The reserve consists
of a meadow together with a section of the adjoining
woodland. The small meadow near the road, and
the gardens around the house itself, are not
part of the reserve. The wood lies on a slope
and there are, as yet, no marked paths so movement
within the wood is not easy. Please keep to the
edge of the meadow during the summer hay growth
period.
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The meadow consists
of some 2-3 hectares of west-facing semi-improved
grassland, lying on quite fertile, slightly acid
soils derived from the underlying Old Red Sandstone
rocks. Although herbicides have not been used
on the site within living memory, it has suffered
from earlier cattle grazing and fertiliser applications.
As a result, nitrogen levels have built up in
the soil and coarse grasses and vigorous weeds,
such as Cocksfoot, Yorkshire Fog, nettles, docks
and thistles, have taken over. The herbaceous
flora is generally impoverished but future management
aims to restore this situation. A number of ornamental
trees were planted by the former owner, John
Knight, between 1970 and 1994 along the northern
border of the field. These include Oaks, Beech,
Copper Beech, Lime, Elm, Wych Elm, Aspen and
Silver Birch. The woodland area of the reserve forms part
of the much larger Chase Wood, currently managed
by Forest Enterprise, which clothes the sides
of the sandstone ridge east of Purland Chase.
There has been little human intervention here
in the last fifty years. The whole area has
been coppiced in the past and there are some
impressive Sweet Chestnut stools, supporting
up to eight well-grown trunks. Sessile and
Pedunculate Oak, Ash, Beech, and Silver Birch
dominate, while there are a few Horse Chestnut,
Wild Cherry and Goat Willow. Single Aspens,
White Poplars and Wild Service are also present,
probably planted by the previous owner. The
understorey contains Hawthorn, Hazel, Elder,
Holly, Honeysuckle, Bramble and Wild Currant.
One or two small Yews and Crab apples are also
found. Bluebells, Wood Anemones, Dog's Mercury
and various ferns are present in the field
layer and indicate that this wood has had ancient
origins. There is a small overgrown quarry
within the wood, which supplied stone for the
original 19th century house and garden walls
here. The Old Red Sandstone rock exposures
within this quarry provide an interesting geological
feature and an additional wildlife micro-habitat. |
The main priority
is to reduce fertility levels in the soil of
the meadow by repeated cutting and removal of
vegetation, followed by grazing during the winter
months. Aggressive weeds and grasses are being
controlled and re-seeding with herbaceous species
typical of local meadows has begun in order to
re-establish a hay meadow regime. Management
of the woodland area is expected to be largely
non-interventional, but the management plan provides
for the creation of two small coppice coupes,
in order to bring more light onto the woodland
floor, and promote more plant and insect diversity.
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