Upper Beeding is a
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...
and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
in the
Horsham District
Horsham is a local government district in West Sussex, England. Its council is based in Horsham. The district borders those of Crawley, Mid Sussex, Mole Valley, Chichester, Arun and Adur, and the unitary authority of Brighton & Hove.
The ...
of
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...
, England. It is located at the northern end of the
River Adur gap in the
South Downs
The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the eas ...
, four miles (6.4 km) north of
Shoreham-by-Sea
Shoreham-by-Sea (often shortened to Shoreham) is a coastal town and port in West Sussex, England.
The town is bordered to its north by the South Downs, to its west by the Adur Valley and to its south by the River Adur and Shoreham Beach on th ...
and has a land area of 1877 hectares (4637 acres). The site is a bridging point over the river: on the opposite bank are
Bramber and
Steyning
Steyning ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England. It is located at the north end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, four miles (6.4 km) north of the coastal town of Shoreham-by-Sea.
The smaller ...
, making the whole area somewhat built-up. The
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
also includes the smaller village of
Small Dole to the north (nearer to Henfield), and the village of
Edburton to the northeast.
Upper Beeding is on the northern edge of the
South Downs National Park
The South Downs National Park is England's newest national park, designated on 31 March 2010. The park, covering an area of in southern England, stretches for from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east through the counties of Hamp ...
which was created in 2010. The
South Downs Way
The South Downs Way is a long distance footpath and bridleway running along the South Downs in southern England. It is one of 16 National Trails in England and Wales. The trail runs for from Winchester in Hampshire to Eastbourne in East Susse ...
and
Monarch's Way
The Monarch's Way is a long-distance footpath in England that approximates the escape route taken by King Charles II in 1651 after being defeated in the Battle of Worcester. It runs from Worcester via Bristol and Yeovil to Shoreham, West Su ...
long-distance footpaths run through the parish; the area is popular with walkers, cyclists and equestrians. It is also at the western end of the
Beeding Hill to Newtimber Hill Site of Special Scientific Interest.
History
![Upper Beeding Priory Church](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Upper_Beeding_Priory_Church.jpg)
The community was originally (and for the majority of its history) called Beeding, with the civil parish changing to Upper Beeding in modern times (date unknown). As is common in such cases, the ecclesiastical parish retains the original name (hence it is the parish of Beeding, and the parish church is Beeding Church). In the early 13th Century the monks of Sele Priory (St Peter's Church, Beeding) began a mission to the area of St Leonard's Forest near
Horsham, and established a small mission base, naming it
Lower Beeding
Lower Beeding is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. The village lies on the B2110, B2115 and A281 roads southeast from Horsham, and is centred on Holy Trinity Church and The Plough public house, where t ...
. Despite being some away, Lower Beeding remained a part of (Upper) Beeding parish until Victorian times. The existence of Lower Beeding led to differentiation in the name of the original Beeding in some medieval sources, but always as River Beeding. For this reason the prefix Upper is still ignored by many local people today, who refer to their community by the original (and current ecclesiastical) title of Beeding.
In Saxon times Beeding had a near neighbour, the
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
of Sele. Today's village of Upper Beeding incorporates both communities, with the village centre located between the sites of the two original Saxon settlements. Saxon Beeding was closer to the Dacre Gardens area of modern Beeding, whilst Saxon Sele was nearer to the parish church (Sele Priory Church of St Peter) in modern Beeding.
In 1927 and 1929, land along the High Street was acquired for the building of a village hall to serve the community. Subsequently, funds were donated or raised for the building of the hall, which was completed in 1930. The hall contains meeting rooms where various organizations hold meetings and a number of different kinds of events. The Upper Beeding Parish Council meets monthly in the hall).
Demographics
In 2001 census the parish of Upper Beeding had a population of 3,798 living in 1545 households, of whom 2001 were economically active. The population at the 2011 Census was 3,763.
[
]
Notable buildings and areas
The parish of Upper Beeding includes three villages: Upper Beeding itself, Edburton and Small Dole. It includes a number of different soil types from Chalk downland
Downland, chalkland, chalk downs or just downs are areas of open chalk hills, such as the North Downs. This term is used to describe the characteristic landscape in southern England where chalk is exposed at the surface. The name "downs" is deriv ...
, rich Lower Greensand
The Lower Greensand Group is a geological unit present across large areas of Southern England. It was deposited during the Aptian and Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous. It predominantly consists of sandstone and unconsolidated sand that were ...
to sticky Gault Clay. The parish covers areas with hills/downs, valleys/bottoms, brooks and woods.
Upper Beeding
Upper Beeding is a village on the eastern bank of the River Adur, opposite Bramber. It is just within the South Downs National Park
The South Downs National Park is England's newest national park, designated on 31 March 2010. The park, covering an area of in southern England, stretches for from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east through the counties of Hamp ...
boundary. There are 2 pubs in the village, the King's Head and the Rising Sun. The King's Head goes back to at least 1788 when Burbeach Hundred Court met there. There is a modern nunnery that it is not open to visitors. The southeast of the village is known as Castle Town.
The village has a rich history. In AD 858 it is thought that Aethelwulf, father of Alfred the Great, died here and was buried across the River Adur in Steyning
Steyning ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England. It is located at the north end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, four miles (6.4 km) north of the coastal town of Shoreham-by-Sea.
The smaller ...
. There was a priory in Upper Beeding during the 11th century, but no trace of it now remains. After the Norman Conquest, the manor was granted by William the Conqueror
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...
to William de Braose. De Braose rebuilt the Saxon church in 1073, giving us the present St Peter's church.
During the medieval period, a busy toll road ran through Upper Beeding, and the toll house was one of the last such houses to be in service in the country. It was later dismantled and re-erected as part of the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum.
At nearby Saltings Field is a scheduled monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
where you can see remains of salt-making industry begun in the 13th century.
Beeding and Horton brooks
Beeding brooks () and Horton brooks () are ancient waterside landscapes in the northwest of the parish. They surround the River Adur and have preserved the ancient indentations of the salting channels. In winter, the fossil salt marsh channels are flooded and this is when nature is at its best here. Many birds from Siberia pass the colder months here (which are less cold than Siberia!). The area can support owls, snipe
A snipe is any of about 26 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill, eyes placed high on the head, and cryptic/ camouflaging plumage. The ''Gallinago'' snipes have a ...
, winter thrushes and winter ducks. The best brook channels still host some important marsh species including ivy-leaved duckweed, water horsetai, water crowfoot and brooklime
''Veronica beccabunga'', the European speedwell or brooklime, is a succulent herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the flowering plant family Plantaginaceae. It grows on the margins of brooks and ditches in Europe, North Africa, and north and ...
. There are also many species of water snail including moss bladder snail and great ramshorn snail. To the east of Horton is Horton Clay Pit, an important archeological site with many fossils in the Gault Clay.
The brooks are beautiful but many areas are in need of management. Horse paddocks and sprawling buildings encroach the area. Some of the ditches are choked with rotting reeds and algae and many are shallowing and even disappearing. More heavy grazing of the whole area is needed.
By the wet pastures, hidden behind Horton Clay Pit, about 40% of Horton Wood () still survives. It is a maple
''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...
, oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
and hazel woodland with crab apple
''Malus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 30–55 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples, wild apples, and rainberries.
The genus is native to the temperate zone o ...
, midland thorn and much hawthorn. There are bluebells, goldilocks buttercup, anenomes and early purple orchids and the woodland canopy hosts a noisy rookery
A rookery is a colony of breeding animals, generally gregarious birds.
Coming from the nesting habits of rooks, the term is used for corvids and the breeding grounds of colony-forming seabirds, marine mammals ( true seals and sea lions), and ...
.
Beeding Hill
The Hill used to be called Beeding Tenantry Down and was common land until after the Second World War. There was a cricket ground in the Prince Regent’s time on the southern side of the Monarch’s Way () as it tracks east from the Beeding Hill car park.
All along the crest of Beeding Hill, just south of the road up to the Truleigh Hill Youth Hostel, was an important cluster of Bronze Age burial mounds. After the war the Hill was both leased out to tenant farmers on 999 year leases and given to the National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
for token ownership. It was a mixture of generosity and foolishness. Over the next few years these farmers bulldozed and ploughed all of these ancient pastures and their archaeology and wildlife were lost. After decades of intensive farming the land was returned to permanent pasture in the 1990s but inexplicably no freedom to roam
The freedom to roam, or "everyman's right", is the general public's right to access certain public or privately owned land, lakes, and rivers for recreation and exercise. The right is sometimes called the right of public access to the wilderness ...
was given on these wide acres. Tiny fragments of Down pasture exist on the eastern slope of Beeding Hill and there are still harebells, common blue
The common blue butterfly or European common blue (''Polyommatus icarus'') is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae and subfamily Polyommatinae. The butterfly is found throughout the Palearctic. Butterflies in the Polyommatinae are collectively ...
butterflies and some bits of gorse and this area now forms part of the Beeding Hill to Newtimber Hill SSSI.
There are a number of ways up Beeding Hill. There is a carpark at its top, but this is only accessible from Shoreham. There is a track from Castle Town, Upper Beeding called The Bostal which now forms part of the long distance Monarchs Way. There is another track that comes from Golding Barn which leaves Room Bottom to the right. This sunken trackway has overhanging wayfaring tree and old man’s beard (wild clematis). The bostal sides retain a good chalk grassland flora, with horseshoe vetch
''Hippocrepis comosa'', the horseshoe vetch, is a species of perennial flowering plant belonging to the genus ''Hippocrepis'' in the family Fabaceae.
Description
The overall appearance depends on its habitat: sometimes it forms upright clumps ...
, orchids and harebell
''Campanula rotundifolia'', the harebell, Scottish bluebell, or bluebell of Scotland, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This herbaceous perennial is found throughout the temperate regions of the northern hemi ...
. The track passes the Beeding Hill Combe disused quarry/chalkpit () which has created a beautiful mosaic of species-rich scrub, short and long grass and bare ground (at the quarry). The ‘hills and holes’ of the grassed over quarry spoil tips are rich in flowers and insects. The slopes have abundant yellow cowslips in spring and in autumn you may be lucky to find the yellow blobs of persistent waxcap. There are many butterflies, moths, mosses and lichen and the tony moss snail and scree snail.
Between the two tracks, north of the Beeding Hill car park, is Reservoir Corner, or Lynchet Triangle (), which marks the ‘cultivation terraces’ attempts by medieval peasants to win further arable strips from increasingly unsuited ground, The whole of the valley floor between here and Castle Town, as well as Windmill Hill, was organised in the medieval strip cultivated open fields until the middle of the nineteenth century. Now this slope is winter grazed, so the grass is tall in summer. It can look unkempt around the entrance by Beeding Hill car park, but do not be deceived, it is a rich area and is part of the Beeding Hill SSSI. There is lots of yellow rattle
''Rhinanthus minor'', known as yellow rattle, is a herbaceous wildflower in the genus '' Rhinanthus'' in the family Orobanchaceae (the broomrapes). It has circumpolar distribution in Europe, Russia, western Asia, and northern North America. An a ...
and three orchid species, common heath and latticed heath moths and grizzled skipper butterfly as well as glowworms. The area downslope and to the west end of the site is poorer.
The Warren to the east of the Hill () was given its name in the early 1900s when the squire of Buckingham Place, Shoreham, attempted to turn the old Beeding Tenantry Down sheep common into a commercial rabbit warren. The attempt failed, but the place grew even more bramble, thorn and gorse thickets than it had before. It must have been a wonderfully remote place and nightingales were known to sing there.
Anchor Bottom
Anchor Bottom () runs down from the south of Beeding Hill carpark to the Dacre Gardens and River Adur. The valley was an early desmesne pasture of the lord of Beeding manor (based at Beeding Court Farm, which was called ‘Court’ Farm because the manorial court, or assembly, met there). For centuries it lay next to the Beeding Tenantry Down, from which it had been cut out. David Bangs
David Bangs is a field naturalist, social historian, public artist, author and conservationist. He has written extensively on the countryside management, both historically and present day in the English county of Sussex.
Biography
Bangs wor ...
, a local field naturalist, describe this valley as one of the best sites on the whole of the Brighton Downs. It is part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is well maintained by Old Erringham Farm. The soft valley sides are contoured with the terracettes made by the regular meanderings of the resident herd of cattle. In summer the slopes are colourful with scabious, knapweed, red clover
''Trifolium pratense'', the red clover, is a herbaceous species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae, native to Europe, Western Asia, and northwest Africa, but planted and naturalized in many other regions.
Description
Red clove ...
, betony, Sussex rampion, Restharrow, pyramidal orchid
''Anacamptis pyramidalis'', the pyramidal orchid, is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the genus ''Anacamptis'' of the family Orchidaceae. The scientific name ''Anacamptis'' derives from Greek ανακάμτειν 'anakamptein' meaning 'b ...
, eggs and bacon, viper’s bugloss and ox-eye daisy
''Leucanthemum vulgare'', commonly known as the ox-eye daisy, oxeye daisy, dog daisy, marguerite (french: Marguerite commune, "common marguerite") and other common names, is a widespread flowering plant native to Europe and the temperate regions ...
. The stripe-winged grasshopper is here, emergences of adonis blue are common on the steepest, shortest turf near the valley bottom and in autumn the autumn ladies tresses can be found here in numbers.
Shoreham Cement Works
Situated within the Beeding Chalk Pit, production at Shoreham Cement Works began more than 135 years ago in 1883. It was a major employer for the local area, providing hundreds of jobs to the residents of Shoreham and Upper Beeding until in 1991 the site shut its doors for the last time. The site has now been acquired by Dudman, an aggregates company and there is now regular activity onsite, but the building itself has been left unused ever since. The abandoned buildings remain there because the original owners had no obligation to demolish the buildings or return the landscape to its initial state.
Edburton
Edburton is a small historical village to the west of the parish between Upper Beeding and Fulking
Fulking is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. The parish lies wholly with the South Downs National Park.
The parish is located on the north slopes of the South Downs, five miles (8 km) to the north- ...
. Its medieval church () is dedicated to St Andrew. To its south is a downland scarp that runs up to Edburton Hill. To its north is Edburton Sands.
Edburton Hill
Part of the Beeding Hill to Newtimber Hill SSSI, Edburton Hill () still has evidence of the banks of a Motte and Bailey castle, built by the Norman overlord soon after the Conquest, probably on the site of much older earthworks. The castle cannot have been occupied for long and was of timber construction only. It’s scarcely bigger than a farmyard. Later, in 1260, the Lord of Perching got a licence to build a fortified manor house down under the Hill, and you can still see crop marks where it used to stand. The banks of the Motte and Bailey have field fleawort, and one may find some patches of chalk milkwort
''Polygala calcarea'', the chalk milkwort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Polygalaceae, native to western Europe. It is a delicate mat-forming evergreen perennial growing to tall by broad, with spikes of small, vivid deep blue fl ...
which is much more sky-blue than common milkwort, and almost unknown to the west of Brighton.
There was a scatter of Bronze Age round barrows along this scarp top, but only one is now in good condition — on the South Downs Way
The South Downs Way is a long distance footpath and bridleway running along the South Downs in southern England. It is one of 16 National Trails in England and Wales. The trail runs for from Winchester in Hampshire to Eastbourne in East Susse ...
just east of the cross roads in the dip between Truleigh and Edburton Hills. In spring the slopes are whitey-green with the new leaves of whitebeam
The whitebeams are members of the family Rosaceae, comprising subgenus ''Aria'' (or, according to some authorities, its own genus) of genus ''Sorbus'', and hybrids involving species of this subgenus and members of subgenera ''Sorbus'', ''Torminar ...
, and there are many cowslips. Some years there are green hairsteak and brimstone butterflies. The east of the Hill is Fulking Hill in Fulking
Fulking is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. The parish lies wholly with the South Downs National Park.
The parish is located on the north slopes of the South Downs, five miles (8 km) to the north- ...
parish.
Truleigh Hill
To west of Edburton Hill is Truleigh Hill (), which is perhaps best known for the four masts on the Hill and their red lights, that can be seen across this downscape for many miles. Around the Hill is Freshcombe Lodge, the Truleigh Hill Youth Hostel and a few bungalows, derelict sheds, scruffy tree plantings (which struggle to survive in thin, chalky soils) and barns, a big modern house. For decades the Society of Sussex Downsmen fought to prevent new radio masts being erected here. It was a dogged and ultimately successful battle. The views across the Downs to the west and south are spectacular. A deep narrow bostal track down the Hill to Truleigh Manor Farm.
Small Dole
Small Dole is a small new village to the north of the parish. It is surrounded by woods. To the north is the Henfield parish and Hoe Wood. To the east is Flacketts Wood () and to the southeast is Tottering Woods. Further east again of those are North and South Furze Fields () which have both have gathered many old woodland species in the two centuries since they were left to grow into woodland, including early purple orchid and then Edburton Sands.
To Small Dole's south is the Hillside Scout Campsite (). The south side of scout field still holds archaic meadow herbage, and in May there are still orchids, quaking grass, bugle, adders tongue fern, glaucous sedge, agrimony
''Agrimonia'' (from the Greek ), commonly known as agrimony, is a genus of 12–15 species of perennial plant, perennial herbaceous flowering plants in the family Rosaceae, native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with one sp ...
and knapweed with burnet companion moth, small heath
Small Heath is an area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre.
History
Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman times, sits on top of a small hill. ...
and small copper
''Lycaena phlaeas'', the small copper, American copper, or common copper, is a butterfly of the Lycaenids or gossamer-winged butterfly family. According to Guppy and Shepard (2001), its specific name ''phlaeas'' is said to be derived either ...
butterflies flitting around them. To the southwest of Small Dole is Horton Clay Pit.
Hoe Wood
Hoe Wood is an ancient bluebell wood to the north of the parish and north of Small Dole. You may see barn owls, Long-tailed tit
The long-tailed tit (''Aegithalos caudatus''), also named long-tailed bushtit, is a common bird found throughout Europe and the Palearctic. The genus name ''Aegithalos'' was a term used by Aristotle for some European tits, including the long-tail ...
, kestrel
The term kestrel (from french: crécerelle, derivative from , i.e. ratchet) is the common name given to several species of predatory birds from the falcon genus ''Falco''. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviou ...
and bullfinch here. In spring and summer, you may see whitethroat and reed warblers
The ''Acrocephalus'' warblers are small, insectivorous passerine birds belonging to the genus ''Acrocephalus''. Formerly in the paraphyletic Old World warbler assemblage, they are now separated as the namesake of the marsh and tree warbler fami ...
, increasingly rare though is the cuckoo
Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separ ...
, nightingales and turtle dove that were common here most summers until recently. About 40% of Hoe Wood was bulldozed for the Small Dole housing and the rest is private. The Sussex Wildlife Trust
The Sussex Wildlife Trust (SWT) is a conservation charity which aims to protect natural life in Sussex. It was founded in 1961 and is one of 46 wildlife trusts across the UK and the Isle of Man and Alderney. , it has 33,000 members and manages ...
have their headquarters, Woods Mill
Woods Mill is a nature reserve south of Henfield in West Sussex. It is managed by the Sussex Wildlife Trust.
This is the headquarters of the trust and an environmental education centre. The main feature of the nature reserve is a lake, which h ...
(), there and own slightly less than half of it. They have done much restoration work in the area and have an old water mill, mill pond, leat and flood meadows.
Horton Clay pit
The Horton Clay Pit () is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and it was once known to generations of young fossil hunters from Brighton, Worthing and beyond, with its fabled luminous phosphatic nodules, its ammonites
Ammonoids are a group of extinct marine mollusc animals in the subclass Ammonoidea of the class Cephalopoda. These molluscs, commonly referred to as ammonites, are more closely related to living coleoids (i.e., octopuses, squid and cuttl ...
and other special things so keenly collected. All is buried or scheduled to be buried now, heaped way above the old land height with municipal waste.
Tottington and Longlands Wood
Tottington and Longlands Wood () sit next door to each other, separated from Hoe Wood by the Small Dole housing. They are sticky Gault
The Gault Formation is a geological formation of stiff blue clay deposited in a calm, fairly deep-water marine environment during the Lower Cretaceous Period (Upper and Middle Albian). It is well exposed in the coastal cliffs at Copt Point in ...
clay woods with young hazel coppice under a uniform canopy of Oak maidens. They are rich in wildlife with as many as twenty three ancient woodland plants being counted here, including that classic of the Gault: thin spiked wood sedge. In spring they are full of warblers
Various Passeriformes (perching birds) are commonly referred to as warblers. They are not necessarily closely related to one another, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal, and insectivorous.
Sylvioid warblers
The ...
and bats including Noctule
''Nyctalus'' is a genus of vespertilionid bats commonly known as the noctule bats. They are distributed in the temperate and subtropical areas of Europe, Asia and North Africa.
There are eight species within this genus:
* Birdlike noctule, ''N ...
, Serotine
The serotine bat (''Eptesicus serotinus''), also known as the common serotine bat, big brown bat, or silky bat, is a fairly large Eurasian bat with quite large ears. It has a wingspan of around and often hunts in woodland. It sometimes roost ...
, Brown Long Eared and Pipistrelle
''Pipistrellus'' is a genus of bats in the family Vespertilionidae and subfamily Vespertilioninae. The name of the genus is derived from the Italian word , meaning "bat" (from Latin "bird of evening, bat").
The size of the genus has been cons ...
species and in the past cuckoo
Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separ ...
and nightingale
The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (''Luscinia megarhynchos''), is a small passerine bird best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is no ...
were a common sound. There are silver-washed fritillary
The silver-washed fritillary (''Argynnis paphia'') is a common and variable butterfly found over much of the Palearctic realm – Algeria, Europe, temperate Asia, and Japan.
Description
The silver-washed fritillary butterfly is deep orange with ...
, cardinal beetles and longhorn moths and beetles. Local people have created a managed fragment of coppice wood, next to the industrial estate, which the public can freely walk and enjoy. It was designated Local nature reserve status in 1993. The rest of the woods, however, have been sold off in plots and lost their regime of regular coppice management.
Tottington Mount
Tottington Mount () rises up from Tottington Manor Farm to the north and Room Bottom to the west. From the top one can see the three medieval churches of Botolphs, Bramber and Steyning, and if it were not for its surrounding trees, you would be able to see Beeding church, too . All four of these churches marked early river landing points from the Adur. Botolphs and Beeding marked Saxon fords or early bridges. Bramber marked the Norman baronial causeway and bridge, and Steyning marked the busy Saxon Portus cuthmanni. Below the Mount you can also see Golding Barn Raceway.
Neither the Mount nor Room Bottom form part of the Beeding Hill to Newtimber Hiil SSSI and most of Tottington Mount lost its ancient pastures, but the steep slope above the head of Room Bottom still is pretty with a carpet of flowers. West and north west slopes of Tottington Mount () are lightly grazed by Sussex cattle and the Down pasture wildlife is returning. There are lots of six-spot burnet
The six-spot burnet (''Zygaena filipendulae'') is a day-flying moth of the family Zygaenidae.
Subspecies
*''Z. f. altapyrenaica'' Le Charles, 1950
*''Z. f. arctica'' Schneider, 1880
*''Z. f. balcanirosea'' Holik, 1943
*''Z. f. campaniae'' Re ...
moth and marbled white on the harebell
''Campanula rotundifolia'', the harebell, Scottish bluebell, or bluebell of Scotland, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This herbaceous perennial is found throughout the temperate regions of the northern hemi ...
and Sussex rampion. At the bottom of the north slope, opposite Tottington Manor Farm, is an old rew woodland with a very old rookery
A rookery is a colony of breeding animals, generally gregarious birds.
Coming from the nesting habits of rooks, the term is used for corvids and the breeding grounds of colony-forming seabirds, marine mammals ( true seals and sea lions), and ...
. Some years there are fly orchids with the nettle-leaved bellflower
''Campanula trachelium'', the nettle-leaved bellflower, is a species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the la ...
, primrose and bluebell which grow underneath the large old beeches
Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
and wych elm.
Room Bottom
Room Bottom runs west of Tottering Mount towards Golding Barn. Apparently, Room Bottom () used to be Broom Bottom, but some map-maker in Victorian times left out the ‘B’ by mistake. It is a tranquil and remote valley, except when being used by the bikes on Golding Barn Raceway. The south side of the valley has a tussocky sward, with scattered scrub. The steep east end of the valley is derelict chalk grassland heavily invaded by tor grass but does retain lots of rockrose and an associated webcap fungus, and the little black earth tongue. There are brown argus, adonis
In Greek mythology, Adonis, ; derived from the Canaanite word ''ʼadōn'', meaning "lord". R. S. P. Beekes, ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 23. was the mortal lover of the goddess Aphrodite.
One day, Adonis was gored by ...
and chalkhill butterflies, Sussex rampion and ploughman’s spikenard. The north side of the valley has a very dry, almost continental feel. It’s also very steep, though the terracettes allow one to walk it.
Downland and scarp
The southeast end of the Upper Beeding parish is deep in the downs towards Southwick.
Bushy Bottom
Bushy Bottom () slopes down from Truleigh Hill to its north and the Warren to its west. It is a landscape in recovery. It was intensively farmed and cultivated for decades, though the east and west slopes of Bushy Bottom retained threadbare relics of their old heathy pastures. Now it’s been back down as permanent pasture for nearly twenty years and gets better every year.
All the landscape is silence and rustling breeze and the soft horizontals of the hilltops. There are small heath
Small Heath is an area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre.
History
Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman times, sits on top of a small hill. ...
and common blue
The common blue butterfly or European common blue (''Polyommatus icarus'') is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae and subfamily Polyommatinae. The butterfly is found throughout the Palearctic. Butterflies in the Polyommatinae are collectively ...
butterflies and the big herds of cattle attract the rare hornet robberfly, our largest and handsomest fly. The summer flowers here include harebell
''Campanula rotundifolia'', the harebell, Scottish bluebell, or bluebell of Scotland, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This herbaceous perennial is found throughout the temperate regions of the northern hemi ...
, dropwort and field woodrush.
Summers Deane
There are two parts to Summers Deane, the Upper and the Lower. The Upper is just south of Truleigh Hill farm. Like Bushy Bottom its west slope () is still a site of recovery too being surrounded for decades by arable cultivation. It has a slightly less chalky soil chemistry, and has lesser stitchwort, sorrel
Sorrel (''Rumex acetosa''), also called common sorrel or garden sorrel, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Polygonaceae. Other names for sorrel include spinach dock and narrow-leaved dock ('dock' being a common name for the genus '' ...
, and gorse as well as more chalk-loving restharrow, quaking grass, bladder campion
''Silene vulgaris'', the bladder campion or maidenstears, is a plant species of the genus ''Silene'' of the family ''Caryophyllaceae''. It is native to Europe, where in some parts it is eaten, but is also widespread in North America, where it i ...
and thyme
Thyme () is the herb (dried aerial parts) of some members of the genus '' Thymus'' of aromatic perennial evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are relatives of the oregano genus ''Origanum'', with both plants being mostly indigen ...
. The east slope () is small but perfectly formed and has five orchid species, lots of colourful wild flowers and butterflies, interesting fungi and bushy bits for the birds.
This site lies just north of the spot where Summersdeane farmstead stood until the Canadian artillery flattened it during the Second World War. It was an old farmstead, going right back to the 13th century or before. In 1840 it was a daughter farm of Horton Farm to the north west, over the far side of Tottington Mount. The farmstead’s grove of beech trees survives. That same fence line is an old manorial boundary, and further southwards, just over the hill crest, it crosses over two prehistoric round barrows. Boundaries were often marked by barrows on the Downs, and the same boundary is marked by a further (largely ploughed out) barrow () when it swings across to the top of Tenant Hill on the other side of Summers Deane. Upper Summersdeane's east slope () has the rare bastard toadflax, carline thistle
''Carlina vulgaris'', the carline thistle, is a plant species of the genus '' Carlina''.
It is a biennial that grows on limestone, chalky or other alkaline grasslands or dunes. The flowers are clusters of very small brown florets surrounded by br ...
and horseshoe vetch
''Hippocrepis comosa'', the horseshoe vetch, is a species of perennial flowering plant belonging to the genus ''Hippocrepis'' in the family Fabaceae.
Description
The overall appearance depends on its habitat: sometimes it forms upright clumps ...
. Lurid Bolete is present, attracted by the rockrose which it mutually depends upon, and there is mosaic puffball, persistent waxcap and lovely little bluey-black pinkgills.
The Lower Summers Deane’s west slope (). is rather scruffy, gorsey slope has lots of red-purple betony, yellow rattle
''Rhinanthus minor'', known as yellow rattle, is a herbaceous wildflower in the genus '' Rhinanthus'' in the family Orobanchaceae (the broomrapes). It has circumpolar distribution in Europe, Russia, western Asia, and northern North America. An a ...
, rampion Rampion is a common name for several plants, including:
* ''Campanula rapunculus'', a species of wildflower formerly cultivated as a vegetable
* '' Physoplexis comosa'', tufted horned rampion
* '' Phyteuma'', a genus of wildflowers
* ''Valerianell ...
, ragwort
''Jacobaea vulgaris'', syn. ''Senecio jacobaea'', is a very common wild flower in the family Asteraceae that is native to northern Eurasia, usually in dry, open places, and has also been widely distributed as a weed elsewhere.
Common names inc ...
, red clover
''Trifolium pratense'', the red clover, is a herbaceous species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae, native to Europe, Western Asia, and northwest Africa, but planted and naturalized in many other regions.
Description
Red clove ...
and hairy violet
''Viola hirta'' is a species of the plant genus ''Viola''. It is also called the hairy violet. As with the sweet violet, no fossil seeds of this species have been found. It is confined to the cold temperate zone, in Europe, north and west Asia, ...
. The neighbouring Freshcombe/Thundersbarrow slopes to the west are oddly in the Southwick parish () but are a very special remote place with much wildlife and summer flowers.
References
External links
Upper Beeding history
Upper Beeding Parish Council
Beeding & Bramber Cricket Club
{{authority control
Horsham District
Villages in West Sussex