RAMSBURY Village Design Statement 2002 Contents

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Introduction 1 Status of the Statement 23 What is a Village Design Statement? How our VDS was produced 23 Who is it for? References 23 How will Ramsbury’s Appendix I 24 Design Statement work? Origins and history of Ramsbury Ramsbury’s landscape setting 3 Appendix II 26 Focal points and landmarks 6 Notes about thatch coats on houses Housing types, layouts, and design features 8 and cottages Preferred design features 12 Appendix III 28 Street furniture 14 Notes on natural history in the village Roads, streets, byways, pathways 15 Map of the village 16-17 Copyright© 2002 Ramsbury VDS Project Committee Community life, shops and services 18 Employment in Ramsbury 20 NOTE: The appendices are not part of the Statement. They contain notes Wildlife and the natural environment 21 which were offered during the collection of data for the Statement but which could not be included as part of the formal text. The Outlying settlements and their relation Project Committee felt that villagers would welcome the inclusion to the village core 22 of these notes as background information. Ramsbury Village Design Statement

Introduction

What is a Village Design Statement? A Village Design Statement is a description of a village (which is not necessarily the same area as a parish) at a point in time, highlighting the qualities its residents value, and setting out the residents’ wishes for the design of development in the village.

It is intended to help to manage the process of change, whether that change stems from large developments or small-scale additions and alterations. It is not to be used to determine whether development should take place; that is the purpose of the Local Plan produced by the District Council. It sets out guidelines as to how planned development should be carried out and is designed to be complementary to the Local Plan.

Who is it for? The Statement is for everyone concerned with the physical form within which the daily activity of the village takes place. In particular: • for residents, it provides guidance for keeping any alterations and extensions in sympathy with the character of the village; • for developers, their architects, and designers, it explains what the village community would like to see in new and altered buildings, and in changes to the village’s landscape setting; • for local authorities, it sets out material considerations to be taken into account in arriving at judgements on planning.

How will Ramsbury’s Design Statement work? If a village design statement (VDS) is adopted by a local authority, it becomes “Supplementary Planning Guidance” (SPG). SPG does not form part of the Local Plan, and therefore a VDS does not have the status that the 1990 Town and Country Planning Act gives to the Local Plan in deciding planning applications; but SPG may be taken into account as a material consideration, and the Government’s Planning Policy Guidance Note 12, Development Plans, emphasises that the Secretary of State will give substantial weight in making decisions on matters that come before him to SPG which derives out of and is consistent with the Local Plan.[1]

RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT 1 Marlborough Downs

Savernake Plateau

Ramsbury’s landscape setting 2 RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT Ramsbury’s landscape setting

Ramsbury, population just under 2,000, The village is set in the Kennet Valley lies on the , seven miles east Character Area, within the valley formed of Marlborough, in the North Wessex by the north slope of the Savernake Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Plateau and the south slope of the Beauty. In the words of the Kennet Marlborough Downs [3]. The geology and Landscape Assessment: “The whole land form of the valley have led to a linear [Kennet Valley] has an essentially tranquil, development of the village, which stretches intimate and pastoral character within for more than a mile, mainly on the north which only small-scale, sensitively bank of the Kennet. The attractive designed development, associated with landscape of the Kennet Valley and its existing built form could be successfully unspoilt riparian nature mean that the accommodated without adverse landscape majority of the area is in the “Conserve” impacts”[2]. category from the point of view of Kennet

The approach to District Council’s landscape strategy [4]. Ramsbury down Road The river meanders through floodland between chalk downs, which are capped by clay-with-flints and are wooded at Whitehill, Park Coppice, and in scattered woods and coppices to the north of the village. Before modern farming improvements, there was an economic link between the semi-natural habitats of river and stream, water meadow, chalk grassland and native woodland. This link, which helped maintain habitats rich in wildlife, has fallen into abeyance. The approach to Ramsbury down Manor Hill

RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT 3 Ramsbury’s landscape setting - continued

Guidelines for the future

1 All proposals for development should take into account the official Kennet Valley “enhancement priorities” [6]. 2 The willows, alders and poplars must be preserved, pollarded and replanted, but tree-planting on unimproved meadows can adversely affect nature conservation value. 3 The existing access to the river, which is central to the Wagon-crossing over River Kennet, Mill Lane location of the village, should be maintained and improved. The land around the village is now mainly 4 New developments should retain hedgerows on site, and farmed as arable or grazing land. The boundaries should be marked with centre of the village is a designated broadleaf hedges rather than fences. conservation area. Ramsbury Manor, a 5 Where planning conditions fine late 17th century private residence, to require plantings, use of native the west of the village, is classed as an species appropriate to the landscape Historic Park [5], and much of the river character and ecology of the location should be encouraged. corridor is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The Square

The village, off main traffic routes, is approached along five country lanes lined with grass verges, hedges and mature trees. A visitor approaching from the south, over Elm Down, comes on an impressive open view of the village, in which the effect of trees in and around the village is significant. Willows, both fully grown and pollarded, play an important part in the vista. Planning conditions imposed when construction began in the 1970s on a new housing development to the east of the village at Ashley Piece required comprehensive landscaping, and the results show how valuable such conditions can be. All roads converge on The Square.

Spring Hill, looking west and King’s Ditch path

4 RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT Features which help to define the setting of the village are:

• The river itself, along with its braids of streams, races and ditches. • Willow scrub. A key ‘green’ feature is the prevalence of willow beds and trees, mainly crack willow (Salix fragilis) along with alders and poplars. • Woods. The lines of ancient coppices, mainly of oak, beech and hazel are visible from most parts of the village. They still lie in the mediaeval pattern, on poor clay soils on the more distant parts of the parish, connected to it by ancient tracks. • Wet fields and meadows along the valley bottom. Old water meadows in the surroundings of Ramsbury: represent classic scenery, “the loss or poor maintenance of field lacking to the same extent in any other boundaries and riparian vegetation” and county. “the intrusion of roads and the influence • Chalk grassland. This is an important of built development on … settlements feature framing the village, with easy within the [river] corridor”[7]. access. It is unimproved downland and • may become Open Access Land. Two of the “principal threats and issues important to landscape quality in [the Kennet Valley] character area” can be seen

RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT 5 Focal points and landmarks

Guidelines for the future

6. The open character of The Square should be retained at all costs. 7. Holy Cross Church and other landmarks need to be retained and conserved.

Holy Cross Church and War Memorial

Ramsbury has at its centre Holy Cross Mill at the junction of Scholard’s Lane Church, completed in the 14th century on and Froxfield Road, and The Mill House the site of a Saxon church. Its tower offers on Mill Lane at the western end of the commanding views over the village and High Street. across the Kennet’s water meadows. An The Square is the focal point of the early 20th century lych gate on High village. Vehicles pass around a centrepiece Street leads into the eastern side of the tree, an oak planted in 1986, replacing a churchyard and a path past the village war 300-year-old elm, a symbol of Ramsbury memorial gives access to the western side. over the years. The Square is used for Built in 1876, the romanesque Methodist gatherings on special occasions. Key Chapel is a landmark on Oxford Street. buildings on it include The Bell, one of There are three mill houses on the river – Ramsbury’s three remaining pubs, the Howe Mill on Newtown Road, The Old recently closed branch of the Portman Building Society (once the Ramsbury Lych gate Building Society) still showing the village tree symbol on its door handle, and the Arab Horse Society in what was once an inn. The village’s other pubs are the Burdett Arms, midway along High Street, and the Crown and Anchor at the junction of Oxford Street and Crowood Lane.

Methodist Chapel The Burdett Arms

6 RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT In 1998, it was agreed that a plan be prepared for a Millennium project to make The Square more attractive by extending the cobbled area around “The Tree” and by some changes to the carriageways.

In addition to Ramsbury Manor, other landmark houses include Ramsbury Hill, Parliament Piece (a grand house and stable complex built in the 17th Century on Back Lane), and Oakes House, formerly The Institute and now a residential feature of the High Street.•

1 2

3

4

1. The Knap 2. Parliament Piece 3. The Institute 4. Windsor House 5. The Crown & Anchor 6. The Old Forge, formerly The Bleeding Horse

5 6

RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT 7 Housing types, layouts, and design features

Guidelines for the future

8. The principal housing need is for affordable homes. It is important to help create “mixed and inclusive communities, which offer a choice of housing and lifestyle” [8]. The general principle for development should be that “every new open-market house should be matched with an affordable home” [9]. 9. Suburban “pattern-book” layouts should be avoided. New developments should be diverse, Burdett Street with varieties of style, house types Ramsbury is an attractive and well-located and siting, using materials village, with a wide variety of housing appropriate to a rural environment and avoiding an types. In recent years, however, its excess of roadway. “New attractions have caused house prices to development should respect the soar, so that the village is short of local distinctiveness of the rural “low-cost open-market housing” (defined and urban character of the as being priced at or below the lowest District” [10]. quartile of prevailing market values [11]), Inglenook Antiques 10. Developers should protect and lacks sufficient subsidised housing to existing views within the village meet a small local demand. of the place’. The 1973 designation and into the countryside, and statement said: “The existing character should create vistas for newly developed areas. Any new Many buildings in the village are ‘listed’ as of the streets must be maintained and development or large building Buildings of Architectural or Historic therefore any proposals for new extension proposed for a Interest, and much of the village is development or redevelopment will be significant gap or space between designated as a Conservation Area, considered with particular regard to the buildings should be resisted. defined as such to prevent damage to existing building line, scale and historic buildings and to protect the ‘spirit materials.”[12] This remains true today.

Isles Court The Paddocks

8 RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT Guidelines for the future

11. No extension of the limits of development should be permitted in the Local Plan period to 2011.

12. “The needs of people [should The Old Bakery be put] before ease of traffic movement in designing the layout On the main roads, pre-1700 timber- of residential developments” [13]. framed thatched cottages sit comfortably “New development should help to Evelyn House and Millstream with pre-1800 brick and flint cottages create places that connect with Stretching more than a mile east to west, with tile or thatch roofs, and pre-1900 each other sustainably, providing with the High Street, Oxford Street brick houses. Developments in the the right conditions to encourage and Whittonditch Road as its linear 20th century have been mainly brick, walking, cycling and the use of public transport. People should “backbone”,the village has housing with tile or slate roofs. come before traffic.” [14]. clusters at Knowledge Crescent, Swan’s Close, The Paddocks, Orchard Close, Some areas have a coherent style, deriving 13. Extensions to existing Hilldrop Close, Ashley Piece, Greenacres, from a uniform roof-line and lengthy buildings should generally be subordinate in scale and Isles Road and Court, and Townfield. garden walls, all made from the red brick appearance to the existing These are all modern, but Ramsbury from the village kiln or from nearby building, and existing features of comprises a mix of buildings spanning Littlecote kiln. Other areas are more period buildings, including several centuries. There are large houses varied: the village has buildings and walls outhouses, utility buildings and in their own grounds (Parliament Piece, made of flint (knapped or rough), bricks, walls, should not be destroyed. the Old Vicarage, Kennet House, sarsen stone, ashlar, weatherboarding, Garages attached to new developments should be recessive, Ramsbury Hill), large and small houses timber and brick noggin, timber and not dominant. lining the main roads, estate plaster infill, tile hanging and render. arrangements and infilling. 14. In future developments, boundaries should be walls of brick, or brick and flint, or broadleaf hedges.

High Street Ashley Piece

RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT 9 Housing types, layouts, and design features - continued

Guidelines for the future

15. All proposals for development in the Conservation Area should be designed to fit sensitively into the context[15]. 16. High-quality contemporary architecture, harmonising in proportion, materials and detail with the village environment, should be permitted. The existing variety of building materials in the village should be protected, and variety should be encouraged in new buildings. 17. The use of projecting string courses, dentil brickwork below the roofline, purple Ramsbury Hill headers, hoods, and flint and lacing to ensure a thematic link Much of the housing brickwork is of a the Ramsbury vernacular style. very high standard and demonstrates A matching colour of brick for various English, Flemish and Header extensions is vital. bonds. A number of houses, including Modernisation of windows and Newtown Cottages, No. 5 Oxford Street, doors should be done sensitively. Where possible, existing and the new Post Office are good chimneys should be retained, or examples of patterns using blue glazed chimneys should be incorporated headers. Many cottages in the High Street in new building work. have a string course of blue or red, sometimes glazed headers separating the ground floor from the upstairs. Others have interesting patterns and infills. Old Theatre Place Walls are often banded with flint, or made mainly of flint laced with single or double courses of brick. Pointing is often natural sand colour, struck joint, not recessed. Many houses have dentillated brickwork below the eaves, and eaves with only a small projection.

Many doors have attractive hoods, some with elaborate decorated side panels and pillars. There are some elegant door cases with fanlights and pediments. There are

Crowood Lane Back Lane

10 RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT Anvil Cottage, Newtown Road Guidelines for the future 18. Designers, including those modifying existing buildings, should avoid: • large areas of hard surfacing • monotonous repetition of one house type – though uniformity Burdett Street corner of design in small developments can be acceptable, such as in exceptional bow windows at the Post covered with chicken wire. The pitch is terraced housing Office and at first-floor level on Oakes generally 55 degrees. Slate roofs feature on • mixing styles or historical references in the same building House. Bay windows feature on a number many houses large and small. There are • use of rendering or masonry of buildings. also many plain clay tile roofs. The eaves paint as an alternative to do not project far. A large number of replacement of worn bricks, There are at least 26 buildings with a chimneys and chimney pots have been particularly on terrace properties thatch coat in Ramsbury. The majority are lost during conversions, modernisation • introducing flat roofs thatched with combed wheat reed and a and the introduction of central heating. 19. Features to be resisted: few with long straw. There are two houses When the houses concerned were built, wide-frame double-glazing thatched with water reed. The roof ridges the chimneys were part of the overall (except in modern buildings); flat glass-panel doors, pantiles; are covered either with wrap-over ridges design. Loss of chimneys has altered the modern ‘rustic style’ buildings (either flush or block cut) or butt-up proportions of many houses and with complex, fussy roofs; pebble ridges. The whole coat may then be changed the roof line of the village. dash; recessed or coloured • pointing, stone cladding. 20. Frontages, including upper storeys, should be kept in sympathy with neighbouring facades. Roof lines should be maintained, and slight variation permitted. Dormer windows should have pitched roofs. Roof materials, pitches, dormers, gable ends, porches, chimneys and brick colours should be designed to blend with existing buildings. 21. Whenever possible satellite dishes should not be mounted on street frontages. 22. Owners of listed thatch- roofed houses should ensure that their re-roofing complies with the requirements of Planning Policy Guidance Note 15 [16], the English Heritage booklet “Thatch and Thatching” [17], and Council’s leaflet “Re-thatching” [18].

Oxford Street leading to The Square

RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT 11 Preferred design features

The purpose of a Village Design Windows Statement is to draw up design principles Brick flat arch over. Small panes with Do’s and Don’ts based on the distinctive local character glazing bars. Narrow-framed double and to help guide small-scale changes to glazing. individual properties. The recommenda- DORMER WINDOWS tions outlined below will enhance the Front Doors character of the building. Examples of the Plain panelled, with glass only in upper local characteristics are shown in the panels, simple hood with styled brackets. Yes many illustrations throughout the VDS. Chimneys Walls New buildings should, preferably, have Light red brick matched to the traditional chimneys with corbelled courses and brick in the village. Patterning with blue plain pots. headers. Pointing in accordance with No traditional brickwork in the village. Rainwater Fittings Dentillated brick course below eaves. Downpipes on end walls, or single pipe Avoid painting or rendering. on front wall, preferably cast iron.

CHIMNEY Services To be underground. Meter boxes on end Dentillated brick courses walls or to blend with front walls.

Yes Roofs Exterior Paintwork Straight pitches with red flat clay tiles, Within the Conservation Area, exterior 45° pitch or slate 30° pitch, eaves with paintwork predominantly white. Avoid only small overhang. Dormer windows varnished natural wood finish. Coloured with pitched roofs to light roof spaces, front doors with discretion. rather than inserted roof-lights. No

Sliding sash window over upper storey with brick flat arch over Sash windows and typical door hood ROOF TILES

Yes

No

12 RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT Above: Brick and flint wall, door hood and sash windows Top right: 19C Flemish bond, door hood and slate roof Right: 18C buildings in the High Street Below: Traditional windows

Restoring existing buildings Features to avoid 1. Roof pitch at one Acceptable features level. Pantiles 1. Retain roof pitch, 2. Long dormer different levels, and materials Wrong 3. Chimney removed 2. Develop traditional features 4. Picture windows 3. Retain original wall texture repointing with traditional 5. Modern door materials and techniques Right 6. Flat roof extension 4. Retain existing windows and doors if possible. Fit new windows and doors in traditional style, if necessary.

RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT 13 Street furniture

Some street lights are mounted on brackets Guidelines for high on house walls. In other areas, a variety of lighting standards is installed. The the future Millennium project included a plan, in partnership with Kennet District Council 23. Utility services to all new and the Bell, to restore a more agreeable developments should be provided appearance to The Square. A change to underground when possible. Existing overground wires and white lighting from period “lanterns” has cables should be replaced been completed. as opportunities arise. 24. Whenever possible, Wiltshire County Council (WCC) was developments which provide responsible for road signs up to the late street lighting should do so on buildings or on well-chosen poles. 1930s. A sign on a west-facing wall adjacent The lighting should have a low to Hill’s Stores in the High Street and another light-pollution level. on The Bell car-park wall, were installed by 25. Private security lights should WCC in the 1930s and show the earlier be shielded and carefully sited to classification of the road as the A419 from illuminate the required area to . A sign on a house without creating a traffic hazard. to the north side of The Square was provided 26. Utility meters and service by the Automobile Association in the 1920s. units should be sited on side elevations where possible or coloured to blend in on front Some areas of the village are marred by elevations. overhead telephone and electricity lines. In some cases, poles are shared, but there are instances of duplication in close proximity.

There are seven post- or wall-mounted letter boxes and two traditional round pillar boxes in the village. Classic red telephone boxes A number of unsightly steel tubular bollards are sited outside the Memorial Hall and in are sited along the south side of the High Whittonditch Road. Street to deter traffic from mounting a low kerb. Damage from large vehicles to these bollards is a problem. A bollard outside 32 Oxford Street is sited to protect a thatch overhang and three more protect a litter bin in Burdett Street. Various types of litter bin Whittonditch Road are used in the village, wall-mounted units and more free-standing units. The Parish Council has control of more than 20 seats provided for the public, some of them donated by relatives as memorials to individuals. •

14 RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT Roads, streets, byways, pathways

Guidelines for the future

27. During the maintenance of roads and pavements, consideration should be given to raising the kerb height or reducing the accumulation of tarmac to restore levels for efficient run-off of storm water and to ensure that the width, level and surfaces are adequate for the safety of all pedestrians. Scholard’s Lane This would help to discourage the Ramsbury does not lie on a natural route Stretches of Back Lane and Hilldrop Lane parking of vehicles on the for through traffic. Traffic from Swindon are narrow and in some places have no pavements. Natural stone kerbs should be retained where possible. to Hungerford passes to the north and pavement at all. There is no footway east on the B4192; traffic between access from about 100 houses to the 28. Direction signs remote from Hungerford and Marlborough passes to centre of the village. Pedestrians, the village should continue to the south on the A4; and traffic from including children and people with route traffic for major destinations around the village Swindon to Marlborough passes to the prams, must walk in the roadway. on the A and B roads and not west on the A345. The village is on the Pavements are lacking at the crossroads through it. Wiltshire Cycle Route. at the west end of the High Street and at the junction of Union Street and 29. Any new dwelling should be designed with two off-street Newtown Road. parking spaces on the site. Buses on routes to and from Swindon, 30. Walking or cycling to school Marlborough and Hungerford avoid the along safe routes should be High Street, but do use Back Lane, Oxford facilitated. Street or Newtown Road. 31. Unmade tracks, byways and Ramsbury is well provided with public paths are important parts of the Whittonditch Road from The Halfway footpaths, bridleways and byways. village character and should be retained and remain unsurfaced. Important byways are Tankard Lane and None of the routes into or out of the Halfway Lane, and another provides 32. Traffic-calming measures, village is really suitable for large vehicles access to properties in Swan’s Bottom and compatible with the character of because of narrow widths and bends, and, on through to Love’s Lane. These have the area should be introduced at to the south, the steep gradient on Spring all entrances to the village, and at unmade surfaces and are not suitable for Hill. Some such vehicles, however, must strategic points within the village regular or heavy traffic. (for example, by the primary make the journey for commercial and • school). agricultural reasons and their drivers do experience difficulties. The main routes converge on The Square. A lack of off-street residential and public parking causes difficulty, particularly on the High Street and Oxford Street. Pavements along these roads have shallow kerbs of natural stone encouraging vehicle encroachment and illegal parking on the footway. Swan’s Bottom RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT 15 The Old Forge, formerly The Square The Bleeding Horse

Manor Hill

Hilldrop Farm

Back Lane

Approach to Ramsbury from the west

Burdett Street

Recreation Centre

The “Lion” Gates

Holy Cross Church

Rachel Cottage

Conservation Area 16 RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT Mill Lane High Street Oxford Street Approach to Ramsbury from Whittonditch the east, Whittonditch Road

Crown & Anchor, Crowood Lane

Smithy Cottage, Whittonditch

Newtown Road (footpath to Seven Bridges)

RAMSBURY VILLAGE The Boot The Knap Newtown Road DESIGN STATEMENT 17 Community life, shops and services

One of Ramsbury’s greatest assets is the sense it has, by virtue of size, of being a Guidelines for community in which people generally the future know and have a mutual regard for each other and their property. People in the 33. To keep a diverse population, village feel safe and enjoy easy access to any future developments in the the countryside. village should consist of a mixture of open-market housing suitable for all income levels, and some The population is diverse, including a subsidised housing, with proper significant percentage of retired people, parking facilities for all, and some of whom are frail and elderly and shared recreational areas. for whom a supportive community is important. At the other end of the spectrum are young wage-earners with small children, and the presence in the village of a good primary school is an asset, the value of which cannot be overestimated. The present school population is 210, with about 20 children from outside the village. There is no free teaching space left in the building and any future housing developments would put considerable pressure on the school.

Ramsbury is well equipped with sports facilities, including tennis courts and

Above: Ramsbury Primary School Left: The “Ramsbury Flyer” Bottom Left: Library Below: Memorial Hall

18 RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT football pitches, which are supported by The village medical practice, like the active organisations. The village is well school a vital village asset, has expanded supplied with meeting-halls and rooms. to serve almost 8,000 patients in a The largest are the Memorial Hall on broad catchment area. The Ramsbury High Street and the Church Room on Silver Band performs regularly. Back Lane. Additionally, meetings can be • held at the British Legion Hall, the Red Cross Room, the Methodist Hall, the Scout Hall and the Primary School Hall. These cater for the many clubs and societies that flourish in the village.

In contrast to the national trend, Ramsbury has been fortunate in being able to retain several retail outlets, including a post office. There is also a small branch library and a fire station.

From top to bottom: Jennie Whiting Aromatherapy Hill’s Stores Midway Stores Post Office

Top: Church Room Middle: Fire Station Above: Ramsbury Surgery Left: Playground at Knowledge Crescent RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT 19 Employment in Ramsbury

Guidelines for the future

34. New developments should be designed to include premises attractive to people looking for opportunities to work from home, and/or to young people wishing to start small businesses. Provision of low-cost, basic premises for small B1(a) or (b) enterprises, adjacent to new residential developments, should be encouraged. 35. Re-use of redundant agricultural buildings within the village and the outlying settlements should be considered Business premises on Hilldrop Lane favourably, provided the changed use is compatible with the Of the present population of Ramsbury home working to reduce the need to amenity of surrounding approximately a third are children, a third travel. The growing number of house- properties. employed and a third retired. There are holds with internet access will increase the three major employers drawing staff from opportunities for such home working. within and outside the village. About 20 National statistics show that 40% of self-employed individuals provide households now have access. building services, painting and decorating, electrical work, cabinet making and Any developments for employment joinery, and garden services. There are should be directed to simple start-up three small computer services firms. Seven premises with rudimentary facilities. shops and three public houses provide full New light-industrial premises in and part-time employment. Also a Ramsbury have not attracted new small number of smaller businesses covering a businesses for several years, because of wide range of activities have a few high rents. employees. The medical practice has a full range of staff. Continued patronage of local shops and services is absolutely essential to sustain Many managerial and professional people the life and economy of the village. commute by car to adjacent towns or by rail from Swindon or Hungerford to Few people are now employed on the Newbury, Reading, Bristol or London. land. For example, one local farm once There is a substantial demand for employed 21 people. Today it is run by part-time domestic employment. one man with part-time help. Farmers are under considerable pressure to diversify. Every encouragement should be given to •

20 RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT Wildlife and the natural environment

Much of the value of the village neighbourhood depends on the places Guidelines for that are still unimproved agriculturally. the future Chalk grassland now is restricted to isolated patches, notably on Spring Hill. 36. Developments on the village What banks remain often have cowslips in edge should give high priority to landscape design to protect and the spring, and attractive butterflies in improve the external view of the mid-summer, including marbled white, village. common blue and brown argus, as well as 37. Developments, including 6-spot and 5-spot burnet moths. changes in boundary hedges, fences and gates to fields and dwellings, should be designed to Spring Hill and watermeadows The water meadows provide an important allow views of the river and water habitat. The willow scrub, for example, at The village is home to a wealth of wildlife, meadows. the Seven Bridges path, is valuable for including many protected species, such as 38. The continued voluntary care of the Old Churchyard should be song-birds such as nightingale, sedge bats. There is a public Nature Reserve, an encouraged. warbler and reed bunting, and the tall area of about three acres between the Leat 39. Regular grazing by sheep has grass is hunted over by barn owls. and the Kennet south of the High Street. proved the key to successful However, drying out has taken its toll of A pond in the reserve area supports a frog management in the Nature former bird residents such as snipe and and toad population and some important Reserve and it is vital that this should be maintained in redshank. The parts of the water meadows species of flora. The Parish Council is consultation with Wiltshire that are grazed in summer by cattle seem improving access to the reserve and Wildlife. in better condition than those that are intends to open a small section of 40. The long-standing practice of mown. The area west of the Seven Bridges riverbank adjacent to it to provide a point encouraging tree-planting by obtaining suitable trees direct path is mown in late summer, but the from which the view along the valley can from nurseries for planting by the cuttings are left to lie. The decaying be enjoyed. Amenity Group and by house- cuttings encourage the spread of • holders should be maintained. stinging nettles. 41. Work to improve wetland habitats may require planning approval. Especially, any proposals that might affect the River Kennet SSSI (site of special scientific interest) would require consent from English Nature. [19] 42. When considering conversions and extensions to their properties, owners should be conscious of possibly disturbing protected species, especially bats, which are common in Ramsbury. They should seek advice from English Nature, and Kennet District Council, taking note of the Council’s supplementary planning guidance “Protected species: a guidance leaflet for developers and planners”. [20]

River Kennet at Mill Lane

RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT 21 Outlying settlements and their relation to the village core

Guidelines for the future

43. All the houses on Marridge Hill are on private water supply and, to be sustainable, any development would have to make minimal demands on that important natural resource. 44. Proposals for development in the countryside around Ramsbury should be scrutinised carefully to ensure that it would Whittonditch not harm the tranquillity of the The boundaries of Ramsbury village are at country lanes, be contrary to present clear, and the traveller on any AONB policy, or lead gradually to approach road has a distinct sense of coalescence of settlements. arrival or departure. But several “satellite” farms and hamlets outside the village development boundary are felt to “belong” to Ramsbury. These are mainly residential or agricultural, apart from Whittonditch, where a cluster of six light-industrial units is sited. Whattendyke Cottage Notable among houses outside the village core are: • Ramsbury Manor to the west. • Old Smithy Cottage and Whittonditch House. • Crowood House (and Crowood Press in its outbuildings) to the north and Hilldrop Farm to the northwest. • Whattendyke, a thatched cottage, on the

B4192 at Marridge Hill Road. Crowood House • Manor, in Marridge Hill Residents of these outlying settlements consider that they are a part of Ramsbury and see it as their local community. However, they have to drive to use its services and meeting places.•

Hilldrop Farm

22 RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT References Status of the Statement

1 Planning Policy Guidance Note 12, This Village Design Statement was adopted by Development Plans, paragraphs Kennet District Council as Supplementary 3.15–3.18 Planning Guidance on 12th November 2002. 2 Kennet Landscape Assessment, Draft Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) Supplementary Guidance, Kennet provides guidance on the interpretation and District Council, August 2000, p.73 implementation of policies and proposals 3 Kennet Landscape Assessment, Kennet contained in a Local Plan. District Council, August 2000, pp69-73 and figures 14.2 and 14.3 Paragraph 3.16 of PPG12 – Development Plans states that adequate consultation is a 4 Kennet Landscape Conservation Strategy, Draft Supplementary Planning Guidance, requirement for adoption of SPG. Kennet Kennet District Council, August 2000, District Council considers that the consultation p.13 undertaken in the preparation of the Ramsbury 5 Kennet Landscape Conservation Strategy, Village Design Statement, as outlined in this Kennet District Council, August 2000, publication, is consistent with Government p.13 advice and meets the obligations set out 6 Kennet Landscape Conservation Strategy, in PPG12. Kennet District Council, August 2000, p.13; Kennet Landscape Assessment, The Replacement Kennet Local Plan (March Kennet District Council, August 2000, 2001) is at an advanced stage of preparation p.72–73 having been subject to two stages of Deposit 7 Kennet Landscape Assessment, Kennet and a Public Local Inquiry. This SPG provides District Council, August 2000, p.72 detailed background information for the 8 Planning Policy Guidance Note 3, interpretation of policies contained in the Housing, DTLR, paragraph 10 Replacement Local Plan, particularly Policies 9 Replacement Kennet District Local Plan, HC22 and NR5. In addition, the guidance will Second Deposit, Kennet District Council, be relevant to the application of Policies PD1, March 2001, p.41, paragraph 2.56A HC5, HC31, HC31a, HC32a, ED8a, ED9, 10 Replacement Kennet District Local Plan, ED11a, ED11b, HH5, HH6, and HH12. Second Deposit, Kennet District Council, March 2001, p.8, paragraph 1.21 How our VDS was produced 11 Affordable Housing Policy Guide, Draft Public meeting and exhibition At a public meeting and exhibition on 28th Supplementary Planning Guidance, The draft was made available for scrutiny and Kennet District Council, August 2000, April 2001, more than 120 villagers agreed that p.2, paragraph 2.3 a village design statement should be prepared comment by all villagers for six weeks in April–May 2002. Many changes suggested 12 Ramsbury Conservation Area Statement, for Ramsbury. From the 40 people who Kennet District Council, 1973 volunteered to help with preparation, a during that period were incorporated in the draft, and amended copies were sent for 13 Planning Policy Guidance Note 3, Project Committee of 10 was formed, with Housing, DTLR, paragraph 2 permission to co-opt others when special preliminary review to Kennet District Council, Wiltshire County Council, the Environment 14 Planning Policy Guidance Note 13, expertise was needed. Transport, paragraph 28 Agency, English Nature, English Heritage, and Thames Water. The draft was amended further 15 Wiltshire Structure Plan 2011, In June, a leaflet was delivered to every in the light of comments from those Wiltshire CC, Jan. 2001, p.107, para. 7.26 household and business in the village, inviting organisations, and the final draft presented to 16 Planning Policy Guidance Note 15, everyone to contribute ideas and information Kennet District Council on 15th October 2002. Planning and the Historic Environment, for the statement. In July, eight teams of two to DTLR five people toured the village, photographing Project Committee 17 Thatch and Thatching, English Heritage, and making notes on the features and Alex Brown, Susan Findlay, Caroline Franklin, 2000 characteristics of Ramsbury. From the Sheila Glass, Ron Howard, Peter Kearns, John 18 Re-thatching, Kennet District Council, assembled material (32 written submissions, Kirkman, Simon Orton, Christine Perkins, 1998 and many oral comments), the Committee, Ronny Price, Geoffrey Rissone, Sue Smith, 19 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs): strengthened by co-option of three more Ben Tottenham. ’s special wildlife and geological members, produced a rough structure, which Acknowledgements sites, English Nature, 2002 was turned into a first draft by two small groups The Statement designed by Orton Design. 20 Protected species: a guidance leaflet for — a group of four produced a text, and then a Aerial photographs by Commission Air, developers and planners, Kennet District group of three chose photographs and drawings Market Deeping. Council, 1998 to illustrate the text.

RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT 23 APPENDIX I Origins and history of Ramsbury by Barbara Croucher

The first settlement of Ramsbury is thought to be Saxon in origin. The name “Ramsbury” is derived from the Saxon man’s name Hraefn (i.e. Hraefn’sburg), who may have settled on the site. A 7th–8th century Saxon iron smelting forge was discovered in the High Street in 1976 and was found to be the most complete of its kind in the country. There are also pieces of two well-carved Saxon preaching crosses preserved in Holy Cross Church. These had been used as Photo: Ramsbury Then and Now by Barbara Croucher stripped’ it, selling many properties to building material in the 14th century Reformation the Manor was granted to the local craftsmen. This made south wall of the church and were the Earls of Pembroke, of Wilton. Ramsbury an ‘open’ village where discovered during restoration in 1891. people were no longer under the feudal During the Civil War, the 4th Earl of authority of the Lord of the Manor, Pembroke, Lord of the Manor, and they could move in and out of the supported by the three Popham village more freely. In 1680 Powle sold brothers at Littlecote declared for the the remaining property to Sir William Parliamentarians. Cromwell, staying Jones, Attorney-General to Charles II, with the Earl in 1649, held a Council at who built the present house. His the Rookery in Back Lane, a house later descendants lived there, including Sir renamed Parliament Piece in Francis Burdett, the Reform MP and commemoration. his youngest daughter, the great philanthropist, Baroness Angela Documentary evidence exists of a In 1676 the Manor was sold to Henry Burdett-Coutts, until the Burdett well-organised Saxon commonfield Powle, Speaker of the House of baronetcy died out in 1951. system around the central nucleus of Commons, and two others. They ‘asset the village on the south-facing slope of the River Kennet. The Saxon period ended with the establishment of a bishopric in 909 A.D. which lasted until 1075, having joined with Sherborne and formed the bishopric of and then Salisbury. It was revived in 1974.

The Manor of Ramsbury was owned by the Bishops of Salisbury who built a palace on the site of the present manor house. They frequently stayed there and used its chapel and Holy Cross church in the village for many ordinations of priests. At the Photo: Ramsbury Then and Now by Barbara Croucher

24 RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT The original village and its commonfields, continuing until enclosure in 1778, developed on the bedrock of chalk, above the alluvial water meadows of the Kennet. There is some clay with flints on the upper valley slopes and many flints within the chalk soils of the lower slopes, left there as the river eroded down through the chalk. In choosing the north side of the river not only could the early Saxons benefit from the warmed south-facing, less steep slopes of the valley, but they had greater space to spread out their commonfields.

The growth of the village depended on a number of physical factors. The Photo: Ramsbury Then and Now by Barbara Croucher situation on the main east-west fluvial routeway between the Roman towns of industry. Although the river water is During World War Two, the U.S. 437 London and Bath, until 1744, and later no longer used directly for industries Troop Carrier Group, which was Bristol, brought much trade and (though it is extracted at several nearby stationed in Ramsbury, took communication. Equally important points to supply local villages and U.S. airborne infantry from the was the suitability of the soils and lie of towns), agriculture does continue to Royal Air Force airfield on Spring Hill the land for agriculture. The water of flourish on the chalk soils. to take part in the D-Day landings at the Kennet was vital to both farming Utah Beach and in Operation ‘Market and local industries. The turnpiking of the present Bath Garden’ aimed at Nijmegen and road in 1744 took the main London to Arnhem. Barley, for brewing, was especially well Bristol routeway away from the village. suited to the soil, and local trees, Then it was decided to route the canal By 1971 the population had declined growing on clay with flints, provided away from the Kennet River, and thus from a peak of 2,500 in 1851 to about bark for a thriving tanning industry. Ramsbury. When the railway was 1,300. Then in 1972 the M4 motorway Sheep from the chalk downs provided proposed, the villagers objected to it was opened. It is the situation of raw material for the tanners. Kennet going through the Kennet valley so it Ramsbury adjacent to major routeways, water provided power for the 10 mills also was built away from Ramsbury. the M4 and also north-south links, that recorded in the Domesday Survey of Thus the new communications of the continues to influence its development. 1086 and gave the means to float the 19th century by-passed the village and Communication is the key to water meadows for fresh grass for its industries so trade greatly declined. employment, and thus to the economic spring lambs. The earliest documented The whole community suffered, growth of the village which has float occurred in 1620. The permanent extreme poverty drove some people to brought a thriving community in this water supply also aided the tanning and sheep farming in Patagonia, set up by new Millennium. brewing industries of the 17th to 19th the Waldron family of Marridge Hill, • centuries, providing a special flavour while many others moved to Swindon for ‘Ramsbury ale’, and in the 1930s was to the railway works. the basis of a flourishing watercress

RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT 25 APPENDIX II Notes about thatch coats on houses and cottages by Ian McCall Thatching materials There are three main thatching materials in common use and available in England: • Long Straw; • Combed Wheat Reed (sometimes called Devon Reed), which is actually wheat straw; • Water Reed (grown mainly in the Norfolk Broads and hence traditionally called Norfolk Reed in England). English Heritage distinguishes Long Straw from the other materials in these terms: “Long straw is a more pliable material than either water reed or combed wheat reed, and its tendency to There is much debate about the maintained and patched. Length of swell slightly above its fixings gives it a life-expectancy of roofs in the three life also depends on the general climate somewhat more rounded and ‘poured materials. Water Reed is generally of the area and the micro-climate on’ appearance than combed wheat expected to have the longest life, around the thatched dwelling, reed”1 . One of English Heritage’s aims perhaps as much as 75 years in the including proximity of trees and is to sustain the use of all three drier eastern parts of the country. shrubs, and whether any damage is materials in thatching in England, However, only 11 of the 889 thatched caused by rodents (mainly squirrels specifically targeted at retaining local listed buildings in Kennet are thatched and rats). traditions and techniques. It urges with Water Reed, and at least two of However, in the words of English local authorities to limit the loss of those have failed in less than 20 years. Heritage: “Each method or style thatch and to conserve the local thatch Life-expectancy for Long Straw and [of thatching] has its qualities and may characteristics in their area. There is Combed Wheat Reed is variously be regarded as a tradition to be great regional diversity in numbers and quoted as between 15 and 40 years. In cherished. Broad generalisations on 2 styles of thatched premises in the its 1998 leaflet, Re-thatching , Kennet longevity are unhelpful or even wrong, counties of England. The Kennet District Council states that its experi- and should not obscure this objective. district has more than 1500 thatched ence over 25 years has been that, in the In any case, conservation policy sug- properties, of which almost 900 are Kennet district, there has usually been gests that thatch should be considered listed. little to choose between the merits of more often for repair than for All three materials are laid so that well laid, good quality Long Straw or replacement: this was the normal bundles of plant stems slope Combed Wheat Reed. Master practice in the past”3. downwards. In Long-Straw thatching, thatchers are cautious in their claims: Ridges the straw in the bundles may be laid for example, in notes on their website, with the tops (ears) or bottoms (butt the Rutland and Leicestershire Master All thatched “coats” have a separate ends) of the stalks pointing both up Thatchers Association emphasises that ridge-covering along the apex of the and down the roof, and long lengths of “many variables can affect the life”. roof, covering “ridge rolls” — tightly the material are visible. In Combed Significant variables are the quality of tied bundles of thatching material, laid Wheat Reed thatching and Water-Reed the straw harvest, the ability of the along the ridge, to give an edge to the thatching, the thatching material is thatcher, the aspect and location of the final course of thatch and to provide a usually laid so that the butt ends point roof, the pitch of the roof and over-all base for the ridge covering. The ridge downwards, and only those butt ends roof geometry, acid rain, the amount of itself can be one of many types, all are visible as the sloping sides of the rain, the quality of ancillary materials, being variations of the following two roof. and the rigour with which the roof is forms:

26 RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT • wrap-over ridge (whether flush or Re-thatching procedure the raftered framework in upstairs block-cut) Normally, re-thatching in Long Straw rooms or in a small roof-space, but • butts-up ridge and Combed Wheat Reed involves often no timber components are easily accessible. A wrap-over ridge is formed by taking stripping the spar-coat (top-layer) of the ridge material over the ridge and thatch until a suitable base is found in However, when re-thatching in Water fixing it on each side. A butts-up ridge the under-coat on which to build up Reed, it is normal (but not invariable) is formed by butting up the thatch the spar-coat. It would be unusual to practice for the entire coat to be material from each of the completed find that the existing thatch must be stripped to expose the whole of the slopes of the roof. A flush ridge is stripped to bare rafters because the raftered framework, which may cause formed flush with the surface of the under-coat has been decayed by the loss of historically important mate- main thatch; a block ridge is formed water-penetration, rodents, or other rial. It does mean, however, that it with an additional course of material cause, but where poor maintenance has may be possible to inspect the timber — the ‘block’. compounded the normal effects of components of a Water Reed roof every weathering, it is sometimes necessary 50-70 years for on-going serviceability As with the thatched coat itself, the to strip more of the under-coat to get a and repair, if appropriate. Water Reed is detail of the ridge should relate to the good fixing. In early cottages, the base now widely imported from Eastern traditional form in the locality and to coat of thatch can be several hundred Europe, but it is still grown in Norfolk the style and quality of the building. years old, and is an important historic and other areas. Life-expectancy of a ridge again component of the building. Retention depends on the quality of work and A thatched coat about 12 inches is therefore a major conservation materials, and on the micro-climate of (300mm) thick usually provides good objective. its location, including proximity of protection against the elements, and trees and shrubs, and whether any Retention of the under-coat usually good insulation against heat-loss. damage is caused by birds or rodents. means that the timber components of Alterations The usual life of a wrap-over ridge is the raftered framework under Long The design of alterations affecting between 10 and 15 years, but some last Straw and Combed Wheat Reed rarely thatched properties requires a careful longer. Renewal of fixing-spars can see the light of day after being built, analysis of the characteristics of the often be required between total and therefore may carry a greater risk original roof. The position and size of renewals of ridges, but such work does of undetected deterioration. It is dormer windows can have an adverse not usually extend the life of the ridge. sometimes possible to see something of effect on thatch geometry. The introduction of a lower pitch over a new dormer, or the incorrect positioning relative to other parts of the roof, such as valleys, will adversely affect the wearing qualities of the thatch. References 1 English Heritage, Thatch and Thatching, English Heritage, 2000, page 9. 2 Kennet District Council, Re-thatching, Kennet District Council, 1998, page 3. 3 English Heritage, Thatch and Thatching, English Heritage, 2000, page 2.

RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT 27 APPENDIX III Notes on natural history in the village by Peter Marren

The chalk grassland, water meadows, and woodland that once were the main features of the setting of Ramsbury are still in evidence, but have been much changed by modern agricultural meth- ods. Small patches of chalk grassland remain, but the network of ditches, con- trolled by sluice gates, that maintained the water meadows has fallen into disrepair. The meadows are no longer intentionally flooded to preserve the pasture from severe winter frosts and fertilise it with river silt, but grazing in summer is helping to maintain the character of the water-meadow setting.

Whitehill and Park Coppice (the only A recent rare instance of natural flooding woods I know first hand) have been much replanted. One of the least The row of trees above West Lodge tree. The Ramsbury willows are infect- changed parts, with quite a rich plant seems to mark an ancient estate ed by willow scab, willow canker and and fungus flora lies along the boundary and includes a fine, twig blight, often in combination. The bridleway which forms an ancient hammer-headed ash pollard. disease is spread from tree to tree, and holloway running between wood banks has probably been helped by a run of at 285708, with a long downhill tongue Most of the village poplars are Italian mild winters and wet summers. The of chalk scrub over some old chalk pits. hybrid or white poplars (plus the last epidemic on this scale was over 20 The bluebell woods of the parish are Lombardy poplars to the west of the years ago. By contrast, the alders, which notable, though the best one I know in village). The mature London plane are suffering from a fungal blight the area, Brick-kiln Copse lies outside trees near the bridge overlooking elsewhere, look fine. the parish. This is over-grown coppice, Ramsbury Manor are notably fine ones. with carpets of wild flowers — perhaps Wild flowers what our woods were like before they Ramsbury has a good range of species were replanted. of marsh, down, wayside and woodland flowers, which add seasonal colour. Trees There is a succession of umbellifers on There’s a very fine oak by West Lodge. It the road verges — cow parsley, has shed some limbs (a natural process followed by rough chervil, water in crown reduction with old trees) and is dropwort, hogweed and hedge parsley. starting to get stag-headed, but is a mag- Among the notable species is round- nificent tree, probably 500 years old. leaved mint (Mentha suaveolens Fertiliser-drift has robbed it of the spe- [=M.rotundifolia]), which has a cial lichens you would expect, but there There is something seriously wrong conservation verge on Newtown Road. is one, looking like tiny black tartlets with our crack willows. Along much of This is a very local mint with sage-like called Lecanactis premnea sheltered in the Kennet Valley, the trees have been leaves, mainly in SW England but with the root buttresses, and characteristic of infected by fungi which cause the a curious outlying population in the dry, brittle bark on ‘veteran’ oaks. canopy to thin out, leaves to blacken, Marlborough-Ramsbury area where it and which can result in the death of the may be an escape from cultivation.

28 RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT APPENDIX III

The plant would benefit from more water mint, marsh valerian, wild species of the Wiltshire chalk, which frequent cutting of the bank — angelica, comfrey, purple loosestrife, has diminished even during my seven preferably annually or every other several kinds of forget-me-not and years at Ramsbury. year, in winter. Its bank is usually too speedwell, hemp agrimony, meadow crowded with hedge sprouts for the vetchling, common persicaria, marsh There’s a primrose bank near the crest mint to do well. thistle, butterbur, yellow iris, greater of the road up Spring Hill at about pond-sedge, gipsywort, creeping jenny 279709, producing a beautiful display, Small teasel is frequent at edge of trees and so on. Light surface disturbance including barren strawberry, dog-vio- along the bridle path to Littlecote, actually encourages the display. One lets and other flowers in March and known there for half a century or takes these flowers for granted in April. Oh - and fungal earthstars in more. By the way, we should try to Ramsbury, but this is a diminishing autumn. resist planting trees in such places — it habitat. Even garden flower beds can suburbanises the countryside, and what produce unexpected wild flowers. Butterflies and moths is wrong with natural trees? Wood In 2002, a beautiful purple form of I have logged 22 species of butterflies vetch (Vicia sylvatica) is common on common broomrape and the rather and just over 300 larger moths from my the south edge of Whitehill Coppice. scarce yellow-juiced poppy appeared garden during the past seven years. Slender rush (Juncus tenuis) which in ours. This is not unusual for a large country grows in the concrete wartime tracks, garden in the south of England. The was probably introduced in the wheels The wild form of summer snowflake butterflies were nothing out of the of US army vehicles, as this is an (Leucojum aestivum) occurs by the ordinary, though a male purple American species — if so, an interest- Kennet between Ramsbury and Chilton emperor paid us a brief visit on 7 July ing relic of World War II. Foliat. The strawberry clover 2001, suggesting it may be present in (Trifolium fragiferum) is an interesting the local woods. I am told there is a Among the less common species are clover which occurs on some grass small population of the rare Duke of nettle-leaved bellflower, Solomon’s-seal, verges eg. in front of The Beavers on Burgundy on Spring Hill, where brown herb paris, toothwort, dwarf elder and Newtown Road. It has tight pink or hairstreak was also recorded in 1981. broad-leaved helleborine. Near West white heads which swell up into a Essex skipper has colonised the village Lodge is a beautiful large patch of strawberry shape. at some stage in the recent past and is wood anemone, along with a few plants now common. As you would expect, of stinking hellebore (possibly of gar- A big problem is the spread of we are well off for marshland species, den origin, although we are within stinging nettles and the loss of including specialist moths whose larvae what is believed to be its native range). diversity on road verges and river mine reeds and reed-mace, like south- Another of our special plants is grey banks. The most probable cause is ern wainscot and the bulrush moth. A sedge (Carex divulsa), local in the soil enrichment, especially nitrogen notable one is the butterbur moth, county — found on roadsides and dry and phosphates, from river silt, traffic which is present in my garden, and parts of the water-meadows. fumes and farm fertiliser run-off. probably in all large patches of its food A notable victim is the water plant near the river. This is a secretive Part of our ‘garden’ at Newtown crowfoot of the Kennet, Ranunculus species which is rarely seen. Red Lodge is still a wet natural meadow, penicillatus — an economically underwing sits on walls and trunks, with a good range of marshland wild important plant (for trout) and a and in flight is easily mistaken for a flowers, including early and southern significant one in European terms — butterfly. Other notable moths include marsh orchids and common spotted which is unable to root in loose silt. the olive, scarlet tiger (easily seen in orchids and their hybrids; also lady’s It has recovered somewhat from the flight near the river; its larvae are smock, marsh marigold, marsh dry summers of the mid-90s, but is common on comfrey in April and early woundwort, common fleabane, ragged less frequent than before. Another is May), double-lobed, lesser cream wave, robin, meadow-sweet, fen bedstraw, meadow cranesbill — a signature large wainscot, pale pinion, alder moth,

RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT 29 APPENDIX III

great prominent, Blair’s shoulder-knot, flycatcher and yellowhammer, and also scorched carpet, coronet, and white- both marsh and willow tit, and spotted pug. Of the hawk-moths, we woodcock. The high-pitched twitter of have lime, poplar, eyed, privet, elephant a party of long-tailed tits is a common and small elephant, all commonly. I Ramsbury sound, as is the succession of reckon we must have at least 400 song-birds: great tit, blue tit, mistle species of butterflies and larger moths, thrush, chiffchaff (which surely and perhaps as many ‘micros’. overwinters with us), wren (surely our commonest bird), blackbird, willow Noteworthy in 2001 were the webs on warbler, song thrush, cuckoo, blackcap, A pair of lapwings displays in the field spindle in the hedge by the bridletrack sedge warbler and spotted flycatcher. opposite in most years, and you see running parallel with the river. These Judging by numbers, we must be often numbers of them in the crop fields were made by the micro-moth, optimum habitat for grey wagtails near the old airfield and down by the Yponomeuta cagnagella (spindle (a pair regularly forage in my roof river, especially in the autumn. I think ermine). gutters, and last year nested under the golden plovers have declined steeply, Pyracantha by my study window). and I’ve never seen a snipe in Ramsbury, Other insects Swifts, swallows and house martins though I gather they were formerly here. I hardly know where to start, but some seem to be holding their own. A pair I have also never seen a corn bunting, species arguably contribute to the of buzzards regularly nest near my though they are still common on the character of the area. One is the bee-fly garden since about 1996, and we downs near . In the late (Bombylius major), which I look regularly see sparrowhawk and kestrel. 1990s there was a huge roost of forward to seeing every spring, feeding I saw my first red kite (chased by a goldfinch near The Beavers, with 100+ on the flowers of primrose, periwinkle buzzard) over the garden in 2001. birds in autumn. Grasshopper warblers and self-heal e.g. near West Lodge. Cetti’s warbler was present in 1993 — were present most years on the water Another is the beautiful banded agrion at least three singing males heard — meadow, but they seem to have quickly damselfly by the Kennet with its blue and I heard another in 2001. moved on in the past two years. We also wing blobs and butterfly-like flight — Nuthatches are regularly seen and have water rail and a few grey par- not rare, but very characteristic and heard in Whitehill Coppice. tridges, though most partridges are red- easily seen. The cockchafer is still Treecreepers are often seen in the legged. The skeins of Canada geese and common in our meadows, and comes garden. Green woodpeckers are mute swans flying up and down the val- to light. We also have hornets, notably common at Ramsbury, as are ley are a defining part of the village glow-worms, musk beetles and lesser grey heron, little grebe, moorhen, coot, character, ditto the swifts in the village stag beetles. The chirping of bush song thrush. Are we now important square and, I suggest, song thrushes, crickets on quiet evenings is one of the for lapwings and yellow wagtails? singing loudly from a high perch, often sounds of early autumn. These are a willow. made by grey bush-crickets, but we also have the oak bush-cricket, sometimes Animals seen on windows. We are an important stronghold for water vole. I see them along the stream Birds through our garden from time to time, Nightingale has defied predictions by and more often find their characteristic continuing to visit us, though never as prints when the mud is in the right many as in 1993. We are now at the condition. I haven’t seen one for some frontier of this declining species. time, though a man who repaired our Ramsbury still has numbers of bridge in June 1997 saw them on declining birds like bullfinch, spotted several occasions; also a weasel’s nest.

30 RAMSBURY VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT APPENDIX III

Ramsbury is a stronghold for bats, characteristic of clear, well-oxygenated too steep to plough — broadleaved expecially pipistrelles, which use houses streams. There’s another recognisable woodland, ‘wood pasture’ wet mead- for their summer nursery roosts. one called the frog-spawn alga ows ‘and associated tall fen and carr’ Brown long-eared bat and Natterer’s Batrachospermum, most easily found in (i.e. wet scrub) and chalk rivers. bat have also been recorded. All bats are the spring. Most red algae are marine. Ramsbury has good examples of all of protected by law. The floating brown sludge you see in these except wood pasture, which is the quieter reaches of the river and its confined to Savernake Forest. In The grass snake is another Ramsbury streams is made by diatoms. These addition, arable land can be important species — you see them occasionally, brownish algae live on the surface of for birds and certain scarce ‘weeds’, often near (or in) water, especially in mud but in spring and summer often depending on how it is managed. spring and autumn — and unfortu- float to the surface with the aid of the English Nature notify Sites of Special nately, squashed on roads. Common oxygen they produce through photo- Scientific Interest (SSSIs) for their toads are another local feature. We synthesis. The main genera involved nationally important features. In also have common frog and smooth are probably Synedra and Melosira. Ramsbury there are two of these. The newt, and I’ve seen slow-worm in the Diatom ‘blooms’ seem to have River Kennet is a chalk river ‘of village. The woods are full of roe deer increased, and may be a by-product of national importance’ for its special — I’ve even seen them on the road at the phosphate-stripping plant features and associated wildlife. And dusk, and the rasping bark of the upstream at Axford. Phosphate Meadows is notified as roebuck in late summer is another stripping may release silicon into the an example of ‘wet neutral meadows, ‘Ramsbury sound’. Brown hares are water, essential for diatom growth. The watercourses and tall fen’. The latter seen occasionally, dead or alive, common floating green scum in ditches area is also a ‘candidate SAC’ (Special especially on the hill tops around is Spirogyra. Associated with it are vast Area of Conservation) under Littlecote. numbers of water fleas and other European Union law, on account of its zooplankton. populations of Desmoulin’s whorl Fungi and other things snail. Some of the listed ‘key species’ Larger fungi are a special interest of Ramsbury has brown trout, rainbow characteristic of the and mine, but they scarcely impinge on trout (unfortunately), grayling, stone Marlborough Downs occur in village life. At least one Ramsbury loach, bullhead, pike, 3-spined stickle- Ramsbury, particularly water vole, and garden has summer truffles. My lawn is back, minnow and brook lamprey — pipistrelle bat, which English Nature covered with shaggy inkcaps in early quite a notable species nowadays. I’ve consider to be ‘priority species October. Whitehill Coppice has a good seen it massed on stones in front of the requiring special attention’. Other variety of fungi, including the famous white cottage on Newtown Road. ‘key species’ include: Death Cap (please don’t harm them — CHALK GRASSLAND — brown hare, no one seems in any danger of eating Nature conservation in Ramsbury skylark, song thrush, lapwing, Roman them). Though identifying them is a snail, Duke of Burgundy butterfly. specialist business, you can enjoy the English Nature (the government body subtle colours of toadstools — purple, concerned with nature conservation) WOODLAND — buzzard, bluebell, red, yellow and orange —in autumn. has divided the country into 120 purple emperor. One easily recognised species is the ‘natural areas’ based on landscape and WET MEADOWS — reed bunting. appropriately named magpie toadstool, wildlife features. Ramsbury lies within found under beech. the Berkshire and Marlborough ARABLE LAND — grey partridge, Downs natural area, which includes spotted flycatcher, bullfinch. It might be worth mentioning the red the upper part of the Kennet valley. Other species I personally would stains on many flint pebbles in the English Nature lists the characteristic regard as important on grounds of river, e.g. by the ford. These belong to natural habitats of the area as chalk conservation concern or their the red alga, Hildenbrandtia and are grassland — mainly on scarp slopes prominence in the parish, are stream

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water crowfoot, scarlet tiger-moth, nightingale, water rail, willow and marsh tit, brown trout and brook lamprey.

Conclusion What is special about Ramsbury? First and foremost, the Kennet, an important ‘chalk river’, with clear, fast-running water fed by springs and underground aquifers, and a bed of flints, pebbles and firm clay. Its importance has been recognised in its designation as an SSSI. The River Kennet Restoration Project is a partnership scheme between Thames Water, the Environment Agency, English Nature and ARK. meadow’. Habitats include thick beds The willow scrub that has spread over Unfortunately, the quality of the river of pond-sedge and reed sweet-grass parts of formerly open meadow is an has suffered partly through low flow (important for water vole) and marsh important habitat for birds, including rates and reduced volume. Essentially, flowers like yellow iris, purple declining species like nightingale and the river is carrying more muck from loosestrife, marsh marigold and reed bunting. It is also rich in insects sewage treatment works than it can comfrey. Again, plant diversity has — many of the attractive moths that cope with. Today the tributary streams suffered, particularly from the spread visit our gardens, like puss moth, are often cleaner and in better of stinging nettle. Annual mowing and sallow kitten and poplar hawkmoth, condition than the main river. removal of the clippings may help, are dependent on willow. but there is an underlying need to Associated with the river are its banks improve water quality and reduce Our natural woods are important and former floodplain, still undeveloped chemically-enriched silt ... and ARK are both for wildlife and for their long though no longer managed as ‘water right on to it! history, visible in their banks, hollow

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tracks and old trees and stumps. some longterm hope of habitat Some of them are ancient woods restoration, but chalk grassland takes a (English Nature has a full list, with long time to establish, and you cannot maps) which are much richer in recreate it simply by sowing. It is plants and insects than more recent important, therefore, to conserve the woods. Good indicators of older little that is left as core areas from woods are wood anemone, early which the habitat may spread if dog-violet and carpets of bluebells. conditions are right. Our woods also have a skirt of scrub with shrubs characteristic of the Almost anywhere in Britain, there was chalk, like wayfaring tree, dogwood, more wildlife in the past than in the spindle and guelder rose, often present. Ramsbury, fortunately, is still draped in Clematis or traveller’s joy. quite rich in wildlife, especially in The main problem in our woods is woodland and marshland birds and too many deer. They prevent natural wild flowers. Among less well-recorded regeneration by browsing the fresh groups there is still a lot left to discover. shoots and foliage. We must be What is perhaps most important is that thankful to the estates that our our wildlife does not belong to the woods were not converted to conifer countryside in general, but to a plantations. I view the recent tree particular and well-loved part of it — plantings around the parish as a village by a chalk river running contributing more to amenity through downs crowned with clay than wildlife. woods, a tapestry of habitats matured by time. The habitat that has declined most in Ramsbury is chalk grassland. Since the 1940s, it has been reduced to odd banks and corners, the most accessible of which is on Spring Hill. Environ- mental schemes like stewardship offer

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