Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
Area of Search | Preston, Hertfordshire |
---|---|
Grid reference | TL180255 |
Interest | Biological |
Area | 19.2 hectares |
Notification | 1986 |
Location map | Magic Map |
Wain Wood is an ancient woodland extending to 19.2 hectares (47 acres) near Preston in North Hertfordshire. The site is a Site of Special Scientific Interest which was notified in 1986 under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The local planning authority is North Hertfordshire District Council. [1] [2] It is a relic of a large forest which extended from Hitchin to Hatfield. [3]
Wain Wood is situated on a north-east facing slope over decalcified boulder clay. It is an example of a habitat with limited and localised distribution in the United Kingdom due to deforestation or afforestation, especially with conifers. The woodland is dominated by pedunculate oak, sessile oak with hornbeam in the north of the site and gean to the south. At the centre of the wood is a disused pit surrounded by ash and gean. Much of the south of the area consists of acidic grassland. Wain Wood is host to a diverse butterfly fauna including purple hairstreak [1] and the speckled wood. [3]
Wain Wood's name has been associated with a site of pagan worship but it may, more prosaically, derive from the old word for a wagon and refer to a wagon way which passed through the area. It was used by Quaker families from Hitchin for recreation, mainly the enjoyment of nature. Hornbeam was coppiced in the woodland and the bark of the trees was collected for use in tanning. The author and Baptist preacher John Bunyan preached in Wain Wood. Sometimes the congregations in the wood would number into the thousands. Up to the 1880s, anniversary services were held in the wood to commemorate Bunyan's preaching. [3]
There is access by a footpath from the bottom of Preston Hill. [3]
Gosmore is a hamlet in the parish of St Ippolyts near Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England. One interesting feature is Bunyan's Dell, a natural amphitheatre deep inside Wain Wood where the author of The Pilgrim's Progress preached in secret when his faith was persecuted after the Restoration.
Plashes Wood is a 71.9 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Standon in Hertfordshire. The local planning authority is East Hertfordshire District Council. The wood is private property.
Wormley-Hoddesdonpark Wood South is a 192.5 hectare is a biological site of Special Scientific Interest near Cheshunt in Hertfordshire. It is part of Broxbourne Woods National Nature Reserve, and is listed in A Nature Conservation Review. Wormley Wood is owned and managed by the Woodland Trust. The site is also a Special Area of Conservation.
Sherrardspark Wood is a 74.9 hectare biological site of Special Scientific Interest in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. The site was notified in 1986 under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Hoad's Wood is an 80.5-hectare (199-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Ashford in Kent.
Whippendell Wood is an ancient woodland on the edges of Watford, England, covering an area of 165.3 acres (66.9 ha). It is owned and managed by Watford Borough Council. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and has held this status since 1954. Its present name comes from the Anglo-Saxon name "Wippa denu", meaning "Wippa's valley".
Bricket Wood Common is a 70 hectare open space and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Bricket Wood in Hertfordshire. It is managed by St Albans City and District Council together with the Countryside Management Service and Bricket Wood Joint Management Committee.
Northaw Great Wood is a 223.6 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) near Cuffley in Hertfordshire, England. It covers Northaw Great Wood Country Park, which is managed by Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, Well Wood, Justice Hill and Grimes Bottom. Part of the site is managed by Hertfordshire County Council as a schools' park. The country park is also a local nature reserve.
Benington High Wood is a 20.7 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Benington in Hertfordshire. The planning authority is East Hertfordshire District Council.
Knebworth Woods is a 120.8 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Knebworth, immediately south of Stevenage in Hertfordshire. The planning authority is North Hertfordshire District Council.
Tring Woodlands is a 23.8 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Tring in Hertfordshire. It is part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the local planning authority is Dacorum District Council. The wood has a rich flora, showing that it is well established. It is a good example of a semi-natural beech wood in Hertfordshire. Plants that are abundant include woodruff, wood anemone and dog's mercury, and there are a variety of woodland birds. There is access to the wood from Hastoe Hill.
Hertford Heath nature reserve is a 28 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Hertford Heath in Hertfordshire. It is managed by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust and the local planning authority is East Hertfordshire District Council.
Broxbourne Woods are a 239.1 hectare National Nature Reserve west of Broxbourne in Hertfordshire. The site is Hertfordshire's only National Nature Reserve, and is also a Special Area of Conservation. It covers Hoddesdonpark Wood, Wormley Wood, Broxbourne Wood and Bencroft Wood. Bencroft and Broxbourne are owned by Hertfordshire County Council, and Hoddesdonpark and Wormley Woods by the Woodland Trust. They are all in Sites of Special Scientific Interest; Wormley Wood and Bencroft Wood form almost all of Wormley-Hoddesdonpark Wood South, and Hoddesdonpark Wood and Broxbourne Wood are part of Wormley-Hoddesdonpark Wood North.
Danemead is a 5.6-hectare nature reserve west of Hoddesdon in Hertfordshire, managed by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust. It is part of the Wormley-Hoddesdonpark Wood North Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Blake's Wood & Lingwood Common is a 93.2 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Danbury in Essex. It is owned by the National Trust and the local planning authority is Chelmsford City Council.
Quendon Wood is a 32.1 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Quendon in Essex.
Bovingdon Hall Woods is a 69.4 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Braintree in Essex. It is composed of several woods, including Parkhall Wood, Bovingdon Wood, Shoulder of Mutton Wood, and Maid's Wood.
Belcher's and Broadfield Woods is a 14.4 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Halstead and Braintree in Essex. It is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust as the Brookes Nature Reserve.
High Wood, Dunmow is a 41.5 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Great Dunmow in Essex. The local planning authority is Uttlesford District Council.
Hockley Woods is a large woodland in South-east Essex; it is also a Local Nature Reserve, and parts are a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is owned and managed by Rochford District Council.