Kings Wood and Glebe Meadows, Houghton Conquest

Last updated
Kings Wood and Glebe Meadows, Houghton Conquest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Round Close - geograph.org.uk - 549512.jpg
Location Bedfordshire
Grid reference TL045403
InterestBiological
Area36.1 hectares
Notification 1984
Location map Magic Map

Kings Wood and Glebe Meadows is a 36.1-hectare (89-acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest in Houghton Conquest in Bedfordshire. A local teenage boy, Peter Sollars, discovered many rich communities of plants there, including a number of rare species, e.g. Butcher's Broom, Small Teasel and Green Hellebore in the wood, and combinations of Lady's Bedstraw, Spiny Restharrow, Great Burnet, Adders Tongue Fern and Cowslips in the meadows. The County Botanist at the time, John Dony, was notified of his findings, which were confirmed by a site visit with Peter . The site was notified in 1984 under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the planning authority is Central Bedfordshire. [1] [2] It is also a Local Nature Reserve. [3] [4]

This site has ash and maple woodland on heavy clay, a habitat which has become rare in lowland England. It is biologically diverse, with a number of rare species. Several plants are indicative of ancient woodland, such as wood melick and wood anemone. Glebe Meadows has a rich variety of species due to its traditional management, and there are also some small ponds and mature hedgerows. [1]

There is access by a footpath from Rectory Lane. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire</span> Charity in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire

The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (WTBCN) is a registered charity which manages 126 nature reserves covering 3,945 hectares. It has over 35,000 members, and 95% of people in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire live within five miles of a reserve. In the year to 31 March 2016 it employed 105 people and had an income of £5.1 million. It aims to conserve wildlife, inspire people to take action for wildlife, offer advice and share knowledge. The WTBCN is one of 36 wildlife trusts covering England, and 46 covering the whole of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cooper's Hill, Bedfordshire</span>

Cooper's Hill is an 18.1-hectare (45-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Ampthill in Bedfordshire. It was notified under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in 1984, and the planning authority is Central Bedfordshire Council. A smaller area of 12.7 hectares is also a Local Nature Reserve, Part of the site is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flitwick Moor</span> Nature reserve in the United Kingdom

Flitwick Moor is a 59.8-hectare (148-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Flitwick and Greenfield in Bedfordshire. It was notified under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in 1984 and the local planning authority is Central Bedfordshire Council. The site is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King's Wood, Heath and Reach</span>

King's Wood is an area of ancient woodland in the parish of Heath and Reach in Bedfordshire, England. The wood lies north of the village of Heath and Reach and east of Great Brickhill and with neighboring Bakers Wood forms the largest area of ancient woodland in Bedfordshire. Much of the wood lies within Kings Wood and Rushmere National Nature Reserve, jointly owned and managed by the Greensand Trust, Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, Central Bedfordshire Council and Tarmac Aggregates. Kings Wood and many parts of the National Nature Reserve are part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest named Kings and Bakers Woods and Heaths, which also includes Rammamere Heath in Buckinghamshire and Shire Oak Heath in Bedfordshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cherry Hinton Pit</span>

Cherry Hinton Pit is a 12.8-hectare (32-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the south-eastern outskirts of Cambridge. The site consists of East Pit and most of the smaller West Pit. East Pit is part of the Limekiln Close and East Pit Local Nature Reserve, which is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire under the name Cherry Hinton Chalk Pits. West Pit is a separate Local Nature Reserve (LNR).

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

Houghton Meadows is a 4.7-hectare (12-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) between Houghton and St Ives in Cambridgeshire. The SSSI covers three meadows south of Thicket Road; they are part of the 8-hectare (20-acre) Houghton Meadows nature reserve, which is owned and managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, and which also includes Browns Meadow to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kings and Bakers Woods and Heaths</span>

Kings and Bakers Woods and Heaths is a 212.8-hectare (526-acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) between Heath and Reach in Bedfordshire and Great Brickhill in Buckinghamshire. The site is mainly in Bedfordshire but includes Rammamere Heath in Buckinghamshire. It was notified in 1984 under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the local planning authorities are Central Bedfordshire Council and Aylesbury Vale Council. Part of it is a National Nature Reserve, and part of it is a nature reserve managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. it is also a Nature Conservation Review site.

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

Stanmore Common is a 49.2-hectare public park, Local Nature Reserve and Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation in Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow in England. It is owned by Harrow Council and managed by the council with a local group. It was a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, but was de-notified in the early 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fancott Woods and Meadows</span>

Fancott Woods and Meadows is a 13.3-hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest near the hamlet of Fancott in Bedfordshire. It was notified under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the local planning authority is Central Bedfordshire Council. The site is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galley and Warden Hills</span>

Galley and Warden Hills is a 47 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Warden Hill, a suburb of Luton in Bedfordshire. The local planning authority is Central Bedfordshire Council, and it was notified in 1986 under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is also a Local Nature Reserve.

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

Odell Great Wood is an ancient woodland and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Odell in Bedfordshire. Located around the centre of the parish of Odell, the site was described by Natural England as "in many respects the best example in Bedfordshire" of wet ash-maple woodland, and in historical sources as "the noblest wood in this county". Being one of the largest of Bedfordshire's ancient woodlands, the wood hosts a wide variety of flora and fauna in its ash, oak and hazel coppice habitat.

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

Marston Thrift is a 37.4-hectare (92-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Marston Moretaine and Cranfield in Bedfordshire. It was notified in 1984 under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the local planning authority is Central Bedfordshire Council. It is also a Local Nature Reserve, which extends to a larger area of 55.8 hectares.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maulden Church Meadow</span>

Maulden Church Meadow is a 4.1-hectare (10-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Maulden in Bedfordshire. It was notified in 1987 under section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the local planning authority is Central Bedfordshire Council. Most of it is also a Local Nature Reserve, owned and managed by Central Bedfordshire Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tilwick Meadow</span> Protected area in Bedfordshire, England

Tilwick Meadow is a 2.6-hectare (6.4-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Thurleigh and Wilden in Bedfordshire. It was notified in 1988 under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the local planning authority is Bedford Borough Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Ise and Meadows</span>

River Ise and Meadows is a 13.5-hectare (33-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest along the River Ise in Northamptonshire between Geddington and the Kettering to Corby railway line east of Rushton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barford Wood and Meadows</span>

Barford Wood and Meadows or Barford Meadow Nature Reserve is a 36 hectare nature reserve east of Rushton in Northamptonshire. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. The north-eastern end is part of the River Ise and Meadows Site of Special Scientific Interest.

References

  1. 1 2 "Kings Wood and Glebe Meadows, Houghton Conquest citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  2. "Map of Kings Wood and Glebe Meadows, Houghton Conquest". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Kings Wood and Glebe Meadows, Houghton Conquest". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. 18 February 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  4. "Map of Kings Wood and Glebe Meadows, Houghton Conquest". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
52°03′07″N0°28′37″W / 52.052°N 0.477°W / 52.052; -0.477