Crickley Hill
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Crickley Hill and Barrow Wake ( & ) is a biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
, notified in 1974.Natural England SSSI information on the citation
/ref> The site (two parts) lies within the Cotswold
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...
. It was formerly known as Crickley Hill and includes some of a site known as Tuffleys Quarry. Part of the site is owned and managed by Gloucestershire Willdlife Trust and the
National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
as a nature reserve Park. The Cotswold Way National Trail passes through Crickley Hill and Barrow Wake. Barrow Wake and Tuffley's Quarry are listed in the 'Cotswold District' Local Plan 2001–2011 (on line) as Key Wildlife Sites. Crickley Hill is listed in the 'Cotswold District' Local Plan 2001–2011 (on line) as an SSSI and
Regionally Important Geological Site Regionally important geological and geomorphological sites (RIGS) are locally designated sites of local, national and regional importance for geodiversity (geology and geomorphology) in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man. These sites are also known ...
.


Location

The site lies south of
Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...
on the Cotswold scarp and it supports a range of habitats characteristic of the Cotswold
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
. It includes species-rich grassland, semi-natural woodland, scrub and particularly nationally important rock exposures.


Biological interest

The site supports several types of grassland and the turf contains many lime-loving herbs. There are several species of orchid recorded such as early purple orchid, bee orchid, and
musk orchid ''Herminium monorchis'', the musk orchid, is a commonly occurring species of orchid. It is widespread across much of Europe and northern Asia from France to Japan, including China, Siberia, Mongolia, Ukraine, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, etc. I ...
. Viper's bugloss flowers in abundance. This diversity supports a varied invertebrate fauna (butterflies, moths and local snails). The site includes the Scrubbs and Crickley Woods which are areas of mature
Beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...
woodland with regenerating Beech and Ash. Short Wood is an area of
Oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
parkland. The scarp slopes provide basking areas for adders.


Geological interest

The rock exposures constitute a key
Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...
locality and show a major section in the Lower Inferior
Oolite Oolite or oölite () is a sedimentary rock formed from ooids, spherical grains composed of concentric layers. Strictly, oolites consist of ooids of diameter 0.25–2 millimetres; rocks composed of ooids larger than 2 mm are called pis ...
. There are extensive exposures of Lower and Middle Jurassic rocks and these exhibit the best sections in the Cotswolds in the Pea Grit and the overlying Coral Bed. Crickley Hill is part of the Cotswold escarpment which runs from
Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
to the
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
Coast. The stone has been quarried for hundreds of years and was probably used for dry stone walling.


Archaeology

There is evidence of settlements over 5,000 years back. As the soil is thin on the hill the evidence lies close to the surface under the grassland. The site has been excavated each summer period from 1969 to 1993 and is considered to be of international importance as a result of the findings. These point to occupation by humans over 4,000 years (
Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
period) to a post-Roman period. The archaeologists have stayed regularly at Ullenwood Camp close to Crickley Hill for the excavation period.


Crickley Hill Country Park

The Crickley Hill Country Park was established in 1979 with assistance from the then
Countryside Commission The Countryside Commission (formally the Countryside Commission for England and Wales, then the Countryside Commission for England) was a statutory body in England and Wales, and later in England only. Its forerunner, the National Parks Commissi ...
. Access to the countryside at this park provides limestone grassland; beech woodlands, oak parkland; an archaeological site and panoramic views. There is a range of self-guided trails with supporting leaflets. These include Hill Fort Trail; Scrubbs Trail; Scarp Trail; Family Trail and Park Trail. There are also circular walks of different lengths (5 and 8.5 miles). Crickley Hill is wardened by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, The National Trust and volunteers from the Cotswold Warden Service.


Literary associations

Crickley Hill was immortalised by
Ivor Gurney Ivor Bertie Gurney (28 August 1890 – 26 December 1937) was an English poet and composer, particularly of songs. He was born and raised in Gloucester. He suffered from bipolar disorder through much of his life and spent his last 15 years in psy ...
in his poem of that name (from 1919), recounting how mention and memory of the ridge led to bonding on the Western Front, the hill epitomising in local miniature the England for which they felt they were fighting.R. Gill, ''Mastering English Literature'' (2006) p. 500


References


Archaeological publications

* Dixon, Philip, 2019, The Hillfort Settlements, Crickley Hill, Volume 2, with contributions by Alvey, R C, Alvery, M, Badock, A, Elsdon, S, Muir, R, Savage, R D A, Crickley Hill Archaeological Trust. * Dixon, Philip, 1994, The Hillfort Defences, Crickley Hill, Volume 1, with contributions by Alvey, R C, Elsdon, S, Firman, R, Gelling, M, Haldane, J W, Sturgess, J, Crickley Hill Trust and the Department of Archaeology, University of Nottingham * Cunliffe B, 1984, Gloucestershire and the Iron Age of Southern Britain, Transactions of the Bristol Gloucestershire Archaeological Society 102:5–15. * Dixon, P W, 1979, A Neolithic and Iron Age site on a hill top in southern England, Scientific American 241(5):42–50. * Dixon, P W, 1977, Crickley Hill and Gloucestershire Prehistory, Gloucestershire County Council, Gloucester.


SSSI Source


Natural England SSSI information on the citation

Natural England SSSI information on the Crickley Hill And Barrow Wake units


External links


Natural England
(SSSI information)
Gloucestershire Country Council – Crickley Hill Country Park information

National Trust
Image:Crickley Hill - geograph.org.uk - 659954.jpg, Crickley Hill Image:Crickley Hill - geograph.org.uk - 659948.jpg, Crickley Hill Image:Crickley Hill, Gloucestershire - geograph.org.uk - 639791.jpg, Crickley Hill Image:Crickley Hill Viewpoint - geograph.org.uk - 659937.jpg, Crickley Hill Viewpoint Image:Old Quarry, Crickley Hill - geograph.org.uk - 135775.jpg, Old Quarry, Crickley Hill Image:The Devil's Table, Crickley Hill Quarry, Gloucestershire - geograph.org.uk - 192782.jpg, Old Quarry, Crickley Hill Image:Crickley Hill Country Park (14) - geograph.org.uk - 1300171.jpg, Crickley Hill Country Park showing quarry workings Image:Crickley Hill Country Park (1) - geograph.org.uk - 1298974.jpg, Crickley Hill Country Park Image:Crickley Hill Country Park (10) - geograph.org.uk - 1299489.jpg, Crickley Hill Country Park Image:The Cotswold Way on Barrow Wake - geograph.org.uk - 1755250.jpg, Cotswold Way on Barrow Wake Image:Beech trees on Crickley Hill - geograph.org.uk - 652946.jpg, Beech trees, the Scrubbs Image:Footpath on Crickley Hill - geograph.org.uk - 652937.jpg, Footpath through woodland, Crickley Hill {{SSSIs Gloucs geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1974 Cotswolds Country parks in Gloucestershire