Highgate Wood

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Highgate Wood
HIGHGATE WOOD.jpg
Highgate Wood in late July 2006
Highgate Wood
Area28 hectares (69 acres)
Operated by Corporation of London
Opendaylight hours

Highgate Wood is a 28 hectare (70 acre) area [1] of ancient woodland in North London, lying between East Finchley, Highgate and Muswell Hill. It was originally part of the ancient Forest of Middlesex which covered much of London, Hertfordshire and Essex and was mentioned in the Domesday Book. It lies in the London Borough of Haringey, but is owned and managed by the City of London Corporation.

Contents

The London Borough of Haringey contains four ancient woods: Highgate Wood, Queen's Wood, Coldfall Wood and Bluebell Wood. Highgate Wood is shown on the Ordnance Survey map of Middlesex in 1886 more or less in its present formation, but known by the name "Gravelpit Wood".

Flora and fauna

The flora and fauna in the wood have been managed to varying degrees by humans through the ages.

Predominantly an oak, hornbeam and holly wood, Highgate Wood is also home to more than 50 other tree and shrub species which have self-seeded there. The wild service tree, a rare deciduous tree with brown berries, can be found in Highgate Wood. Presence of the wild service tree is commonly taken as an indicator of ancient woodland.

71 different species of bird have been recorded, alongside foxes, grey squirrels, bat species including pipistrelle, Natterer's bat, common noctule and the rare Leisler's bat, 180 species of moth, 12 species of butterfly and 80 species of spider.

History

Human artefacts

Entrance gates to Highgate Wood Highgate Wood gate.jpg
Entrance gates to Highgate Wood

Prehistoric flints have been found in the wood. Excavations on the ridge at the northern end of the wood established that Romano-Britons were producing pottery from local materials between AD 50–100.

The west end of the linear earthwork running across the northern part of Highgate Wood Linear Earthwork at the North End of Highgate Wood (West End - 02).jpg
The west end of the linear earthwork running across the northern part of Highgate Wood

An ancient earthwork runs across the wood. This may have formed part of an enclosure for deer during the Medieval period, when the Bishop of London owned the wood; however, it could also be a prehistoric boundary or defensive work. During the Medieval period, the wood formed part of the Bishop of London’s hunting estate. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, the wood, known then as "Brewer's Fell", was leased to various tenants who managed it by 'coppicing with standards'. This involved regularly cutting down areas of Hornbeams to a stump ('coppicing') to encourage new growth which could be used for fuel or fencing, whilst allowing oak and other tree species to grow to maturity ('standards'). Remnants of wood banks dividing these areas can still be seen. Many of these oaks were then used by the Crown to construct ships and by the Church to construct buildings.

In the 1880s, the last tenant gave up his lease. In 1886, the City of London Corporation acquired what was by then known as Gravelpit Wood (so named in 1863 on account of a gravel pit used to source gravel for roads in the district) from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners at no charge on condition that it was "maintained in perpetuity for the benefit of Londoners". It was renamed Highgate Wood; it has been owned and managed by the Corporation ever since.

Care and management

The City of London Corporation's maintenance of the wood was not always sympathetic to its historical origins. On acquisition, asphalt paths were laid, ornamental trees were planted and dead wood was assiduously removed and burned. Highgate Wood was managed more as an urban park than ancient woodland. In 1968 the Conservation Committee of the London Natural History Society expressed its concern at the planting of exotic conifers as being inappropriate for ancient woodland. As a consequence of this protest the planting programme was halted and has not been continued.

More recently management practices have been much more sympathetic to the Wood's indigenous flora and fauna. Certain areas have been fenced to allow the regeneration of the vegetation free of trampling, and dead wood is allowed to decay ‘’in situ’’ — to the great benefit of saprotrophic fungi and a wide range of invertebrates.

Nature reserve

Highgate Wood is a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation. [2] It is also listed as one of only eight Green Heritage Sites in London. [3]

Facilities and access

Highgate Wood can be reached easily from Highgate station on the Northern line of the London Underground. It is adjacent to the A1 road and is situated approximately 6 miles (10 km) north of Charing Cross, well inside London's metropolitan area.

Pavilion and football pitch, Highgate Wood Highgate Wood football.jpg
Pavilion and football pitch, Highgate Wood

As well as a football pitch and a cricket field, Highgate Wood has a children’s playground, a café and an information centre.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coppicing</span> Method of woodland management

Coppicing is the traditional method in woodland management of cutting down a tree to a stump, which in many species encourages new shoots to grow from the stump or roots, thus ultimately regrowing the tree. A forest or grove that has been subject to coppicing is called a copse or coppice, in which young tree stems are repeatedly cut down to near ground level. The resulting living stumps are called stools. New growth emerges, and after a number of years, the coppiced trees are harvested, and the cycle begins anew. Pollarding is a similar process carried out at a higher level on the tree in order to prevent grazing animals from eating new shoots. Daisugi, is a similar Japanese technique.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ancient woodland</span> Type of woodland in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, ancient woodland is that which has existed continuously since 1600 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Planting of woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 1600 is likely to have developed naturally.

<i>Carpinus betulus</i> Species of tree

Carpinus betulus, the European or common hornbeam, is a species of tree in the birch family Betulaceae, native to Western Asia and central, eastern, and southern Europe, including southern England. It requires a warm climate for good growth, and occurs only at elevations up to 1,000 metres (3,281 ft). It grows in mixed stands with oak, and in some areas beech, and is also a common tree in scree forests. Hornbeam was also known as yoke elm.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipal Borough of Hornsey</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daws Heath</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coldfall Wood</span> Ancient woodland in Muswell Hill, North London

Coldfall Wood is an ancient woodland in Muswell Hill, North London. It covers an area of approximately 14 hectares and is surrounded by St Pancras and Islington Cemetery, the East Finchley public allotments, and the residential streets Creighton Avenue and Barrenger Road. It is the site of the discoveries which first led to the recognition that glaciation had once reached southern England. It was declared a local nature reserve in 2013, and is also a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chailey</span> Village in East Sussex, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Chiltington</span> Village in East Sussex, England

East Chiltington is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. It is centred four miles (5.9 km) south-east of Burgess Hill and five miles (8 km) north-west of Lewes. It is a strip parish of 3.76 square miles (9.7 km2), stretching northward from the crest of the South Downs. The village church is 13th century in origin; the vicar also has charge of two churches in Plumpton. Near the church there is a pub called The Jolly Sportsman. The Sussex Greensand Way, a Roman road, runs from east to west through the centre of the parish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lower Woods</span>

Lower Woods is a 280.1-hectare (692-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the village of Wickwar, South Gloucestershire, notified in 1966 and renotified in 1985. The site area has increased at last revision in 1974 to a 284.1-hectare (702-acre) site. The site is a nature reserve managed by the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen's Wood</span> 52-acre wood in Haringey, London

Queen's Wood is a 52-acre area of ancient woodland in the London Borough of Haringey, abutting Highgate Wood and lying between East Finchley, Highgate, Muswell Hill and Crouch End. It was originally part of the ancient Forest of Middlesex which covered much of London, Hertfordshire and Essex and was mentioned in the Domesday Book. It is now one of three Local Nature Reserves in the London Borough of Haringey. It is situated a few minutes' walk from Highgate tube station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hatfield Forest</span> Nature reserve in England

Hatfield Forest is a 403.2-hectare (996-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Essex, three miles east of Bishop's Stortford. It is also a National Nature Reserve and a Nature Conservation Review site. It is owned and managed by the National Trust. A medieval warren in the forest is a Scheduled Monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great North Wood</span> Wood in south London

The Great North Wood was a natural oak woodland that started three miles (4.8 km) south-east of central London and scaled the Norwood Ridge. At its full extent, the wood's boundaries stretched almost as far as Croydon and as far north as Camberwell. It had occasional landownings as large clearings, well-established by the Middle Ages such as the hamlets of Penge and Dulwich.

West Blean is an area of ancient semi-natural woodland with SSSI status, 5km north of the city of Canterbury in Kent, England, also including Thornden Wood. It is managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust.

The Forest of Middlesex was an ancient woodland covering much of the county of Middlesex, England, that was north of the City of London and now forms the northern part of Greater London. A path was cut through the forest for the creation of Watling Street. At its ancient extent the forest stretched twelve miles north from the city walls at Houndsditch. Following the Norman Conquest it became the royal forest of Middlesex, where citizens of the City of London enjoyed the right of free chase by charters granted by Henry I and Henry II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cherry Tree Wood</span> Park in London, England

Cherry Tree Wood is a 5.3-hectare park in East Finchley in the London Borough of Barnet. It is a Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation. Located opposite East Finchley Underground station, it contains woodland and grassland, a playground, tennis courts, a cafe and toilets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruislip Woods</span> Woodland in Ruislip, London

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frithy and Chadacre Woods</span> Site of Special Scientific Interest in Suffolk, England

Frithy and Chadacre Woods is a 28.7-hectare (71-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in the parishes of Lawshall and Shimpling in Suffolk, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collinpark Wood SSSI</span> Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, England

Collinpark Wood is a 66.69-hectare (164.8-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1966, revised in 1974 and renotified in 1983. There was a boundary change in 1983. There are seven units of assessment. Unit 1 is a 15-hectare (37-acre) area owned and managed by the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. The trust purchased this part of the wood in 1979 with grant aid from WWF. The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hockley Woods</span> Nature reserve in Essex, England

Hockley Woods is a large woodland in south-east Essex. It is a Local Nature Reserve, and parts are a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is owned and managed by Rochford District Council.

References

  1. "City of London Highgate Wood". City of London. 8 January 2010. Archived from the original on 27 March 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  2. "Parkland Walk, Queen's Wood and Highgate Wood". Greenspace Information for Greater London. 2006. Archived from the original on 24 December 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  3. English Heritage - Green Heritage Microsite

Sources

51°34′59″N0°09′00″W / 51.583°N 0.150°W / 51.583; -0.150