Woodland in the Weald

An especially green and wooded land The underlying geology means that where sandstone and Creatures great and small Shaped by humans... clay meet on valley slopes, water often appears as a spring All woodland is special; its beauty, calm and the essential that feeds gill streams and rivers. Such “wet woodland” is The wildlife of High Weald woodlands is equally varied. The earliest evidence of human activity in the High Weald Heather Martin Puss Moth role it plays in creating the air we breathe, are hard to rare outside the High Weald. These lush, damp valleys are For example, it’s not unusual to record more than 60 Vivienne Blakey is from about 8000BC, when Mesolithic hunter-gatherers dispute. If you own or have access to woodland in the High often home to alder and ash trees with Yellow Pimpernel, species of moth in a single night in a High Weald wood. lived in glades in the woods, with minimal impact on Weald, you are living alongside woodland that is really Opposite-leaved Golden-saxifrage, Remote Sedge and Healthy native woodlands, particularly broadleaved ones, their surroundings. special. Pendulous Sedge and sometimes Alder Buckthorn growing contain a huge range of different wildlife species at ground level. including mammals such as bats and dormice, birds such as The impact of the early farming communities on An incredible 70 per cent of the woods in the High Weald nightingales and woodpeckers and butterflies. In the High woodland in the High Weald may have been considerable are “Ancient Woodland” – land that has been continually Unique natural variations Weald, these wildlife communities are as diverse as the and research suggests a significant reduction in the wooded since at least 1600 – and this makes up an equally habitats that support them. number of trees and an increase in the amount of open amazing 7 per cent of all the ancient woodland in England. The complex geology of the High Weald – which includes land during this time. varied soils, soil angle and aspect (the direction in which a Coralroot Bittercress is almost Buff-tip – the resting moth looks like Remains of iron extraction pits, However, ancient woodlands are not static, historic relics, slope faces) means that a wide range of trees and plants can A rich tapestry of individual, yet Woodland management was of prime importance to the exclusively found in ancient gill a broken silver birch twig. St Leonard’s Forest West Sussex. to be preserved as they were in a specific period. The grow in woodlands; across the area and within a single connected, woods Roman iron industry which needed a ready supply of woodlands in the Weald. woodlands in this area have morphed alongside human wood. Woods on the higher, sandier ridges tend to be wood for fuel. Archaeological signs of Roman activity activity – industry, politics and economics – and are still “heathy” and dominated by oak, birch or beech trees A key feature in this part of the country – and not simply include the remains of “bloomeries” (furnaces), their changing today. surrounded by heather and Wavy Hair Grass. Elsewhere the proportion of land that is wooded – is the way in associated slag heaps and mine or “bell” pits. across the area you may notice a wide range of mature trees which small woods are connected to one another by Deer increasingly damage coppice One constant is the rich natural habitat offered by these such as oak, birch, hornbeam, beech, ash or field maple. historic features such ancient hedge banks, sunken lanes, regrowth and woodland plants. In medieval times, the High Weald was the centre of the woodlands which are home to more rare and threatened shaws and wooded gills. Not only does this create an British iron industry, and there are numerous species than any other habitat in the UK. The typical “tapering” lines attractive patchwork landscape but it also provides archaeological reminders of this era. These include earth of woodland, shaped by the “wildlife corridors” which enable creatures to forage and dams, and therefore ponds, that were used to power The continuity of ancient woodland means that it’s area’s steep valleys and gills, multiply. mechanical hammers and furnaces. Distinct pits mark the possible for us to see similar scenes as would have been reach out into farmland and spot where clay, sandstone and ironstone were excavated. experienced by, say, a medieval farmer or a Tudor charcoal heathland, providing burner. These woods are a hugely significant aspect of the wildlife with even greater Hunting and land-ownership also left its mark with the High Weald, they cover 17% of the area, and have opportunities for movement creation of forests (land set asides as hunting grounds for contributed to the area being designated as an Area of and dispersal. the kings and queen) deer parks for the gentry and the Outstanding Natural Beauty or AONB. clearing or “assarting” of woods to create farmsteads. Earth banks covered with moss and undergrowth are Shaped by nature often the remains of ancient boundary markers or Elizabeth Randall livestock barriers. The Pearl-bordered Fritillary is a rare Although people have shaped local woodland, nature got species harboured by High Weald Park pales had a high bank with a deep ditch on the inside there first. The “rise” of the High Weald was created about Woodland management helps most woodlands. 65 million years ago when layers of sedimentary rock were woodland plants by creating open, Medieval forests were not solid lifted by earth movements that also created the Alps. Over lighter areas such as glades, woodland, but rather a mosaic the following 20 million years the Wealden dome was woodland edges, and rides. of woods, coppices, wood- eroded, revealing a varied geological structure, including pasture, heaths and commons sandstones and clay. Erosion then left a terrain of ridges where hunting parties would and valleys with deep sinuous “gills” draining into them. pursue deer, hares and rabbits, The topography of the High Weald explains the as well as wild fowl and game birds. There are still traces of Magical streams in wooded gullies high concentration of gill woods. Interconnected woods medieval hunting areas in the Wooded, Wealden gills are of national and international Go for a short walk in a gill valley and on the drier, upper These interconnected woods can sometimes have a High Weald, including environmental importance because of their unique, mosses slopes you may find the wood dominated by brambles, greater concentration of wildlife than larger woods. This Ashdown, St Leonard’s (near and liverworts, humid microclimate and sandstone bracken, or bluebells; down in the valley you are more is because small woods are less likely to have been Horsham) Worth and Dallington outcrops. These magical streams and ravines support plants likely to find ash and field maple alongside streams, with affected by replanting and the forestry industry, so are Forests. Although rare, large including the Hay-scented Buckler-fern and Coralroot wild garlic and wood anemones at ground level. A common more likely to retain their semi-natural species. Small boundary banks and ditches – Bittercress. In springtime, it’s not unusual to find 50 to 70 sight in the High Weald, this mix of plants is uncommon woods, in turn, are connected to larger woods... so their known as deer “pales” – can Kerry Baldwin James Cope plant species growing in these damp gullies. elsewhere in the world. Vivienne Blakey wildlife benefits are shared and can be far-reaching. still be spotted in these areas. Another significant clue to the past, still in use today, are Our role in the woodland story sunken lanes and tracks, formed over hundreds of years. Woodland in Matt Pitts These former drove roads – where pigs and other livestock The story of the High Weald woodlands is far from over Vivienne Blakey Vivienne Blakey Vivienne Blakey were herded to forage on acorns and beech nuts (an and, just as man has been intrinsically involved with our activity known as pannage) – are distinctive because of woodland throughout history, so we have an essential role their steep, often wooded, sides. The woodland to play in its future. This may simply involve gaining a the Weald clearings – where drovers returned with their pigs each – better knowledge of the unique woodlands in the area, year were known as ‘dens’. understanding issues such as deer control and climate change, buying woodland products and getting out and of Kent, Woodland coppicing continued, for charcoal and to exploring. Or, if you are a landowner, simple woodland supply the iron industry, into the Tudor period – with iron management can make a huge difference to this vibrant I am a landowner, what can I do? production reaching its peak during the Civil War when a landscape. Whoever you are, and whatever your role, Sussex and Ponds are often the only visible sign of large amount of iron was required for making weapons there is limitless potential for you to enjoy and co-exist • Seek specialist woodland advice an ancient woodland’s industrial past. and ammunition. with this living legacy. • Record the archaeology and wildlife in your woodland Surrey • Decide the objectives for your wood Since the industrial • Produce a plan for your woodland revolution woodland Ancient woodlands with public access • Follow your plan areas have been cultivated Within living memory, the hop for their aesthetic appeal James Cope Further information High Weald woodland TonbridgeTonbridge industry has played a part in rather than industry. resource, including ancient woodland management, and “Gentrified” estates and woodlands. 8 For further information please • Forestry Commission South East led to the planting of large picturesque landscaping TunbridgeTunbridge contact: www.forestry.gov.uk/southeastengland 9 areas of sweet chestnut for have appeared, with the EastEast WellsWells • South East Woodland Archaeology Forum GrinsteadGrinstead use as hop poles.

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