Windsor Hill Marsh () is a 0.84

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

biological 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 ...

, north of the town of

Shepton Mallet Shepton Mallet is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England, some southwest of Bath, Somerset, Bath, south of Bristol and east of Wells, Somerset, Wells. It had an estimated population of 10,810 in 2019. ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, and adjacent to the Windsor Hill Quarry

geological 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 ...

. It was notified in January 1972. Windsor Hill Marsh is a marshy silted pond, with adjacent damp, slightly acidic grassland. Adjoining the marsh are a limestone bank, and a short stream which flows into a swallet.

Biological interest

The site is of interest for its diverse flora, in large part down to the varied habitats present within the small area. English Nature's SSSI citation sheet states that 114 species have been found at the site. Two species are present which are rare in Somerset: flatsedge ('' Blysmus compressus'') and slender spike-rush ('' Eleocharis uniglumis''). Flatsedge was discovered here in 1946 by

Humphry Bowen __NOTOC__ Humphry John Moule Bowen (22 June 1929 – 9 August 2001) was a British botanist and chemist. Early life and education Bowen was born in Oxford, son of the chemist Edmund Bowen and Edith Bowen (nee Moule). He attended the Dragon Sc ...

. This species occurs at no other site in Somerset. Slender spike-rush was discovered in 1972 by Florence Gravestock, and is only found at one other site in Somerset, West Sedgemoor. Both species were still present in 2004. Other marshland plants found here include

purple loosestrife ''Lythrum salicaria'' or purple loosestrifeFlora of NW Europe''Lythrum salicaria'' is a flowering plant belonging to the family Lythraceae. It should not be confused with other plants sharing the name loosestrife that are members of the family Pr ...

, yellow flag (''

Iris pseudacorus ''Iris pseudacorus'', the yellow flag, yellow iris, or water flag, is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae. It is native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa. Its specific epithet ''pseudacorus'' means "false acorus", r ...

''), hard rush ('' Juncus inflexus''), soft rush (''

Juncus effusus ''Juncus effusus'' is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant species in the rush family Juncaceae, with the common names common rush or soft rush. In North America, the common name soft rush also refers to ''Juncus interior''. Distribution ''J ...

''), flowering rush (''

Butomus umbellatus ''Butomus umbellatus'' is a Eurasian plant species in the family Butomaceae. It is the only species in the family. Common names include flowering rush or grass rush. Introduced into North America as an ornamental plant it has now become a seriou ...

''), devil's-bit scabious ('' Succisa pratensis''), three species of horsetail ''

Equisetum ''Equisetum'' (; horsetail) is the only living genus in Equisetaceae, a family of vascular plants that reproduce by spores rather than seeds. ''Equisetum'' is a "living fossil", the only living genus of the entire subclass Equisetidae, which ...

'' spp. and seven

sedge The Cyperaceae () are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as wikt:sedge, sedges. The family (biology), family is large; botanists have species description, described some 5,500 known species in about 90 ...

s ''

Carex ''Carex'' is a vast genus of over 2,000 species of grass-like plants in the family (biology), family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges (or seg, in older books). Other members of the family Cyperaceae are also called sedges, however those of ge ...

'' spp.

Sources

English Nature citation sheet for the site
(accessed 25 July 2006) * Green, Paul (2004) "Local Meetings 2004: Windsor Hill Marsh and Ham Woods, Shepton Mallet, 31st July" '' Wild Flower Society Magazine'' (Spring 2005) p3
Online version
* Green, Paul R., Ian P. Green and Geraldine A. Crouch (1997) '' The Atlas Flora of Somerset''

External links

English Nature website (SSSI information)

Site boundary at Nature on the Map website
{{SSSIs Somerset biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1972