Rutland is a landlocked[1] ceremonial county[2] in the East Midlands of England. In 1974 it was merged to be part of the administrative county of Leicestershire, but in 1997 it was separated to become a unitary local authority, which is responsible for all local services apart from the police and fire service. It is mainly rural, but has two market towns, Oakham, the county town, and Uppingham.[3][4][5] The county has an area of 151.5 square miles (392 square kilometres), and the 2011 census showed a population of 37,400.[6]
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In England, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) are designated by Natural England, a non-departmental public body which is responsible for protecting England's natural environment. Designation as an SSSI gives legal protection to the most important wildlife and geological sites.[7] As of November 2017, there are 19 SSSIs in the county.[8] Sixteen are designated for their biological importance, one for its geological importance and two under both criteria.
The largest site is Rutland Water at 1,555.3 hectares (3,843 acres), a Ramsar internationally important wetland site and a Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.[3][9] The smallest is Tolethorpe Road Verges at 1.0 hectare (2.5 acres), which has several regionally uncommon plants on Jurassic limestone.[10]
Key
Sites
| Site name | Photograph | B | G | Area[a] | Public access | Location[a] | Other classifications | Map[b] | Citation[c] | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloody Oaks Quarry |  |  | 1.1 hectares (2.7 acres)[11] | YES | Stamford 52°41′10″N 0°33′50″W / 52.686°N 0.564°W SK 971 108[11] | LRWT[12] | Map | Citation | This site has species-rich grassland on Jurassic limestone. The dominant grasses are tor-grass and upright brome and flora include rock-rose, salad burnet, yellow-wort and autumn gentian.[13] | |
| Burley and Rushpit Woods |  | | 161.2 hectares (398 acres)[14] | NO | Oakham 52°40′44″N 0°41′02″W / 52.679°N 0.684°W SK 891 098[14] | Map | Citation | These woods on upper Lias clay have many mature and over-mature trees and considerable dead wood. The dominant tree is oak in most of the forest, giving way to ash in the remainder. The lichens are of regional importance, and the invertebrates include one listed in the Red List of Threatened Species and five which are nationally scarce.[15] | ||
| Clipsham Old Quarry and Pickworth Great Wood |  | | | 111.2 hectares (275 acres)[16] | PP | Oakham 52°43′23″N 0°32′56″W / 52.723°N 0.549°W SK 981 149[16] | GCR[17] | Map | Citation | Pickworth Great Wood is one of the largest deciduous woods in the county, with diverse breeding birds and over 150 species of moth. The quarry has dense hawthorn scrub and limestone grassland with a variety of lime loving herbs such as dwarf thistle and yellow-wort. It exposes rocks of the Lincolnshire Limestone, dating to the Bajocian stage in the Middle Jurassic around 170 million years ago.[18] |
| East Wood, Great Casterton |  | | 6.6 hectares (16 acres)[19] | Great Casterton 52°41′35″N 0°30′58″W / 52.693°N 0.516°W TF 004 116[19] | Map | Citation | This semi-natural wood is on boulder clay of glacial origin. The dominant trees are ash, oak and wych elm, with a few wild service trees and small leaved limes. In well-drained areas there is a diverse ground flora typical of ancient woodland.[20] | |||
| Empingham Marshy Meadows |  | | 14.0 hectares (35 acres)[21] | YES | Oakham 52°40′23″N 0°35′17″W / 52.673°N 0.588°W SK 956 093[21] | Map | Citation | This site in the valley of North Brook has a complex geological structure and diverse habitats, including grassland and base-rich marsh and fen. Flora in wetter areas include adder's tongue fern, marsh marigold and ragged robin.[22] | ||
| Eye Brook Reservoir |  | | 201.3 hectares (497 acres)[23] | NO | Uppingham 52°33′04″N 0°44′42″W / 52.551°N 0.745°W SP 852 955[23] | Map[d] | Citation | The reservoir is an important site for wintering wildfowl, such as wigeon, teal, mallard and pochard. Other habitats are marsh, mudflats, grassland, broad-leaved woodland and plantations.[24] | ||
| Greetham Meadows |  | | 12.4 hectares (31 acres)[25] | YES | Oakham 52°43′52″N 0°36′43″W / 52.731°N 0.612°W SK 938 157[25] | LRWT[26] | Map | Citation | This ridge and furrow meadow is the only known location in the county for the frog orchid. The soil is on boulder clay, and grasses include crested dog's-tail, sweet vernal-grass, upright brome, downy oat-grass and quaking grass. There are several ponds.[27] | |
| Ketton Quarries |  | | | 115.6 hectares (286 acres)[28] | PP | Stamford 52°38′20″N 0°34′05″W / 52.639°N 0.568°W SK 970 055[28] | GCR,[29][30] LRWT[31] | Map | Citation | The site provides an extensive exposure of the middle Jurassic Bathonian age, dating to around 167 million years ago. It is described by Natural England as "a critical site of considerable importance for lithostratigraphic and facies analysis in the Bathonian rocks of southern Britain". The older workings and spoil heaps are one of the largest areas of semi-natural limestone grassland and scrub in the county.[32] |
| Luffenham Heath Golf Course |  | | 75.1 hectares (186 acres)[33] | NO | Stamford 52°36′36″N 0°35′13″W / 52.610°N 0.587°W SK 958 023[33] | Map | Citation | The course is located on several soil types, including calcareous grassland on Jurassic Lower Lincolnshire Limestone, together with acid heath, scrub and broad-leaved woodland. The dominant grasses are tor-grass and upright brome, and the site is notable for its butterflies and its diverse insect species.[34] | ||
| Newell Wood |  | | 33.3 hectares (82 acres)[35] | NO | Stamford 52°43′05″N 0°31′01″W / 52.718°N 0.517°W TF 003 144[35] | Map | Citation | This acid semi-natural woodland is mainly on glacial sands and gravels, but some areas are on clays and siltstones. It is dominated by oak and birch, and ground flora includes bracken, wood sorrel and early purple orchid.[36] | ||
| North Luffenham Quarry |  | | 4.6 hectares (11 acres)[37] | NO | Stamford 52°37′19″N 0°34′55″W / 52.622°N 0.582°W SK 961 036[37] | Map | Citation | This is calcareous grassland on thin soils derived from Jurassic Lincolnshire Limestone. Flora include basil thyme, marjoram and bee orchid. There are increasing areas of scrub, and the mixture of habitats has a diverse variety of insect species.[38] | ||
| Prior's Coppice |  | | 27.4 hectares (68 acres)[39] | YES | Oakham 52°38′13″N 0°43′59″W / 52.637°N 0.733°W SK 831 051[39] | LRWT[40] | Map | Citation | This wood is on poorly drained soils derived from Jurassic Upper Lias clay and glacial boulder clay. The dominant trees are ash and oak, with field maple and hazel in the shrub layer. There is a diverse ground flora typical of ancient clay woods.[41] | |
| Rutland Water |  | | 1,555.3 hectares (3,843 acres)[9] | YES | Oakham 52°39′14″N 0°39′43″W / 52.654°N 0.662°W SK 906 071[9] | LRWT,[42] NCR,[43] Ramsar,[44] SPA[45] | Map | Citation | This major wetland site has exceptional numbers and diversity of migrating and wintering waterfowl, such as goldeneyes, tufted ducks and wigeons. Habitats are lagoons, islands, mudflats, marsh, grassland, scrub and woodland.[43] | |
| Ryhall Pasture and Little Warren Verges |  | | 6.2 hectares (15 acres)[46] | PP | Stamford 52°42′40″N 0°29′24″W / 52.711°N 0.490°W TF 021 137[46] | Map[e] | Citation | The main grasses on Ryhall Pasture are tor-grass, upright brome and red fescue. The soil is on Jurassic Upper Lincolnshire Limestone, and the rich herb flora include clustered bellflower and greater knapweed.[47] | ||
| Seaton Meadows |  | | 11.4 hectares (28 acres)[48] | YES | Oakham 52°34′16″N 0°39′04″W / 52.571°N 0.651°W SP 915 979[48] | Plantlife[49] | Map | Citation | This site is traditionally managed as hay pasture, and it is an example of unimproved alluvial flood meadows, a rare habitat due to agricultural developments. The grasses are diverse, including meadow foxtail, red fescue, sweet vernal grass and Yorkshire fog.[50] | |
| Shacklewell Hollow |  | | 3.2 hectares (7.9 acres)[51] | NO | Oakham 52°39′29″N 0°33′29″W / 52.658°N 0.558°W SK 976 077[51] | Map | Citation | This marshy site is in the valley of a tributary of the River Gwash. The marsh is dominated by hard rush, and there are several artificial ponds with large populations of mare's tail. There are also areas of calcareous grassland and alder wood.[52] | ||
| Tickencote Marsh |  | | 3.0 hectares (7.4 acres)[53] | NO | Stamford 52°40′16″N 0°32′56″W / 52.671°N 0.549°W SK 982 091[53] | Map | Citation | This site in the valley of the River Gwash is a base-rich grazing marsh, a habitat which is becoming increasingly rare as a result of drainage and a decline in grazing. Common flora include lesser pond-sedge, marsh horsetail and jointed rush.[54] | ||
| Tolethorpe Road Verges |  | | 1.0 hectare (2.5 acres)[55] | YES | Stamford 52°40′55″N 0°30′14″W / 52.682°N 0.504°W TF 012 104[55] | Map | Citation | These grass road verges on Jurassic limestone have several regionally uncommon plants. They are dominated by tor-grass and upright brome, and there are calcareous grassland herbs such as spiny restharrow and stemless thistle.[10] | ||
| Wing Water Treatment Works |  | | 1.5 hectares (3.7 acres)[56] | YES | Oakham 52°36′50″N 0°40′34″W / 52.614°N 0.676°W SK 898 026[56] | GCR[57] | Map | Citation | This site is statigraphically important both regionally and nationally, as it has the longest sequence known in Britain of deposits from the warm Ipswichian interglacial around 120,000 years ago, and it has yielded new paleobotanical records for this period.[58] |
See also
Notes
References
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