vale". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  2. ↑ "Map of Kingley Vale". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  3. ↑ "Designated Sites View: Kingley Vale". Special Areas of Conservation. Natural England. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  4. ↑ Ratcliffe, Derek, ed. (1977). A Nature Conservation Review. Vol. 2. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 118. ISBN   0521-21403-3.
  5. ↑ "Designated Sites View: Kingley Vale". National Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  6. ↑ "Mapping the habitats of England's ten largest institutional landowners". Who owns England?. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  7. ↑ Natural England
  8. 1 2 SDNP (2017). "Kingley Vale Hidden Trail" (PDF). Secret of the High Woods. South Downs National Park Authority. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  9. ↑ Chichester and South Downs. OS Map. Vol. 197 (Landranger ed.). Ordnance Survey. 2006.
  10. ↑ "Kingley Vale" (PDF). English Nature. 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2007. Retrieved 1 June 2007.
  11. 1 2 3 Jim Robbins (2012). The Man Who Planted Trees: Lost Groves, Champion Trees, and an Urgent Plan to Save the Planet. Spiegel & Grau.
  12. ↑ Kingley Vale. Ashford, Nature Conservancy Council South East Region, 1978.
  13. ↑ Down, Alec (1979). "Gazeteer of Sites and Finds". Chichester Excavations. 4. Chichester: Phillimore & Co. Ltd.: 36–7. ISBN   0-85033-344-X.
  14. ↑ Boyden, J. R. (1956). "Excavations at Goosehill Camp, 1953-5". Sussex Archaeological Collections. 94: 70–99. doi: 10.5284/1085886 .
  15. ↑ Heritage Gateway. "A multiple enclosure fort known as Goosehill Camp and a prehistoric linear boundary on Bow Hill". Historic England. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.

50°53′38″N0°49′59″W / 50.894°N 0.833°W / 50.894; -0.833

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.