Windsor Hill Marsh

Last updated

Windsor Hill Marsh
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Windsor Hill Marsh.jpg
Somerset UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Somerset
Area of Search Somerset
Grid reference ST619454
Coordinates 51°12′24″N2°32′48″W / 51.20653°N 2.54676°W / 51.20653; -2.54676 Coordinates: 51°12′24″N2°32′48″W / 51.20653°N 2.54676°W / 51.20653; -2.54676
InterestBiological
Area0.84 hectares (0.0084 km2; 0.0032 sq mi)
Notification 1972 (1972)
Natural England website

Windsor Hill Marsh (grid reference ST619454 ) is a 0.84 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, north of the town of Shepton Mallet in Somerset, and adjacent to the Windsor Hill Quarry geological Site of Special Scientific Interest. It was notified in January 1972.

Contents

Windsor Hill Marsh is a marshy silted pond, with adjacent damp, slightly acidic grassland. Adjoining the marsh are a limestone bank, and a short stream which flows into a swallet.

Biological interest

The site is of interest for its diverse flora, in large part down to the varied habitats present within the small area. English Nature's SSSI citation sheet states that 114 species have been found at the site. Two species are present which are rare in Somerset: flatsedge ( Blysmus compressus ) and slender spike-rush ( Eleocharis uniglumis ). Flatsedge was discovered here in 1946 by Humphry Bowen. This species occurs at no other site in Somerset. Slender spike-rush was discovered in 1972 by Florence Gravestock, and is only found at one other site in Somerset, West Sedgemoor. Both species were still present in 2004. Other marshland plants found here include purple loosestrife, yellow flag ( Iris pseudacorus ), hard rush ( Juncus inflexus ), soft rush ( Juncus effusus ), flowering rush ( Butomus umbellatus ), devil's-bit scabious ( Succisa pratensis ), three species of horsetail Equisetum spp. and seven sedges Carex spp.

Sources

Related Research Articles

Shepton Mallet Town in Somerset, England

Shepton Mallet is a market town and civil parish in the Mendip District of Somerset, England, about 16 miles (26 km) south-west of Bath, 18 miles (29 km) south of Bristol and 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Wells, with an estimated population of 10,810 in 2019. Mendip District Council is based there. The Mendip Hills lie to the north and the River Sheppey runs through the town, as does the route of the Fosse Way, the main Roman road into south-west England. There is evidence of Roman settlement. Its medieval parish church is among many listed buildings. Shepton Mallet Prison was England's oldest until it closed in March 2013. The medieval wool trade gave way to industries such as brewing in the 18th century. The town remains noted for cider production. Shepton Mallet is the closest town to the Glastonbury Festival. Also nearby is the Royal Bath and West of England Society showground.

Gordano Valley

Gordano is an area of North Somerset, in England. It has been designated as a National Nature Reserve.

Windsor Hill

Windsor Hill is a 61.8 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Princes Risborough in Buckinghamshire. It lies within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and it is featured in the Nature Conservation Review. A small part is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, and access to this area requires a permit.

North Somerset Levels

The North Somerset Levels is a coastal plain, an expanse of low-lying flat ground, which occupies an area between Weston-super-Mare and Bristol in North Somerset, England. The River Banwell, River Kenn, River Yeo and Land Yeo are the three principal rivers draining the area.

Yanal Bog

Yanal Bog is a 1.6 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the southern edge of the North Somerset Levels, just north of the village of Sandford, North Somerset. It was notified as an SSSI in 1988.

Long Dole Wood and Meadows SSSI

Long Dole Wood and Meadows SSSI is a 9.8 hectares biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) between the villages of Farrington Gurney and Hinton Blewitt in Bath and North East Somerset, notified in 1987.

Max Bog

Max Bog is a 10.6 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in North Somerset, notified in 1988.

Hobbs Quarry SSSI, Shepton Mallet

Hobbs Quarry is a 0.5 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Shepton Mallet on the Mendip Hills in Somerset, notified in 1984.

Cooks Wood Quarry

Cook's Wood Quarry also known as Holcombe Quarry is a 0.8 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Stoke St Michael on the Mendip Hills in Somerset, notified in 1988.

Windsor Hill Quarry

Windsor Hill Quarry is a 0.8 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Shepton Mallet on the Mendip Hills in Somerset, adjacent to the Windsor Hill Marsh biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. It was notified in 1971.

Viaduct Quarry geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset, England

Viaduct Quarry is a 0.3 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Shepton Mallet on the Mendip Hills in Somerset, notified in 1984.

Shepton Montague Railway Cutting

Shepton Montague Railway Cutting is a 1.61 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest at Shepton Montague in Somerset, notified in 1992.

Maes Down

Maes Down is a 0.2 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Shepton Mallet and Stoney Stratton in Somerset, notified in 1985. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.

Babcary Meadows

Babcary Meadows is a 13.6 hectares biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Babcary in Somerset, notified in 1988.

Lamberts Castle Historic hill fort in Dorset, England

Lambert's Castle is an Iron Age hill fort in the county of Dorset in southwest England. Since 1981 it has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on account of its geology, archaeology and ecology.

Pow Hill Bog Protected natural area in County Durham, England

Pow Hill Bog is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Wear Valley district of County Durham, England. It lies alongside Derwent Reservoir, approximately 2 km north-west of the village of Edmundbyers and adjacent to the Edmundbyers Common portion of the Muggleswick, Stanhope and Edmundbyers Commons and Blanchland Moor SSSI.

Cefn Blaenau

Cefn Blaenau is a 23-hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest in a small upland valley in Carmarthen & Dinefwr, Wales. It was designated an SSSI in 1989 primarily for its flush and spring vegetation as well as the diverse mosaic of unimproved pasture, ‘ffridd’ land, marshy grassland, wet heath, acid grassland, broadleaved woodland, streams, and small rock outcrops. These habitats, which are well represented at this site, have been greatly reduced in north Carmarthenshire due to land improvement, agricultural intensification, and afforestation. Only about 140 hectares of flush and spring vegetation remain in the county.

Lower Moors (St Marys)

The Lower Moors is a wetland between Hugh Town and Old Town Bay on St Mary's, the largest island in the Isles of Scilly. The Isles of Scilly are an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain.

Alnmouth Saltmarsh and Dunes

Alnmouth Saltmarsh and Dunes is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Northumberland, England. It is the largest saltflat on the north-east coast, located on the south bank of the River Aln estuary, and notable for the varied plant community found on the interface between the saltflats and the dunes. It overlaps with and forms part of the much larger Northumberland Shore SSSI.

Bewick and Beanley Moors

Bewick and Beanley Moors is the name given to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in north Northumberland, in the north-east of England. The moors are asserted to be of national importance by Natural England for the extent, quality and diversity of upland types including heaths, fens, wet grassland, flushes, mires and blanket bogs, together creating an extensive mosaic habitat supporting an exceptional community of amphibians. The moors are important, too, for their relict juniper woodland and scrub.