Cornwall Ancient Tree Forum Visits to Cabilla Manor 2020

Record of Cornwall Ancient Tree Forum visits to Cabilla Manor, Bodmin, Cornwall v1 21st October 2020

Contents CATF surveys ...... 1 Context ...... 2 Ancient Tree Inventory surveys and commentary ...... 3 Species record ...... 11 Historic Environment ...... 16 Appendix 1: SSSI ...... 19 Appendix 2 : Lanhydrock Atlas maps ...... 21 Appendix 3 Contacts and references ...... 24

CATF surveys undertaken 11th and 26thSeptember 2020

CATF Volunteers contributing to the surveys and this draft report

Tim Kellett, Marion Bryant, Keith Alexander, Lesley Strong, Lawrie Sampson, Sue Scott, Pete Herring, Loveday Jenkin.

Context

CATF were invited to survey the trees and the landscape by owners, Merlin and Lizzie Hanbury-Tenison and their family, with the view to recording Ancient and Veteran trees and other historic features in the landscape. This information will hopefully contribute to the developing rewilding programme that the family are pursuing on their property. The records are entered onto the Ancient Tree Inventory managed by the Woodland Trust.

The estate is sited on the SW edge of Bodmin Moor The land is currently a mix of pasture and woodland with a designated ancient woodland and SSSI based on and around Cabilla Tor – an oak covered granite hill and outcrop. The Warleggan river runs through the site approximately from North to South at the foot of the Tor. The estate sits within the Bodmin Moor section of Cornwall AONB.

The intention of the Hanbury-Tenison’s programme is to slowly introduce certain species of “ecosystem engineers” into the landscape, eventually removing internal fencing and allowing a regeneration of wood pasture and woodland over the existing fields. Species such as Red deer (a small herd exists today), wild boar, wild ponies, pine martens are being considered for the long term. Two beavers have just been introduced into the river. The family have been in close contact with other similar projects such as Knepp and Alladale estates. Complementary businesses will be developed including venues for team building, wellness groups and retreats.

Ancient Tree Inventory surveys and commentary

In summary, a total of 33 trees were recorded during the two surveys on this site, with only one being recorded as ancient, one notable, the rest as veteran. This is not unusual in primarily dense woodland or enclosed pasture. The topography with steep sided valleys, thin soil cover, large expanses of clitter or loose boulders and stones makes is a difficult environment to retain old growth trees. There is also considerable competition for water and nutrient resources in a dense woodland such as this. While the oaks generally appear to be somewhat stunted with a low canopy and few, if any, trunks over 3.5m grith, they are nevertheless slow growing and of come considerable age although no ancient oaks (over 400years)have been recorded here yet. This is balanced by an ongoing natural regeneration of the oak and other flora over the centuries maintaining this particularly valuable habitat. The link to the ATI page is here ancient tree inventory. Clicking on any symbol will reveal a short summary note, clicking on this note will reveal further data and photographs of the tree.

Ancient Trees

Only one ancient tree has been recorded so far (further investigation may reveal more). This is the 4.7m sycamore sitting on the top of a hedgebank to the north of the manor house (below). The tree has a large hollowing stem. We would say a sycamore would be 300 years old to be classed as ancient. This specimen could just have reached that age given its location growing conditions and form.

Veteran Trees

The majority of veteran trees recorded here are oaks. Their griths range from 2.5-3.5m and are relatively short and stunted in form, reducing in height towards the top of the Tor. This image shows a typical veteran tree on the ancient woodland on the Tor. It is small in girth measured at 2.75m at 1.5m height but obviously of significant age due to its characteristic craggy trunk with fissured bark. It has a significant number of veteran features including holes in the trunk, hollowing branches, deadwood in the crown and on the ground, invertebrate holes, mosses, lichens and ferns and potential habitats for mammals, birds and bats.

At the time of this survey there was a distinctive oak “mast” – a year when virtually all oak trees are producing acorns in significant numbers. Some years they do not produce. It is believed the timing is somehow co-ordinated between the trees of similar species giving the maximum chance for successful germination and regeneration. This also gave an opportunity to better identify the dominant species of oak as pedunculate (Quercus robur).

Left: A Typical veteran Oak on the Tor of around 3m girth, and short in height.

The acorns are held on separate long stems or “peduncles”, usually light green in colour. (although some were slightly shorter that that shown they were definite peduncles. On sessile oaks the acorns are bunched on the actual twigs, close to the leaves or leaf buds.) The leaves have very short stems, and the base of the leaf is ended by two small lobes or “ears” where the leaf attached to the stalk. (the sessile does not have obvious lobes at the base and is often gently tapered into the stem at the base)

Note: The SSSI description wrongly identifies this as a sessile woodland.

Some large beech have been recorded on the east side of the river and it is noted that these are focused around the historic mine workings. Beech are not as ling lived as oak and have a faster growth rate. A beech in the region of 5m girth may be classed as ancient if it has significant other ancient habitat features. The beech is a shade tolerant tree, its young can grow up in the shade of other trees until they themselves can form the dense canopy that shades out much other flora. The oak on the other hand is not shade tolerant. Once shaded by the beech for example it will decline slowly, usually beginning with the lower shaded branches dying off. In this way encroaching beech may slowly transform an oak woodland and this should be considered in the ongoing management of these woodlands.

Left: large beech splitting into two main stems recorded in the east woodland

The other likely place to record veteran trees is in the stone-faced earth-filled Cornish Hedges. Some of these were field boundaries and some of these were compartmenting the woods, often accompanied by a ditch on one side. These included - a hazel of 3.91m (above left) on and hawthorn of 2.4m (above right) both multistems with many veteran features. Below is a 4.01m ash growing out of boundary hedge on the north side of the estate.

Coppices Coppicing would certainly have been undertaken in the area to provide charcoal for the mine workings and several examples are recorded here. It is possible that large coppice stools could be the oldest trees in the estate. There are a few stools of around 4-5m girth measured at ground level. Following advice given by Oliver Rackham it could be assumed these could be in the region of 3-400 years old.

A coppice tree may be recorded as ancient if it is obviously of sufficient age to be one of the oldest of its species (at least 400yrs) but would only be recorded as veteran if it has a significant amount of deadwood habitat, difficult if the stems have been regularly cut.

Left: A 5.83m girth coppice measured at the base of the coppice stool.

Wood pasture There are few examples of this habitat on the estate, at the moment, but with the potential change to land management through rewilding there is a great opportunity to develop this for the future. Due to the more open environment there is a greater opportunity for trees to develop to their full potential in terms of age, volume, canopy size, large wide growing lower limbs and significant quantity of long lasting deadwood – all of which form rare and valuable habitat to species that may be poorly represented on the estate.

One area that is most reflective of the wood pasture (though currently with no grazing animals) is the small woodland to the north west of the estate. This has a much lower density of trees and has some veterans of similar age. The ground is covered with various shallow depressions and excavations from historic workings. The openness here has given the trees opportunity to spread with wider growing lower limbs and could be a model for the density and character of treescape to develop with the rewilding project.

Right and below: location of wood pasture.

Species record

During the survey we were able to record a number of other species of invertebrates and fungi. Keith Alexander has identified these in the table below. There is great potential for further investigation and Keith has offered services to undertake trapping surveys during the appropriate

season next year.

Above left: Hazel glue fungus Hymenochaete corrugate

Above right : Oak curtain crust Hymenochaete rubiginosa

Left: Xylaria Hypoxylon -. Rare fungi now recorded on Cornwall Fungus recording group

Draft species record recorded by Keith Alexander:

Conservation Species Status Comments

Fungi

Widespread fungus which decays the dead heartwood tissues of veteran oaks. A keystone Fistulina hepatica species, creating specialist habitat for a wide range Beefsteak Fungus of other species

Ganoderma australe Widespread fungus which decays the dead Southern Bracket heartwood tissues of broad-leaved trees.

Widespread species which decays the seasoned Hymenochaete rubiginosa wood of veteran oaks

Widespread species which decays dead stems of hazel, attaching them together in the crown of the tree to stop them falling to the ground and being Hymenochaete corrugata decayed by soil fungi. Characteristic of ancient Hazel Glue Fungus woodlands.

Porcelain Fungus. Decay fungus on dead beech Oudemansiella mucida branches.

Widespread species decays dead branches in lower canopy of open-grown oak trees. An important host Peniophora quercina species for uncommon beetles.

Widespread decay fungus most commonly on dead Phellinus ferruginosus oak branches

Widespread fungus which colonises freshly dead oak branches and creates habitat for other specialist Stereum hirsutum species.

Widespread wood-decay fungus most frequent on Stereum rugosum dead hazel stems

Trametes versicolor Common and widespread wood-decay fungus

Xylaria Hypoxylon

Candle Snuff Fungus Widespread wood-decay fungus

Xylaria cinerea Fairly rare – few records in Cornwall

Centipede

Widespread centipede species; a speciality of GB Lithobius variegatus with an Atlantic European distribution

Conservation Species Status Comments

Beetles

Widespread beetle developing in fungus Trametes Cis boleti versicolor on dead wood

A tiny rove beetle which lives on decaying branches Nationally in the lower canopy of trees; most widespread in Leptusa pulchella Scarce Britain in SW

Widespread click beetle which develops in decaying Melanotus castanipes wood

Widespread ground beetle which favours decaying Ocys tachysoides wood

A false darkling beetle which develops in decaying Nationally branch wood on veteran trees; characteristic of Orchesia minor Scarce ancient woodlands

A false darkling beetle which develops in decaying Orchesia undulata branches of various broadleaved tree species

A predator of slugs and snail especially in decaying Silpha atrata wood.

Bug

A predatory bug which lives amongst epiphytes on Temnostethus gracilis tree bark.

Molluscs

Tree Snail. Lives on tree trunks where feeds on Balea sarsii algae, lichens, mosses, etc.

Lehmannia marginata Tree Slug. Ditto

Woodlice

Porcellio scaber A common woodlouse.

Oniscus asellus A common woodlouse.

Mosses and lichens are abundant on the woodland oaks.

Birds Commentary from Lawrie Sampson: The number of mature trees, and quantity of standing dead wood across the farm supports large numbers of woodland birds. Throughout the day, marsh tits and nuthatches seemed to be calling around us continually – both of which nest in rotten cavities of standing dead wood. Great spotted woodpeckers and jays were frequent too, and a mistle thrush was a pleasure to see, as they have declined rapidly across the UK, but have a healthy population around Bodmin Moor where extensively managed grassland is interspersed by mature woodland and veteran trees.

The existing block of wood pasture is likely to be most interesting for birds and may well support redstarts over summer – a beautiful woodland bird that in Cornwall is restricted to Bodmin Moor. Developing this wood pasture habitat across a much wider area of the farm will create an unrivalled habitat for woodland birds in Cornwall that may one day support pied flycatchers, wood warblers and lesser spotted woodpeckers, which are all essentially now extinct in Cornwall because of the loss of such habitats.

Historic Environment

Above is the extract from Domesday Book of Cabilla Manor. It recorded a total of 13 households, 50 acres of pasture and 40 acres of woodland. The Robartes estate maps of 1699 collated in the “Lanhydrock Atlas” (see appendix 2) showed many tenancies in the manor of Cabilla stretching down to the River Fowey.

The first edition OS map of c1880 shows the area much as it is today with very little change to extent of woodland and field pattern. Cabilla is noted with “remains of a manor house”. To the east of Cabilla Tor in the wood on the Warleggan side is Wheal Whisper the original tin and copper mine at Treveddoe, worked until about 1917. The workings can be seen in the woods although access is extremely difficult to the dense woodland, steep slopes, and boulders.

Archaeological features

Note from Pete Herring 26.9.20.

We kept our eyes peeled looking for any signs of a deer park, such as a pale, but found none that had the scale and form expected. But we didn’t really look in the areas (e.g. perimeters of Cabilla holding) where one might be expected. So we (or I) need to return to double check. There were also one or two unusually broad hedges which need explanation, but they didn’t seem to work together in ways that suggested pales or compartments of a park. One was in the lane, opposite the butterwell, another was in the rough ground NE of Cabilla house.

We noticed that most (perhaps all) of the larger older trees that we recorded were on archaeological remains: on hedges, on the spoil heaps of lode-back pits (early primitive mine shafts), on the banks of tracks and leats on the Warleggan side of the river, and at the foot of a lynchet (the earthwork of a former hedge) in the area to the north of the house.

Most of the industrial remains on the Warleggan side of the river had previously been recorded (quite rapidly) as part of the Bodmin Moor Industrial Archaeology survey in 1989/1990. (That was when Robin allowed me to explore the wonderful openwork at Treveddoe.) We saw some of these remains in passing: smaller, but still pretty massive openworks further north on the steep slope and shafts with wheelpits for pumping water from them on the lower slopes, and the platforms for tin stamping and dressing floors closer still to the Bedalder. We didn’t visit all of these, including the most northerly early dressing floor, which is probably 18th century or earlier, with a trapezoidal buddle – used for separating the heavier tin from the lighter waste.

Within the woods we saw several tracks, some quite late in date, their lines avoiding the tin mining, but not modern, as indicated by the old trees growing on their downhill banks of some of them (e.g. a large beech on the higher slopes), and by some being shown on the c1880 OS map. There were also a couple of stock-proof hedges running down the slope dividing Higher Wood (name from Warleggan Tithe Map of 1840) into compartments. It seems possible that these were built (before 1880 OS map on which they appear) in order to organise wood pastures here, as there still are in the area of Harry’s Corner, upstream from Higher Wood (name again from the 1840 Warleggan Tithe Map). There are gateways into the fields above the wood and it seems unlikely that the slopes would (or could) have been kept clear of trees in the period(s) when it was used as pasture.

Some of the larger trees in the northern part of the Warleggan side were on hedges – mainly oaks, but also hazels (one recorded) and hawthorns (one recorded). The forms of these boundaries (with lyncheting of soil from the probably intermittent cultivation in the fields above) reaching over 2 metres high in places, and their irregular pattern, suggest an early date, probably medieval for the fields and their hedges.

Most of the valleys running off the Moor have been subjected to alluvial streamworking for tin, a technique that involved diverting the stream and then working over its floor to extract tin-bearing stones. This was in place in SW Britain by later prehistory and probably at its height on Bodmin Moor, or Fawymore, in the later medieval period. The side valley with beavers is one such alluvial streamworks – the valley bottom widened by a cutting. Below the beavers we could see some quite large trees on the floor of the cutting (inaccessible yesterday) that confirm its antiquity.

Back on the Cardinham side, we looked at a group of large-ish pedunculate oaks, most of which were in a line at the foot of another lynchet, indicating that the steep slopes here were once cultivated

(they are shown as clear farmland on the 1880 OS map, as arable on the 1840 Cardinham Tithe Map (the field called Far Park), and pasture on the Lanhydrock Atlas of 1695. Arable should be regarded literally, as land that was cultivated, but should not necessarily be regarded as intensively worked. The Cornish employed convertible husbandry that would have seen most land under the plough for around 3 or 4 years in every 12. The line of trees, which seem to be fairly even-aged also seemed to be nicely spaced as if deliberately planted as a line.

As we headed across the fields towards the lane to Milland we noticed the earthworks of removed hedges and also those of smaller squarish fields defined by their ploughed down and smoothened lynchets. To understand them they require plotting.

In the lane, which has a fine livestock-processing area, where it widens to around five or six times its normal width, is a neat butterwell, presumably installed after the farmers ceased bringing herds of heavy cattle here (as they would have damaged the structure). But it could be quite early. The granite stones do not appear to have been split using hand-drills, so it is probably pre-1800. Butter would be kept cool on the slate shelves, the door whose hinges survive kept firmly shut and the whole thing shaded by the large trees that we were recording, including the massive sycamore that may have already been in place when the butterwell was constructed.

Finally, back at Cabilla house, we looked at a particularly broad bank downhill to its ESE on the N side of which were several old sycamores. This was reminiscent of the Elizabethan raised walks at Godolphin in west Cornwall that also have massive sycamores along them. Need to look at the development of the layout of the grounds of Cabilla to be sure, but this may be a remnant of an early garden, from the 16th and 17th century days when sycamores were the desired tree, not the reviled one.

It would be good to explore Cabilla a little more, perhaps in the early Spring, around Feb/March, when veg is at its lowest and the earthworks therefore most visible.

Appendix 1: SSSI

Cabilla Manor Wood was designated as an SSSI on 5th Dec 1989. This is the woodland on the western side of the river covering the Tor.

Note: The CATF surveys noted one discrepancy with the designation in that the tree cover in the woodland was primarily Pedunculate oak.

Status: Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) notified under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) National Grid Reference: SX 150697 Area: 15.1 (ha) 37.3 (ac) Lies within Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) (Bodmin Moor) Description and Reasons for Notification: Cabilla Manor Wood lies about 7 kms north-east of Bodmin on the southern edge of the Bodmin Moor granite mass and is bisected by the Warleggan River. To the west of the river, Cabilla Tor surmounts the steep, wooded granite scree or “clitter” slope on which coppiced, ancient Sessile Oak Quercus petraea woodland is dominant. Cascades of Great Woodrush Luzula sylvatica form the bulk of the ground flora which includes Heather Calluna vulgaris, Bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus, Wood Anemone Anemone nemorosa, Wood-sorrel Oxalis acetosella and Common Cow-wheat Melampyrum pratense. Ferns are abundant and include Scaly Male-fern Dryopteris affinis, Broad Buckler-fern D.dilatata, Lady-fern Athyrium filix-femina and Hard Fern Blechnum spicant. Of particular note is the presence of Wilson’s Filmy-fern Hymenophyllum wilsonii and Tonbridge Filmy-fern H.tunbrigense on wet rock overhangs. Forty-six species of moss have been recorded including the locally rare Atrichum undulatum and the first record for Cornwall of Pohlia muyldermansii.

The woodland to the east of the river is also dominated by Sessile Oak, but has some Ash Fraxinus excelsior and Beech Fagus sylvatica amongst the canopy, and has been less extensively coppiced in the past. The epiphytes Ivy Hedera helix and Polypody Polypodium vulgare are abundant on the trees. The deeper soils here support an understorey of Hazel Corylus avellana, Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna and Holly Ilex aquifolium with occasional Rowan Sorbus acuparia and Guelder Rose Viburnum opulus. The ground flora consists largely of Bramble Rubus fruticosus, Honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum and Bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta with occasional Hart’s-tongue Phyllitis scolopendrium and the uncommon Lemon-scented Fern Oreopteris limbo-sperma. Alongside the river, in wet hollows and flushes, are scattered Grey Willow Salix cinerea and Alder Alnus glutinosa with Hemlock Water-dropwort Oenanthe crocata, Oppositeleaved Golden- saxifrage Chrysosplenium oppositifolium, Meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria and Common Valerian Valeriana officinalis. The river itself is structurally diverse with boulders, riffles, pools and overhanging banks, and is a breeding site for Large Red Damselfly Pyrrhosoma nymphula and Broad-bodied Chaser Libellula depressa. Otter Lutra lutra spraint has recently been found on the river banks. A disused quarry and mine now support Gorse Ulex europaeus, Silver Birch Betula pendula and Grey Willow scrub. This area is of significance for its fauna. Buzzard Buteo buteo and Raven Corvus corax nest on ledges on the cliffed quarry faces and small numbers of four species of bat use the complicated underground mine system. These are Greater Horseshoe Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Lesser Horseshoe R. hipposideros, Daubenton’s Myotis daubentonia and Brown Long-eared Plecotus auritus Bats.

Appendix 2 : Lanhydrock Atlas maps From the Lanhydrock Atlas : A complete reproduction of the 17th Century Cornish Estate maps - Paul Holden, Peter Herring, Oliver J Padel. National Trust 2010. Maps illustrating landholdings of the Robartes family surveyed and mapped by Joel Gascoyne 1694-1699.

In this map Cabilla Manor is located in the cluster of tracks courtyard and small fields in the centre. Please note - north is to the right, not up, as the convention today). The Warleggan river, at least in part, can be seen as a curving line at the bottom of the map. It edges and encloses the woodland that is Cabilla Tor shown at 10 acres. The woodland on the Warleggan side (east) is not part of this tenancy and not shown.

Tupton (top) lies immediately to the west of Cabilla mooreland and Shaber (bottom) lies immediately to the north.

Note: The Lanhydrock Atlas includes two tenancies within the wider Manor of Cabilla that retain the name “Cabilla”. (See page 342 et seq.) This site is recorded as Cabilla-mooreland in the atlas, but the commentary notes that the evidence as the site of the original manor is still unclear. A further tenancy in the Atlas, Cabilla-barne, located on the north side of the River Fowey, is noted as a possible alternative site for the original manor (barne is possibly a corruption of Barton). Further research is needed here. CATF have recorded trees in the old wood pasture and ancient woodland on this site.

Appendix 3 Contacts and references

Ancient Tree Inventory - website link to records for this site: https://ati.woodlandtrust.org.uk/tree- search/?v=1791686&ml=map&z=17&u=1&up=v&nwLat=50.50301973653437&nwLng=- 4.627732593616467&seLat=50.49605880212401&seLng=-4.600266773303967

Ancient Tree Forum website https://www.ancienttreeforum.co.uk/

Ancient and other veteran trees: further guidance on management Edited by David Lonsdale e-book - published in February 2013 https://ancienttreeforum.co.uk/wp- content/uploads/2015/02/ATF_book.pdf

Cornwall Ancient Tree Forum email [email protected]

The Lanhydrock Atlas : A complete reproduction of the 17th Century Cornish Estate maps - Paul Holden, Peter Herring, Oliver J Padel. National Trust 2010. Maps illustrating landholdings of the Robartes family surveyed and mapped by Joel Gascoyne 1694-1699.

Open Domesday : Anna Powell Smith Professor J Palmer – entry for Cabilla https://opendomesday.org/place/SX1469/cabilla/