Pewley Down | |
---|---|
Type | Local Nature Reserve |
Location | Guildford, Surrey |
OS grid | TQ 008 489 |
Area | 9.5 hectares (23 acres) |
Created | July 29, 1920 |
Managed by | Guildford Borough Council |
Pewley Down is a 9.5-hectare (23-acre) Local Nature Reserve on the southern outskirts of Guildford in Surrey, adjacent to Pewley Hill. It is owned and managed by Guildford Borough Council. [1] [2] The site is on a hill offering views south to St Martha's Hill, Chantry Wood, and beyond.
Pewley Down was owned by the Austens, a family of local merchants, from the early 16th century. Following the death of Robert Godwin-Austen in 1884, it passed to Henry Haversham Godwin-Austen. Partly as a result of the Agricultural Depression, his properties struggled financially, and Henry was declared bankrupt in 1898. In 1907, the bankruptcy trustees began to construct a road across Pewley Down in preparation for dividing the land into plots for housebuilding. [3] [4]
After local protest, Pewley Down was purchased by Charles Hoskins Master Chairman of the Friary, Holroyd & Healy's Brewery and gifted to the town of Guildford on 29 July 1920 to commemorate the conclusion of the First World War, with the condition that it be "preserved for time immemorial as a playground for the people of Guildford". [5] [6] The site was designated as a local nature reserve in July 2006. [6] An adjacent set of fields, now known as Pewley Down Meadows, were purchased by the community in 2021 and are managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust as a local nature reserve. [7]
This site is an example of chalk downland, and has several species of rare flowering plants, including pyramidal and Man orchids.
Invertebrates include 26 species of butterflies, including the small blue and chalkhill blue, and 119 species of bees, wasps and ants. [1] [6]
Guildford is a town in west Surrey, England, around 27 mi (43 km) south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around 143,929 inhabitants in mid-2019 est. The name "Guildford" is thought to derive from a crossing of the River Wey, a tributary of the River Thames that flows through the town centre.
Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT) was founded in 1959 as Surrey Naturalists' Trust and it is one of forty-six wildlife trusts covering Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Alderney. SWT carries out conservation activities on a considerable area of Surrey County Council's large countryside estate and also manages land on behalf of the Ministry of Defence estate. As of 2022 the SWT manages more than 6,000 hectares of land for wildlife and employs more than 100 staff. It had an income of £5.1 million and expenditure of £5.7 million.
The Cotswold Water Park is the United Kingdom's largest marl lake system, straddling the Wiltshire–Gloucestershire border, north-west of Cricklade and south of Cirencester. There are 180 lakes, spread over 42 square miles (110 km2).
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is a Wildlife Trust with 27,000 members across the counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, England.
Coombe Hill Canal lies in the Vale of Gloucester, south west England, north of Leigh and runs west 2.75 miles (4.43 km) from Coombe Hill Basin to the River Severn near Wainlode Hill. It opened in 1796 and closed 80 years later in 1876, after the only lock was damaged by flooding. The Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust purchased the Coombe Hill Canal nature reserve in 1985 and the area is managed by the trust. Adjacent to the Coombe Hill Canal is a large area of wet meadowland situated midway between Gloucester and Tewkesbury to the west of the A38, which was purchased by the trust in 1999. There is a north and a south meadow. This land and the Canal itself often flood in winter, which attracts hundreds of wildfowl.
Ash Vale is a village in the borough of Guildford in Surrey, England and the larger, northern settlement of the civil parish of Ash. It is 7 miles (11 km) from Guildford but is closer to the Hampshire towns of Aldershot and Farnborough, the centres of which are each about two miles (4 km) away, immediately across the two crossings of the River Blackwater, to the southwest and northwest.
Colyers Hanger is a 26.6-hectare (66-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-east of Guildford in Surrey. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2 and is part of St Martha's Hill and Colyer's Hanger nature reserve, which is managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust.
Hackhurst and White Downs is a 185.1-hectare (457-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Dorking in Surrey. White Downs is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2, and part of it is in the 200-hectare (490-acre) White Downs nature reserve, which is owned by the Wotton Estate and managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT). Hackhurst Downs is a 29.9-hectare (74-acre) Local Nature Reserve, which part of the 40-hectare (99-acre) Hackhurst Downs nature reserve, which is owned by Surrey County Council and also managed by the SWT.
Seale Chalk Pit is a 1.2-hectare (3.0-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Guildford in Surrey. It is a Geological Conservation Review site and part of the Seale Chalk Pit and Meadow 3-hectare (7.4-acre) private nature reserve, which is managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust.
Sheepleas is a 99.9-hectare (247-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Guildford in Surrey. It is a Geological Conservation Review site and a Local Nature Reserve. It is owned by Surrey County Council and managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust.
Whitmoor Common is a 166-hectare (410-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the northern outskirts of Guildford in Surrey. It is part of the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area and the 184.9-hectare (457-acre) Whitmoor and Rickford Commons Local Nature Reserve, which is owned by Surrey County Council and managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust.
Adelaide Local Nature Reserve is in North West London, in the area of Chalk Farm, Primrose Hill, Belsize Park and Swiss Cottage. It is managed by a local volunteer group, the Adelaide Nature Reserve Association, which works with the council to improve the site for wildlife and local community use and enjoyment. The site is a Local Nature Reserve and Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade 1.
Roding Valley Meadows is an 18.9-hectare (47-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Buckhurst Hill in Essex. It is part of a 65.2 hectare Local Nature Reserve with the same name, which is owned by Epping Forest District Council and Grange Farm Trust, and managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.
Lavender Pond is a 2.5 acre local nature reserve in Rotherhithe in the London Borough of Southwark. It is owned by Southwark Council and managed by The Conservation Volunteers. The nature reserve has an area of woodland as well as the pond.
Papercourt Marshes is a 10-hectare (25-acre) nature reserve in the borough of Guildford in Surrey. It is managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust. A roughly 50 hectares lake and associated surrounds, including the marshes totalling 20.0 hectares is designated a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest as Papercourt.
Chinthurst Hill is a 17.2-hectare (43-acre) Local Nature Reserve south of Guildford in Surrey. It is owned by Surrey County Council and managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust. Chinthurst Hill Tower is a Grade II Scheduled Monument.
Fox Corner Wildlife Area is a 6.2-hectare (15-acre) Local Nature Reserve south-west of Woking in Surrey. It is owned and managed by Guildford Borough Council.
Manor Farm is a 25-hectare (62-acre) nature reserve in Byfleet, Surrey. It is owned and managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust.