Blackdown Hills

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The Blackdown Hills near Dalwood, Devon

The Blackdown Hills are a range of hills along the border of Devon and Somerset.

The highest point of the hills is Staple Hill in Somerset, at 1,033 feet.

Traces of ancient and modern occupation on the hills include the remains of Iron Age hill forts, Norman motte-and-bailey castles and Second World War airfields. There are also beautiful buildings such as Dunkeswell Abbey and village churches. This is a rural but a busy landscape, the hills crossed by a network of minor roads. The M5 motorway runs around their periphery.

Geologically, the plateau is dominated by hard chert bands of Upper Greensand with some remnants of chalk, and is cut through by river valleys. The hills support an extensive range of wildlife leading to the designation of 16 areas declared to be Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

Geography

The Blackdown Hills straddling the borders of Somerset and Devon. Heavily cut with sharp valleys, the hills reach their highest point of 1,033 feet above sea level at Staple Hill in Somerset. The hills in the southern part of the area, near Honiton in Devon, are more gentle. The Blackdown Hills are a sparsely populated area; much of the land is used for dairy farming.

The bridge over the River Culm at Culmstock

The River Culm rises at a spring (ST22051605) near Culmhead and flows westwards through Hemyock, then Culmstock to Uffculme before joining the River Exe on the north-western outskirts of Exeter. The name of the river is thought to mean 'knot' or 'tie', in reference to the river's twists and loops;[1] or is derived from an Old Welsh river-name meaning winding stream.[2] The River Otter rises near Otterford, where a stream feeds the Otterhead lakes: (ST225152). It then flows south for twenty miles through eastern Devon to the English Channel at the western end of Lyme Bay. The Permian and Triassic sandstone aquifer in the Otter Valley is one of Devon's largest groundwater sources, supplying drinking water to Taunton. The other rivers are the River Yarty and the Corry Brook.

Villages in the northern, Somerset part of the hills include Staple Fitzpaine, Buckland St Mary, Whitestaunton, Wambrook and Churchstanton. The larger, more southerly area in Devon includes Dunkeswell, Upottery, Smeatharpe, Hemyock, Blackborough, Yarcombe, Membury, Stockland, Sheldon and Cotleigh.

Geology

The geology of the Blackdown Hills together with the adjoining East Devon AONB is unique in south-western Britain,[3] forming part of the only extensive outcrop of Upper Greensand in the region.

The Blackdown Hills form a flat plateau dominated by hard chert bands, made up of clay with flints, of Upper Greensand with some remnants of chalk.[4] The cretaceous rocks rest over eroded Jurassic and Triassic beds, with an outcrop of Rhaetian beds.[5] In the western areas the Upper Greensand is devoid of calcareous material but the sands yield fossils of marine bivalves and gastropods (snails) preserved in silica.[6]

Ecology

The grasslands, heathland, meadows and mire support extensive populations of birds such as barn owls (Tyto alba) and nightjar, with butterflies including marbled white (Melanargia galathea), green hairstreak (Callophrys rubi) and the gatekeeper butterfly (Pyronia tithonus).

Plant life includes the heath spotted-orchid (Dactylorhiza maculata), corky fruited water dropwort (pimpinelloides), green-winged orchid (Anacamptis morio), heather (Calluna vulgaris), lousewort (Pedicularis) and birds foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus).

The hedgerows and woodlands are made up of ash, hazel (Corylus), grey willow (Salix cinerea) and pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) which support populations of dormouse (Gliridae), common lizards, siskin, stinking iris (Iris foetidissima) and the purple hairstreak butterfly (Neozephyrus quercus).

The rivers and streams are home to kingfisher, otter and the Daubenton's bat.[7]

Blackdown and Sampford Commons have extensive surviving examples of the heath (habitat)|heathland, carr woodland and marshy grassland habitats that have developed on the acidic soils overlying the Greensand and Keuper Marls of the Blackdown Hills. The heathland supports a typical invertebrate fauna, including a wide variety of butterfly species, and with spiders notably abundant. The site is regionally important for birds which favour heathland habitats.[8]

Conservation

The hills were designated an 'Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty' in 1991,[9] the area covering 143 square miles.

Natural England has denoted the Blackdown Hills as a 'national character area'.[10] Neighbouring natural regions denoted include the 'Devon Redlands' to the west, the 'Vale of Taunton and Quantock Fringes' to the north, the Mid Somerset Hills to the northeast, the Yeovil Scarplands to the east and the Marshwood and Powerstock Vales to the south-east.[11][12]

There are 16 Sites of Special Scientific Interest declared in the Blackdown Hills ranging from the 385.48 acre Black Down and Sampford Commons to Reed Farm pit at just two acres. In total they cover some 1,580 acres, or just under 2% of the designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Of these sites, 79% are deemed by English Nature to be being positively managed.

Quants, a grassland clearing in a forestry plantation well known for its butterflies including Duke of Burgundy, marsh fritillary and wood white,[13] is a candidate for Special Area of Conservation as an internationally important habitat.

History

Paleoenvironmental studies have shown that organic material began to accumulate on the Blackdown Hills in the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods with areas of open meadow, grass land with small woodland components being identified.[14] There are several Bronze Age burial sites including Robin Hood's Butts near Otterford.[15][16][17]

Notable archaeological sites include the Iron Age hill forts at Membury Castle, Hembury and Castle Neroche. The fort at Hembury was built on the remains of a Neolithic causewayed enclosure near Honiton; the fort, dating from the late fifth and early fourth millennia BC, is believed to have been the capital of the Dumnonii tribe. It stands on a promontory to the north of and overlooking the River Dart at approx 580 feet above sea level.[18] That the site was occupied in the Stone Age is demonstrated by the pottery here: Hembury has given its name to some of the earliest Neolithic pottery in southern Britain. The hill fort was built much later, in the Iron Age, on the same site.[19]

There has been archaeological evidence found on the site of Roman military occupation, suggesting a fort within the existing Iron Age site. It is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Fourteen hill slope enclosures, dating from the Iron Age have been identified on the Blackdown Hills,[20] and prehistoric remains, from about 100 BC, have been found in Hemyock.

Earthworks at Castle Neroche

Castle Neroche is a Norman motte-and-bailey castle on the site of an earlier hill fort near Staple Fitzpaine. The hill rises to 853 feet (260 m) on the northern escarpment of the Blackdown Hills. The castle was probably built by Robert of Mortain in the 11th century and probably went out of use in the 12th century.[21]

Around the crossroads at Staple Fitzpaine are several large sandstone boulders. They are called devilstones and are said to have been thrown by the Devil from Castle Neroche. According to legend, if you prick them with a pin they draw blood. The Old English word 'stapol' means pillar or post and it is thought likely that this gave the village the first part of its name.[22] The second part of the name comes from the Fitzpaine family who owned the manor between 1233 and 1393.[23]

A Roman bath house and Edwardian folly in the village of Whitestaunton were excavated by the archaeological television programme Time Team.[24] There is also evidence of iron workings in the Romano-British period, at Dunkeswell, which radiocarbon dating has placed in the 2nd century.[25] It has been suggested that these and other iron-based technologies gave the hills a fairly industrial landscape during the Romano-British period, providing a source of the name Blackdown Hills.[26] Local iron ores were smelted at Hemyock in small bloomeries (furnaces) to produce pure iron until the Middle Ages.[27]

At Simonsburrow a battle between the native Britons and King Ine's West Saxon army, put an end for a time to that king’s expansion to the west. In 710, Ine and Nothhelm fought against Geraint of Dumnonia, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle;[28] John of Worcester states that Geraint was killed in the battle.[29] Ine's advance brought him control of what is now Devon, the new border with Dumnonia being the River Tamar.[30]

Stone beacon structure of 1588

Just to the north of Culmstock, at Culmstock Beacon, is one of a chain of Elizabethan beacons built to warn of possible Spanish invasion: the beacon was lit on the day in 1588 that the Spanish Armada was sighted entering the Channel.[31]

On 5 November 1380, King Richard II granted Sir William and Lady Margaret Asthorpe a licence to crenellate the Hemyock manor house.[32] Over the centuries, Hemyock Castle had many notable owners including Lord Chief Justice Sir John Popham. During the Civil War it was held for Parliament, subjected to a brief but brutal siege and eventually slighted to destroy its military value. Parts of the castle walls, towers and moat still remain. They are a scheduled ancient monument and include displays of history and archaeology. The castle was also owned by General Sir John Graves Simcoe the first lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada in 1792. He is buried at Wolford Chapel near Dunkeswell and the chapel is now owned by the Province of Ontario.

Early attempts were made by King Charles I to enclose parts of the Blackdowns in the 1630s however this was opposed by the local lord and the commoners. He managed to enclose 1,634 acres and soon sold these, but many of the hedges and fences were removed during the Civil War. There were further attempts at enclosure in 1658 but again only about a third was successfully enclosed, which remained the situation until 1833 when the rest of the hills were enclosed.[33]

The Wellington Monument

Coldharbour Mill was built around 1800 to exploit the available water power of the River Culm and was used for wool and yarn production until its commercial closure in 1981. It is now managed by an educational trust and plays a role in telling the industrial history of the area.[34]

The Wellington Monument stands on Wellington Hill (ST137171), two miles south of Wellington in Somerset. It was erected to celebrate the Duke of Wellington's victory at the Battle of Waterloo. The foundation stone was laid in 1817, on land belonging to the Duke, but the monument was not completed until 1854. Its design was inspired by an Egyptian obelisk, but in the shape of the type of bayonet used by Wellington's armies.[35] It is now owned by the National Trust, and is floodlit at night.

Mare and Foal, 1917, by Robert Bevan

The artist Robert Polhill Bevan worked in the Blackdown Hills from 1912–1925 as a guest of landowner and amateur artist Harold Harrison. Until the end of his life Bevan continued to paint in the Bolham valley and nearby Luppitt his angular style sitting well with the strong patterning of the landscape.[36] Many of the images that he produced in the area are now in national museums.

In the Second World War, airbases were built at Dunkeswell, Upottery and Culmhead.[37] Dunkeswell Aerodrome (IATA: N/A, ICAO: EGTU) was built during the Second World War by the RAF, briefly used by the USAF, and then the Fleet Airwing 7 of the United States Navy.[37] It was the only American Navy air base commissioned on British soil during the Second World War.

Noted churches

The Church of St Peter in Staple Fitzpaine

Dunkeswell Abbey, a Cistercian monastery and offshoot of Forde Abbey, was founded in 1201 by William Briwere. The abbey was closed in 1539 and granted to Lord Russell. It was mostly demolished promptly, though a section remained in domestic use until the 19th century. In 1842, a parish church was built on a part of the site. Some surviving fragments of monastery include the partial end wall of the cellarers range and parts of a gatehouse. Some carved fragments survive within the Victorian era church.[38]

The Church of St Peter in Staple Fitzpaine was originally built in the Norman style, and has a Norman doorway reset in the south aisle. The chancel dates from the 14th century; the north aisle was added and the church refenestrated in the 15th century. The tower dates from about 1500. The south porch and the vestry are much more recent, dating from 1841. The crenellated 3-stage tower, has merlons pierced with trefoil headed arches set on a quatrefoil pierced parapet. The church is a Grade I listed building.[39]

Transport

The Blackdown Hills are crossed by a network of minor roads. There are several major roads including the A30, A303 and A35. The M5 motorway is at the north-western edge of the hills.

The Bristol to Exeter line and the remains of the Grand Western Canal run, quite close in places, to the west of the M5 motorway but do not pass through the Blackdown Hills. The West of England Main Line passes through the southern part of the hills between Axminster and Honiton, including a tunnel section east of Honiton.

The Culm Valley Light Railway opened in 1876, having been built by local enterprise. The line was purchased by the Great Western Railway, which had operated it from the start, in 1880. The line closed to passengers in 1963 but served the milk depot at Hemyock until its closure in 1975.[40]

Dunkeswell Aerodrome (IATA: N/A, ICAO: EGTU) is now a busy civilian airfield with a mix of light aircraft, microlights and parachuting.

Outside links

References

  1. ↑ Hesketh, Robert (2008). Devon Placenames. Launceston: Bossiney Books. ISBN 978-1-899383-98-6. 
  2. ↑ Mills, A. D. (1998). Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-280074-4. 
  3. ↑ Ryder, Lucy (November 2006) (PDF). Change and Continuity: a Study in the Historic Landscape of Devon. Doctor of Philosophy in Archaeology, Dissertation. 1. University of Exeter. p. 22. http://www.blackdown-hills.net/modules/documents/documents/Change%20and%20Continuity_%20vol1.pdf. 
  4. ↑ "An introduction to the Blackdown Hills the palaeoenvironmental results and a selection of Historical Records". University of Exeter. http://www.projects.ex.ac.uk/devonclp/blackdown_hills.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-14. 
  5. ↑ Hardy, Peter (1999). The Geology of Somerset. Bradford on Avon: Ex Libris Press. ISBN 0-948578-42-4. 
  6. ↑ "Devon (including Plymouth and Torbay)". England's Geology. Natural England. http://www.english-nature.org.uk/special/geological/sites/area_ID10.asp. Retrieved 2008-09-14. 
  7. ↑ Wildlife: Blackdown Hills AONB
  8. ↑ SSSI listing and designation for Black Down and Sampford Commons
  9. ↑ Blackdown Hills AONB
  10. ↑ NCA 147 Blackdowns – Natural England
  11. ↑ South West National Character Area map
  12. ↑ Blackdowns – Natural England
  13. ↑ SSSI listing and designation for The Quantocks
  14. ↑ Hawkins, Charlotte. "Palaeoenvironmental report for the Blackdown Hills". University of Exeter. http://www.projects.ex.ac.uk/devonclp/blackdowns_palaeo.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-14. 
  15. ↑ National Heritage List 1016414: Two bowl barrows north west of Brown Down Cottage
  16. ↑ National Heritage List 1016415: Two bowl barrows north west of Beech Croft
  17. ↑ National Heritage List 1017055: Round barrow cemetery south of School Farm
  18. ↑ Sellman, R.R. (1985). "The Iron Age in Devon (ch.2)". Aspects of Devon History. Exeter: Devon Books. p. 11 (Map of Iron Age hill forts in Devon including Hembury Castle). ISBN 0-86114-756-1. 
  19. ↑ R.R.Sellman; Aspects of Devon History, Devon Books 1985 – ISBN 0-86114-756-1 - Chapter 2; The Iron Age in Devon. Map Page 11 of Iron Age hill forts in Devon includes Hembury.
  20. ↑ Chapman, Bronwen. "Hill Slope Enclosures in the Blackdown Hills: A Case Study". University of Exeter. http://www.projects.ex.ac.uk/devonclp/Hillslope_enclosures.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-14. 
  21. ↑ Adkins, Lesley and Roy (1992). A field Guide to Somerset Archeology. Stanbridge: Dovecote press. pp. 36–37. ISBN 0-946159-94-7. 
  22. ↑ "The villages of Staple Fitzpaine, Curland and Bickenhall,". Stoke St Mary.net. Archived from the original on 2007-09-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20070912174952/http://www.stokestmary.net/NEROCHE/historystaple.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-30. 
  23. ↑ Bush, Robin (1994). Somerset: The complete guide. Wimbourne: Dovecote press. ISBN 1-874336-27-X. 
  24. ↑ "A Roman bath house and Edwardian folly". Time Team microsite. Channel 4. 11 January 2004. http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/2004_white.html. Retrieved 2008-02-09. 
  25. ↑ "1st Century Romano-British Iron Workings". University of Exeter. http://www.projects.ex.ac.uk/devonclp/Bywood_3.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-14. 
  26. ↑ Wiecken, Julia. "GIS distribution maps of iron working in the Blackdown Hills". University of Exeter. http://www.projects.ex.ac.uk/devonclp/IronWorking_Blackdowns.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-14. 
  27. ↑ "History of Hemyock". Hemyock web site. http://www.hemyock.org/staticpages/index.php/20070119221551294. Retrieved 2008-09-15. 
  28. ↑ Swanton, Michael (1996). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-92129-5. 
  29. ↑ John of Worcester was a twelfth-century chronicler who had access to versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle that have not survived to the present day. See Campbell (ed.), The Anglo-Saxons, p. 222. For the chronicle text, see Forester, Chronicle, p. 36.
  30. ↑ Kirby, D.P. (1992). The Earliest English Kings. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-09086-5. 
  31. ↑ "Culmstock". BBC Devon — home town. BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/discovering/hometown/culmstock_contd.shtml. Retrieved 2008-09-15. 
  32. ↑ "Licence to Crenellate Hemyock". Hemyock Castle. http://www.hemyockcastle.co.uk/licence.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-15. 
  33. ↑ Havinden, Michael (1982). The Somerset Landscape. The making of the English landscape. London: Hodder and Stoughton. pp. 174–175. ISBN 0-340-20116-9. 
  34. ↑ "Coldharbour Mill". Coldharbour Mill. http://www.coldharbourmill.org.uk/. Retrieved 2008-09-15. 
  35. ↑ Leete-Hodge, Lornie (1985). Curiosities of Somerset. Bodmin: Bossiney Books. p. 67. ISBN 0-906456-98-3. 
  36. ↑ Bevan, Robert (1965). Robert Bevan: A Memoir by his Son. London: Studio Vista. 
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Ashworth, Chris (1982). Action Stations, Volume 5: Military airfields of the South-West. Cambridge: Patrick Stephens Limited. ISBN 0-85059-510-X.
  38. ↑ Anthony New. A Guide to the Abbeys of England And Wales, Constable, pp156-157.
  39. ↑ National Heritage List 1060274: Church of St Peter
  40. ↑ Messenger, Michael J. (1993). The Culm Valley Light Railway: Hemyock Branch of the Great Western Railway. Truro: Twelveheads Press. ISBN 978-0-906294-29-1. 
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