Bentley Priory Nature Reserve is a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

and Local Nature Reserve in

Stanmore Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in Greater London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the List of highest points in London, highest point ...

in the London Borough of Harrow, surrounding the stately home of Bentley Priory. It is a 55 hectare mosaic of ancient woodland, unimproved neutral grassland, scrub, wetland, streams and an artificial lake, an unusual combination of habitats in Greater London.Natural England, Bentley Priory SSSI citation

History

Bentley Priory was an Augustinian priory of Canons in the Middle Ages, but it ceased to exist before the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s. In 1775 Sir John Soane designed a new house which stood north of the original priory, also called Bentley Priory. Edgware Brook, a small stream which ran through the grounds, was dammed to form Summerhouse Lake, which was named after the lakeside gazebo of Queen Adelaide,Harrow Heritage Trust, Bentley Priory Nature Reserve
/ref> the widow of King William IV, who spent the last years of her life there in the 1840s. The grounds and house were separated when the house became RAF Bentley Priory, the headquarters of Fighter Command during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The grounds are now maintained as a nature reserve by the Harrow Nature Conservation Forum, a sub-committee of the Harrow Heritage Trust.

The Reserve

The name Bentley is believed to derive from the Anglo-Saxon word Beonet, a place covered in coarse grass, which remain a feature of much of the site today, which includes traditional grassland which has never been treated with fertilisers, and hence is rich in wild flowers. The dominant grasses are common bent, red fescue and Yorkshire Fog. Uncommon wild flowers include greater burnet, great burnet and spotted orchid. There are many birds including buzzard, spotted flycatcher, and bullfinch Bentley Priory has a number of woods, including Heriot Wood. Its dominant tree is

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the family Betulaceae. Its species occur across much of the temperateness, temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names The common English name ''hornbeam'' derives ...

, a species characteristic of ancient woodlands, and it probably dates back to the end of the last Ice Age, the

Younger Dryas The Younger Dryas (YD, Greenland Stadial GS-1) was a period in Earth's geologic history that occurred circa 12,900 to 11,700 years Before Present (BP). It is primarily known for the sudden or "abrupt" cooling in the Northern Hemisphere, when the ...

, 11,500 years ago. To the east is a private deer park. The London Loop goes through Bentley Priory, There is access from Common Road, Priory Drive, Aylmer Drive, Embry Way, Old Lodge Way, Bentley Way and Masefield Avenue.Harrow Nature Conservation Forum, Bentley Priory
/ref>

References

External links

*
Harrow Heritage Trust, Bentley Priory Nature Reserve

Harrow Nature Conservation Forum, Bentley Priory
{{Coord, 51.622, -0.330, type:landmark_region:GB-LND, display=title Sites of Special Scientific Interest in London Nature reserves in the London Borough of Harrow Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Harrow Local nature reserves in Greater London Stanmore

History

The Reserve

See also

References

External links