| Maiden Erlegh Lakes | |
|---|---|
 The Duck and the World wooden sculpture | |
 | |
| Type | Local Nature Reserve |
| Location | Earley, Berkshire |
| OS grid | SU 749 710 |
| Area | 10.2 hectares (25 acres) |
| Managed by | Earley Town Council |
Maiden Erlegh Lakes is a 10.2-hectare (25-acre) Local Nature Reserve Earley, a suburb of Reading in Berkshire. It is owned and managed by Earley Town Council. [1] [2]
The nature reserve consists of areas of ancient and secondary woodland, grassland, a large lake, a brook, an old woodland pond and surrounding wetland habitat. [3] The reserve supports a large amount of wildlife including over a 100 species of butterflies and moths, more than 50 species of birds, 50 species of fungi and over 20 species of trees. [4] The site features a lake which is 2.4 hectares in area and up to 2 meters deep. [5] The lake features two islands, which birds use as nesting places. [6]
The reserve features woodlands that contain a small pond which is the last remaining remnant of a second lake that used to occupy much of this copse area. [7] On the south side of the lake is more woodland, plus a wildflower meadow and butterfly garden. [8] [9]
On the island within the lake known as Swan Island a statue made out of a tree that had fallen in 2007 was revealed to the public in 2009. [10]
The area of the reserve called Oak Wood dates from at least the 16th century and contains some 18 indicator species associated with old woodlands. [11] The lake area which was once a wet woodland is believed to have been created, by damming the area, sometime between the Middle Ages to the 18th century to create fishponds, provide ice and create a landscape feature. [12]
In the late 18th century, Maiden Erlegh was owned by slaveholder and MP William Mathew Burt, who recruited Capability Brown to assist with landscape planning. [13]
The 1820 maps of enclosures and the tithe map of 1844 both show the woodlands and lake, within Maiden Erlegh Park, as being almost the same size and shape as today. [11]
The lake and surrounding site was purchased by Solomon Joel in 1903, where it is believed he had the larger of the two islands in the lake created. [12]
In response to the demands of local residents Coopers Estates agreed to sell Maiden Erlegh Lake and the surrounding woodland to Earley Parish Council in return for being allowed to build on another greenfield site in 1965 for a sum of £8,500. [11] The land sold in 1965 consisted of the lake itself, plus Oakwood, Old Pond Copse and a small part of Moor Copse. [14] In 1991 Old Lane Wood was acquired from Wokingham Borough Council for £1. [12]
In 1996 the area was then declared a local nature reserve by Earley Town Council. [1]
The site has the following fauna: [3] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20]
The site has the following flora: [12] [21] [22]
Earley is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Wokingham, Berkshire, England. Along with the neighbouring town of Woodley, the Office for National Statistics places Earley within the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area; for the purposes of local government it falls within the Borough of Wokingham, outside the area of Reading Borough Council. Its name is sometimes spelt Erleigh or Erlegh and consists of a number of smaller areas, including Maiden Erlegh and Lower Earley, and lies some 3 miles (5 km) south and east of the centre of Reading, and some 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Wokingham. It had a population of 32,036 at the 2011 Census.
Lower Earley is the southern portion of Earley civil parish and a large suburb of Reading, within the English county of Berkshire. It forms part of a large suburban conurbation of over 85,000 inhabitants adjoining east and south-east Reading. Lower Earley and Earley have a combined population of around 32,000 and Lower Earley itself has developed since the late 1970s. By the mid 1980s it was considered to be the largest private housing development in the United Kingdom. Lower Earley forms a major part of Wokingham Borough. In 2014, the RG6 postcode area was rated one of the most desirable postcode areas to live in England.
Sandhurst to Owlsmoor Bogs and Heaths is an 85.8-hectare (212-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the northern outskirts of Sandhurst in Berkshire. Part of the SSSI is Wildmoor Heath nature reserve, which is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. and the SSSI is part of Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area.
Ruislip Woods is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and national nature reserve covering 726 acres (294 ha) in Ruislip in the London Borough of Hillingdon. The woods became London's first national nature reserve in May 1997. Ruislip Local Nature Reserve at TQ 090 899 is part of the national nature reserve.
Englemere Pond is a 26.1-hectare (64-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the southern outskirts of North Ascot in Berkshire. The site is also a Local Nature Reserve. It is owned by the Crown Estate and managed by Bracknell Forest Borough Council.
McIlroy Park is a 12-hectare (30-acre) Local Nature Reserve in Tilehurst, a suburb of Reading in Berkshire. It is owned and managed by Reading Borough Council. Along with Blundells Copse and Lousehill Copse it is part of West Reading Woodlands.
Round Copse is a 1.7-hectare (4.2-acre) Local Nature Reserve in Reading in Berkshire. It is owned and managed by Reading Borough Council.
Lousehill Copse is a local nature reserve in the Tilehurst suburb of the English town of Reading. The nature reserve is 13.03 hectares in size, and is under the management of the Reading Borough Council. The majority of the site comprises natural mature woodland surrounded by housing and featuring a pond, whilst the northern section of the reserve, also known as Comparts Plantation, is a grassy meadow area. To the south the reserve is crossed by Dee Road.
Clayfield Copse is a local nature reserve on the northern edge of the suburb of Caversham in Reading, UK. The site is 8.65 hectares in size and is a natural open space consisting of fields, wild flower meadow and native woodlands adjoining the Oxfordshire countryside. Some of the woodland is being actively managed as hazel coppice, and traditional dead hedging defines some of the ancient woodland areas. The site is the only outcrop of London Clay north of the River Thames in Reading and makes up the southern tip of the Chiltern Hills. The nature reserve is under the management of the Reading Borough Council.
Loddon Nature Reserve is a 14-hectare (35-acre) nature reserve on the edge of the village of Twyford in Berkshire. It is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.
Jock's Copse is a 1.5-hectare (3.7-acre) Local Nature Reserve on the northern outskirts of Bracknell in Berkshire. It is owned and managed by Bracknell Forest Borough Council.
Temple Copse is a 1.9-hectare (4.7-acre) Local Nature Reserve on the northwestern outskirts of Bracknell in Berkshire. It is owned and managed by Bracknell Forest Borough Council. Along with Jock's Copse and Tinkers Copse it forms part of what is known locally as The Three Copses.
Tinkers Copse is a 1.9-hectare (4.7-acre) Local Nature Reserve on the northwestern outskirts of Bracknell in Berkshire. It is owned and managed by Bracknell Forest Borough Council. Along with Jock's Copse and Temple Copse it forms part of what is known locally as The Three Copses.
Whitegrove Copse is a 3.6-hectare (8.9-acre) Local Nature Reserve on the northern outskirts of Bracknell in Berkshire. It is owned and managed by Bracknell Forest Borough Council.
Herschel Park is a public park in Upton, a suburb of Slough in Berkshire. It is owned and managed by Slough Borough Council. It is in two adjacent areas. The larger area of 4.2-hectare (10-acre) in the north is a Local Nature Reserve. The more formal area in the north is a Grade II listed park.
Cocksherd Wood is a 4.8-hectare (12-acre) Local Nature Reserve in Slough in Berkshire. It is owned by Slough Borough Council and managed by Evergreen 2000. The reserve is known locally as Bluebell Wood.
Holt Copse & Joel Park is a 5.3-hectare (13-acre) Local Nature Reserve (LNR) in Wokingham in Berkshire. It is owned by Wokingham Town Council and managed by the council and Holt Copse Conservation Volunteers.
Pearman's Copse is a 6.9-hectare (17-acre) Local Nature Reserve in Lower Earley, a suburb of Reading in Berkshire. It is owned and managed by Wokingham District Council.
Lavells Lake is a 12.5-hectare (31-acre) Local Nature Reserve on the outskirts of Woodley, a suburb of Reading in Berkshire. It is owned by Wokingham District Council and managed by the council and The Friends of Lavell's Lake. The nature reserve is part of Dinton Pastures Country Park.
51°26′02″N0°55′16″W / 51.4338°N 0.9212°W
