Allerthorpe Common is a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

(SSSI) and nature reserve in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located close to the town of Pocklington.

History

Allerthorpe was mentioned in the Domesday Book AD 1086 as "Aluuarstorp", a name meaning a "thorpe" or small village belonging to a man called Alfard. Pollen counts have shown that the common has provided habitat for heather and birch, and some pine for at least 2000 years. During Anglo-Saxon times some of the trees were cleared for conversion of the land to pasture. Commoners had a right to graze cattle, cut turves, and use timber and gorse for repairs. At the time of enclosures (1750–1800), the surrounding land was enclosed and used for agriculture. The common became drier as drainage was improved in the surrounding farmland, and in the 1950s, the land was bought by the Forestry Commission. Part was drained and planted in 1963 with Scots pine,

Austrian pine ''Pinus nigra'', the Austrian pine or black pine, is a moderately variable species of pine, occurring across Southern Europe from the Iberian Peninsula to the eastern Mediterranean, on the Anatolian peninsula of Turkey, Corsica and Cyprus, as wel ...

and Lodgepole pine. In 1965, a area was designated as a

and was set aside as a nature reserve as being one of the last tracts of semi-natural grassland in the Vale of York.

The common

The site lies on river and lake sands, which were deposited during the last glacial period 12-10,000 years ago. The soils are acidic and a variety of habitats, including wet and dry heath, mire, grassland and woodland have formed. The drier areas are dominated by heather interspersed with

cross-leaved heath ''Erica tetralix'', the cross-leaved heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to western Europe, from southern Portugal to central Norway, as well as a number of boggy regions further from the coast in Central Europe ...

and

purple moor grass ''Molinia caerulea'', known by the common name purple moor-grass, is a species of grass that is native to Europe, west Asia, and north Africa. It grows in locations from the lowlands up to in the Alps. Like most grasses, it grows best in acid so ...

. In the wetter areas purple moor grass forms dense tussocks.

Common cottongrass Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

and

marsh cinquefoil ''Comarum palustre'' ( syn. ''Potentilla palustris''), known by the common names purple marshlocks, swamp cinquefoil and marsh cinquefoil, is a common waterside shrub. It has a circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout North America, Europe ...

occur in the wet mire conditions, and the nationally rare marsh gentian grows here. Birds that breed here include the nightjar, tree pipit and whinchat.

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Allerthorpe Common Conservation in the United Kingdom Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the East Riding of Yorkshire Nature reserves in the East Riding of Yorkshire Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserves Forests and woodlands of the East Riding of Yorkshire

History

The common

See also

References

External links