| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 | |
| Location | West Sussex |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | TQ 284 138 [1] |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 58.9 hectares (146 acres) [1] |
| Notification | 1986 [1] |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Wolstonbury Hill is a 58.9-hectare (146-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-west of in West Sussex. [1] [2] It is owned by the National Trust [3] and part of it is a Scheduled Monument. [4]
Rising to a maximum height of 206 metres (676 ft), Wolstonbury projects into the Weald from the main ridge of the South Downs giving views of both the Downs and the Weald. Views across the Weald to the north are panoramic, to the east are the Clayton Windmills and Ditchling Beacon beyond. Hollingbury is prominent to the southeast. Looking west one can see Newtimber Hill, West Hill with Devils Dyke just beyond, further out Chanctonbury Ring is clearly visible.
Wolstonbury, owned and maintained by the National Trust, is listed as a Scheduled Monument.
No roads or car parks lie close to the summit so visitors have to ascend on foot or by mountain bike.
South of Hurstpierpoint ridge, the clay vale lies beneath the jutting profile and complex scarp and foot of Wolstonbury Hill.
The approach from the north is characterised by a network of linked or closely spaced woodlands (some parts ancient) centred on the designed landscape at Danny House.
At least 11 species of orchid can be found on Wolstonbury Hill, including the Man Orchid (Orchis anthroporum), one of only three sites in Sussex. Obviously, due to its rarity, the exact location is known to only a few and not divulged openly. [5]
From early spring until autumn, you’ll find over 30 species of butterfly including the Adonis Blue, another rarity and classified as a species of conservation concern. Part of the success of the survival of the Adonis Blue on Wolstonbury Hill is due to the managed grazing. Allowing livestock to graze instead of mowing the grassland allows ant hills to become widespread. Each of these ant hills contain a colony of ants which have a symbiotic relationship with the adonis blue butterfly. The butterfly chrysalis is protected by ants until it hatches into a caterpillar. The ants milk the sweet sugary honeydew from the caterpillar’s gland, and in return the ants guard the growing caterpillars from predatory wasps. [6]
The remains at the site include a 2.2-hectare (5.4-acre) early Bronze Age enclosure now referred to as Wolstonbury C. [7] A possible inner enclosure known as Wolstonbury A appears to be older, due to it being overlain by C. Wolstonbury B is another possible enclosure sandwiched between A and C, its presence indicated by a survey conducted in 1994 by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. Excavations done by Bournemouth University in 1995 suggest that Wolstonbury A and B may be field lynchets. [8]
Skeletons were reportedly unearthed during flint digging operations begun in 1765. This digging continued until the mid-19th century, resulting in extensive damage to the site. Unknown quantities of Neolithic and early Bronze Age flintwork were discovered in a 1929 dig as well as "Romano-British" pottery, animal bones, and hammerstones. [9]
Shoreham-by-Sea is a coastal town and port in West Sussex, England.
Devil's Dyke is a 100 metre (300') deep V-shaped dry valley on the South Downs in Sussex in southern England, 5 miles (8.0 km) north-west of Brighton. It is managed by the National Trust, and is also part of the Beeding Hill to Newtimber Hill Site of Special Scientific Interest. Devil's Dyke was a major local tourist attraction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is now a popular viewpoint and site for walking, model aircraft flying and hang gliding. The South Downs Way passes the site.
Mount Caburn is a 146-metre prominent landmark in East Sussex, England, about one mile (1.6 km) east of Lewes overlooking the village of Glynde. It is the highest part of an outlier of the South Downs, separated from the main range by Glynde Reach, a tributary of the River Ouse.
Lardon Chase is a 14.9-hectare (37-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Streatley in Berkshire. It is in the North Wessex Downs, which is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and is part of the Lardon Chase, the Holies and Lough Down National Trust property.
Upper Beeding is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the northern end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, four miles (6.4 km) north of Shoreham-by-Sea and has a land area of 1877 hectares (4637 acres). The site is a bridging point over the river: on the opposite bank are Bramber and Steyning, making the whole area somewhat built-up. The civil parish also includes the smaller village of Small Dole to the north, and the village of Edburton to the northeast.
Kingston near Lewes is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book and is located two miles (3.2 km) south of Lewes and is nestled in the South Downs. The parish is par of two Sites of Special Scientific Interest: the Lewes Brooks and Kingston Escarpment and Iford Hill.
Westmeston is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England heavily dependent in amenities on larger Ditchling to the near-immediate northwest. It is four miles (6 km) south-southeast of Burgess Hill and (10 km) west of Lewes, on the northern slopes of the South Downs.
Fulking is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. The parish lies wholly with the South Downs National Park.
Newtimber is a small village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. It is located north-west of Brighton. The parish also includes the hamlet of Saddlescombe. The parish lies almost wholly with the South Downs National Park, with the exception of a small section of the parish north of the B2117 road. The planning authority for Newtimber is therefore the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA), the statutory planning authority for the National Park area. The downland scarp, which includes Newtimber Hill, Newtimber Holt, Saddlescombe chalk quarry and Summer Down, is mostly part of the Beeding Hill to Newtimber Hill, designated Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Poynings is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. The parish lies wholly with the South Downs National Park. To its south is Brighton and Hove, to its west is the Fulking parish, to its east is the Newtimber parish and to its north is Albourne parish. The planning authority for Poynings is the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA), the statutory planning authority for the National Park area.
Pyecombe is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. The name 'Pyecombe' may derive from the Saxon "pic" meaning point or pike, in which case it may mean "valley marked by a projecting hill".
Chailey Common is a 169 hectare (417.4 acre) biological site of Special Scientific Interest in the East Sussex. It is close to the village of North Chailey to the west of Newick. The site was notified in 1985 under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is also a Local Nature Reserve.
Pewsey Downs is a 305.3 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the southern edge of the Marlborough Downs north of Pewsey in Wiltshire, notified in 1951. It includes the Pewsey Downs National Nature Reserve.
Old Winchester Hill is a 66.2-hectare (164-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Hampshire. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and a national nature reserve. Part of it is a scheduled monument.
Ditchling Beacon is the highest point in East Sussex, England, with an elevation of 248 m (814 ft). It is south of Ditchling and to the north-east of Brighton. It is a large chalk hill with a particularly steep northern face, covered with open grassland and sheep-grazing areas. It is the third-highest point on the South Downs, behind Butser Hill and Crown Tegleaze.
Danny is a Grade I listed Elizabethan red brick mansion near Hurstpierpoint in West Sussex, England. It lies at the northern foot of Wolstonbury Hill and may be regarded as one of the finest stately houses in Sussex, with 56 bedrooms and 28 apartments. The present house was built 1593–95 by George Goring, on the site of an older house. It is set in eight acres of gardens at the foot of the South Downs within an historic parkland of some 400 acres, which was granted by royal charter in 1333.
Burham Down is a 110-hectare (270-acre) nature reserve between Maidstone and Chatham in Kent. It is managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust. It is part of the Wouldham to Detling Escarpment Site of Special Scientific Interest and Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the North Downs Woodlands Special Area of Conservation.
Ditchling Common is a 66.5-hectare (164-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-west of Wivelsfield in East Sussex. It is a country park. which is owned and managed by East Sussex County Council. In many respects, it is a biologically important site of the Low Weald supporting a rich array of biodiversity not found anywhere else in the area.
Westdene is an area of the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex. It is an affluent northern suburb of the city, west of Patcham, the A23 and the London to Brighton railway line, north of Withdean and northeast of West Blatchington. It is on the Brighton side of the historic parish boundary between Brighton and Hove and is served by Preston Park railway station. It is known for its greenery and woodland and is very close to the South Downs, from which it is separated by the Brighton Bypass, and was built on the slopes of two hills.
Beeding Hill to Newtimber Hill is a 321-hectare (790-acre) biological and geological Downland Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) north of Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2, and it includes Devil's Dyke Geological Conservation Review site.
