Lamplighters Marsh () is a

public open space A public open space is defined as an open piece of land both green space or hard space to which there is public access. Public open space is often referred to by urban planners and landscape architects by the acronym 'POS'. Varied interpretations ...

and local nature reserve near

Shirehampton Shirehampton is a district of Bristol in England, near Avonmouth, at the northwestern edge of the city. It originated as a separate village, retains a High Street with a parish church and shops, and is still thought of as a village by many of ...

in the city of

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It is a narrow strip of land between the railway line which connects Bristol to

Avonmouth Avonmouth ( ) is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, on the north bank of the mouth of the River Avon and the eastern shore of the Severn Estuary. Part of the Port of Bristol, Avonmouth Docks is important to the region's maritime eco ...

, and the River Avon.

Flora and fauna

Lamplighter's Marsh has two main types of vegetation: an area of

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

, which contains a varied plant community, including water parsnip and

wild celery Wild celery is a common name for several plants. It can refer to: * Wild forms of ''Apium graveolens'' * ''Angelica archangelica'', cultivated as a vegetable and medicinal plant * Lovage, ''Levisticum officinale'', sometimes known as wild celery * ...

, and an area of wasteland which is also botanically notable, with species including narrow-leaved everlasting-pea. The Severn Way footpath and cycleway sits alongside the river, passing through Lamplighter's Marsh where the path is called the "yellow brick road". Viper's bugloss, moth mullein and

hornet moth The hornet moth or hornet clearwing (''Sesia apiformis'') is a large moth native to Europe and the Middle East and has been introduced to North America. Its protective coloration is an example of Batesian mimicry, Batesian mimicry, as its simil ...

are among the scarce and notable species recorded at the site. The presence of the grass

sea couch ''Elymus pungens'', the sea couch grass, is a species of grass of the genus ''Elymus (plant), Elymus'' in the family Poaceae. It is a common grass species native to Europe and Asia. ''Elymus pungens'' is typically found in sandy, and saline envir ...

are a sign of the influence of the nearby

Severn Estuary The Severn Estuary () is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England (from North Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire) and South Wales (from Cardiff, Newport to Monmouthshire). Its very h ...

. Bee orchids grow in the area of grassland now known as the Daisy Field lying between the railway and the Portway. Local birdwatchers have recorded a number of species including

common swift The common swift (''Apus apus'') is a medium-sized bird, superficially similar to the barn swallow or Common house martin, house martin but somewhat larger, though not stemming from those passerine species, being in the order Apodiformes. The re ...

Eurasian siskin The Eurasian siskin (''Spinus spinus'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is also called the European siskin, common siskin or just siskin. Other (archaic) names include ''black-headed goldfinch'', ''barley bird'' an ...

common redshank The common redshank or simply redshank (''Tringa totanus'') is a Eurasian wader in the large family Scolopacidae. Taxonomy The common redshank was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of hi ...

Eurasian curlew The Eurasian curlew or common curlew (''Numenius arquata'') is a very large wader in the family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia. In Europe, this species is often referred ...

Eurasian sparrowhawk The Eurasian sparrowhawk (''Accipiter nisus''), also known as the northern sparrowhawk or simply the sparrowhawk, is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Adult male Eurasian sparrowhawks have bluish grey upperparts and orange-barred ...

great cormorant The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), also known as just cormorant in Britain, as black shag or kawau in New Zealand, formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and ...

and

goldcrest The goldcrest (''Regulus regulus'') is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family. Its colourful golden Crest (feathers), crest feathers, as well as being called the "king of the birds" in European folklore, gives rise to its Englis ...

. The site is designed a

Site of Nature Conservation Interest Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI), Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) and regionally important geological site (RIGS) are designations used by local authorities in the United Kingdom for sites of substantive local nature ...

and a Local Nature Reserve.

History

Lamplighter's Marsh was utilised as grazing marsh up to the modern era. In the 18th century the small, brick-making village of West Town took up part of the site, it has gone now but is recalled in the name of the West Town Road. When the First World War broke out the British Army established a remount Depot at Shirehampton. The depot imported, trained and sent out horses on active service with the army and it was very large, extending from Station Road all the way to the Portway roundabout, including the area now known as the Daisy Field. In the Second World War Lamplighter's Marsh was used to tether

barrage balloon A barrage balloon is a type of airborne barrage, a large uncrewed tethered balloon used to defend ground targets against aircraft attack, by raising aloft steel cables which pose a severe risk of collision with hostile aircraft, making the atta ...

s which were to protect the nearby docks from bombing by the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

and some of the concrete blocks used to anchor these balloons are still on the site. In the post-war years some of Lamplighter's Marsh became a landfill site and when this closed in 1976 the regeneration of the area started.

References

{{Culture in Bristol Parks and open spaces in Bristol