| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 | |
| Location | Suffolk |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | TL 850 781 [1] |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 46.2 hectares [1] |
| Notification | 1984 [1] |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Little Heath, Barnham lies south-west of Barnham, Suffolk. Much of the area is now a Site of Special Scientific Interest, which almost surrounds the former chemical weapon store and filling station (FFD1)
This is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, which covers an area of 46.2 hectare. [1] [2] It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, [3] and part of the Breckland Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds [4] [5]
Grazing by rabbits and sheep helps to keep the sward on parts of this site as open grassland, but some parts have been invaded by self-sown woodland. The diverse flora in areas grazed by sheep includes field woodrush, hare's foot clover and harebell. Stone curlews nest on short and open turf. [6]
There is access by footpaths from Barnham.
During the First world war, Little Heath was used for tank testing and mustard gas was produced at Triangle Plantation, at the north end of the Heath. [7] During the Second world war, the area was part of RAF Barnham, under the control of 94 Maintenance Unit. It took bulk deliveries of mustard gas from M. S. Factory, Valley and used it to fill bombs and shells. [8] Known as FFD1 (Forward Filling Depot 1) it was one of five such depots, all in the east of England. and was situated by the, now dismantled, railway line from Thetford to Bury St Edmunds which fed into the works via a short siding. The depot had three 500 ton underground storage "pots" for the gas, which was used to fill weapons from 1944 to 1945. After the war, it was used to dismantle the weapons until 1949. Some gas remained on site, in the underground "pots", until 1954, but it was not until 1996 that the site was fully decontaminated and sold. [8] Several of the above ground buildings remained and were used by the East England Military Museum. [9]
Recently the site has undergone significant redevelopment and is no longer a museum. The majority of the original buildings have been demolished
Barnham is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Thetford and 9 miles (14.5 km) north of Bury St Edmunds on the A134. The village of Euston is 1 mile (1.6 km) to the east. According to the Swedish scholar Eilert Ekwall, the name of the village means "Beorn's homestead".
Breckland in Norfolk and Suffolk is a 39,433 hectare Special Protection Area (SPA) under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The SPA partly overlaps the 7,544 hectare Breckland Special Area of Conservation. As a landscape region it is an unusual natural habitat of England. It comprises the gorse-covered sandy heath that lies mostly in the south of the county of Norfolk but also in the north of Suffolk. An area of considerable interest for its unusual flora and fauna, it lies to the east of another unusual habitat, the Fens, and to the south west of the Broads. The typical tree of this area is the Scots pine. Breckland is one of the driest areas in England.
RAF Barnham is a Royal Air Force station situated in the English county of Suffolk 2 miles (3.2 km) south of the Norfolk town of Thetford. It is located to the north of the village of Barnham on Thetford Heaths. The camp is a satellite station of RAF Honington.
Foxhole Heath is an 85.2-hectare (211-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Eriswell in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and part of Breckland Special Area of Conservation and Breckland Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.
Wangford Warren and Carr is a 67.8-hectare (168-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Brandon and Lakenheath in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and part of the Breckland Special Area of Conservation, and Special Protection Area An area of 15 hectares is managed as a nature reserve by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust
Weeting Heath is a 141.8-hectare (350-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Thetford in Norfolk, which is managed by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and a National Nature Reserve. It is also part of the Breckland Special Area of Conservation and Special Protection Area.
Berner's Heath is a 236.9-hectare (585-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-east of Icklingham in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, a Special Area of Conservation, and a Special Protection Area
Barnham Heath is a 78.6-hectare (194-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Barnham, a village south of Thetford in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2, and part of the Breckland Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds
Breckland Forest is an 18,126 hectare biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in many separate areas between Swaffham in Norfolk and Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. It is part of the Breckland Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. It contains two Geological Conservation Review sites, Beeches Pit, Icklingham and High Lodge. Barton Mills Valley is a Local Nature Reserve in the south-west corner of the site.
Cavenham–Icklingham Heaths is a 419 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Icklingham in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and part of Breckland Special Area of Conservation and Breckland Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Cavenham Heath is a 203.1 hectare National Nature Reserve.
Deadman's Grave, Icklingham is a 127.3-hectare (315-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-east of Icklingham in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and part of Breckland Special Area of Conservation and Breckland Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.
Lakenheath Warren is a 588.3-hectare (1,454-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-east of Lakenheath in Suffolk, England. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and part of Breckland Special Area of Conservation and Breckland Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The RAF Lakenheath base is located nearby.
Thetford Heaths is a 270.6-hectare (669-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and parts of it are a national nature reserve, and a Geological Conservation Review, It is part of the Breckland Special Area of Conservation, and Special Protection Area A large part of this dry heathland site is calcareous grassland, and some areas are grazed by sheep or rabbits. There are several nationally rare plants and an uncommon heathland bird, and many lichens and mosses.
Weather and Horn Heaths, Eriswell is a 133.3-hectare (329-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Eriswell in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and part of the Breckland Special Area of Conservation, and Special Protection Area
West Stow Heath is a 44.3-hectare (109-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of West Stow in Suffolk. It is part of the Breckland Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.
Barnham Cross Common is a 69.1-hectare (171-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the southern outskirts of Thetford in Norfolk. It is owned by Thetford Town Council and is registered common land. It is also a Local Nature Reserve and a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 1. It is part of the Breckland Special Area of Conservation and Special Protection Area.
Stanford Training Area SSSI is part of the British Army Stanford Training Area. It is a 4,678-hectare (11,560-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Thetford in Norfolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site and part of it is a Geological Conservation Review site. It is also part of the Breckland Special Area of Conservation and Special Protection Area.
Thetford Golf Course and Marsh is a 122.3-hectare (302-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the western outskirts of Thetford in Norfolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2, and part of the Breckland Special Area of Conservation and Special Protection Area.
Field Barn Heaths, Hilborough is a 17.9-hectare (44-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Hilborough in Norfolk. It is part of the Breckland Special Area of Conservation and Special Protection Area.
52°22′N0°43′E / 52.37°N 0.72°E
