Frithy and Chadacre Woods is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in the parishes of

Lawshall Lawshall is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. Located around a mile off the A134 between Bury St Edmunds and Sudbury, it is part of Babergh district. The parish has nine settlements comprising the three main settlements of The St ...

and

Shimpling Shimpling is a village and civil parish in south Suffolk, England. About from Bury St Edmunds, it is part of Babergh district. The village is formed from two halves, the newer Shimpling Street and about away the old village of Shimpling. T ...

in Suffolk, England.

Description

Three ancient and semi-natural woods form the SSSI, namely Frithy Wood in

parish and Ashen Wood and Bavins Wood on the Chadacre Estate in

parish. All three woods are of the wet

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

(''Fraxinus excelsior'') /

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 ...

(''Acer campestre'') type, with hazel (''Corylus avellana'') also present in considerable quantity. There are

pedunculate oak ''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus. It is widel ...

(''Quercus robur'') trees and other tree and shrub species include

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the '' Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (Chin ...

(''Populus tremula''), wild cherry (''Prunus avium''),

midland hawthorn ''Crataegus laevigata'', known as the Midland hawthorn, English hawthorn, woodland hawthorn, or mayflower, is a species of hawthorn native to western and central Europe, from Great Britain (where it is typically found in ancient woodland and old ...

(''Crataegus laevigata''),

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornbeam ...

(''Carpinus betulus''),

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 ...

(''Malus sylvestris''),

holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

(''Ilex aquifolium''),

spindle Spindle may refer to: Textiles and manufacturing * Spindle (textiles), a straight spike to spin fibers into yarn * Spindle (tool), a rotating axis of a machine tool Biology * Common spindle and other species of shrubs and trees in genus ''Euony ...

(''Euonymus europaeus'') and

common dogwood ''Cornus sanguinea'', the common dogwood or bloody dogwood, is a species of dogwood native to most of Europe and western Asia, from England and central Scotland east to the Caspian Sea. It is widely grown as an ornamental plant. Description It ...

(''Cornus sanguinea''). The structure of the woods has been greatly influenced by management of the

coppice Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeate ...

. The three woods have a diverse woodland floor vegetation, which is dominated by either

dog's mercury ''Mercurialis perennis'', commonly known as dog's mercury, is a poisonous woodland plant found in much of Europe as well as in Algeria, Iran, Turkey, and the Caucasus, but almost absent from Ireland, Orkney and Shetland.brambles A bramble is any rough, tangled, prickly shrub, usually in the genus ''Rubus'', which grows blackberries, raspberries, or dewberries. "Bramble" is also used to describe other prickly shrubs, such as roses (''Rosa'' species). The fruits inclu ...

(''Rubus'' spp.). They contain a number of plants characteristic of woodlands of this type including herb paris (''Paris quadrifolia'') in Ashen Wood and wood spurge (''Euphorbia amygdaloides''), woodruff (''Galium odoratum''),

sanicle ''Sanicula'' is a genus of plants in Family (biology), family Apiaceae (or Umbelliferae), the same family to which the carrot and parsnip belong. This genus has about 45 species worldwide, with at least 22 in North America.Focus on Rarities (fro ...

(''Sanicula europaea'') and stinking iris (''Iris foetidissima'') in Frithy Wood. The SSSI lies within the distribution of

oxlip ''Primula elatior'', the oxlip (or true oxlip), is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, native to nutrient-poor and calcium-rich damp woods and meadows throughout Europe, with northern borders in Denmark and southern parts o ...

(''Primula elatior'') and all three woods contain this species. There are many other woodland floor plants including

early purple orchid ''Orchis mascula'', the early-purple orchid, early spring orchis, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Description ''Orchis mascula'' is a perennial herbaceous plant with stems up to high, green at the base and ...

(''Orchis mascula''), twayblade (''Neottia ovata''), gromwell (''Lithospermum officinale'') and bluebell (''Hyacinthoides non-scriptus''). There are several well-vegetated rides in the group of woods that support a mixture of woodland and meadow plant species and which attract considerable numbers of common butterflies. Frithy Wood also contains an area of pasture which projects into the wood which is partly shaded by a number of standard trees. The birdlife of Frithy Wood has been recorded in detail with species including the

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 ...

European green woodpecker The European green woodpecker (''Picus viridis'') is a large green woodpecker with a bright red crown and a black moustache. Males have a red centre to the moustache stripe which is absent in females. It is resident across much of Europe and the ...

, great spotted woodpecker and

lesser spotted woodpecker The lesser spotted woodpecker (''Dryobates minor'') is a member of the woodpecker family Picidae. It was formerly assigned to the genus ''Dendrocopos'' (sometimes incorrectly spelt as ''Dendrocopus''). Some taxonomic authorities continue to list t ...

which breed regularly.

Roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

fallow deer ''Dama'' is a genus of deer in the subfamily Cervinae, commonly referred to as fallow deer. Name The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown colour. The Latin word ''dāma'' or ''damma'', used for roe deer, gazelles, and antelopes ...

and

muntjac Muntjacs ( ), also known as the barking deer or rib-faced deer, (URL is Google Books) are small deer of the genus ''Muntiacus'' native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. Muntjacs are thought to have begun appearing 15–35 million years ago, ...

can also be seen in the woods but they have caused considerable damage to the ground vegetation.

Forest school

Forest school Forest School or Forrest School may refer to: Educational philosophy * Forest school (learning style), a learner centred outdoor learning approach. Religious philosophy * Thai Forest Tradition, a Theravada school of Buddhism in Thailand. * Sri La ...

sessions are held in Frithy Wood by permission of the landowners. The 'school' represents an initiative of All Saints Primary School, Lawshall and the Green Light Trust, an environmental and educational charity.

History

Oliver Rackham has stated that "a wood now called The Frith is almost certain to be pre-conquest, from Old English Fyrhp." In a later book he stated that "an Anglo-Saxon (parallel) is fyrth, a wood, which has given rise to many Frith or Frithy Woods." There is documentary evidence for the existence of Frithy (formerly Frith) Wood back to 1545 and its Saxon name would imply that the wood is much older than that. All three woods are part of ancient woodland and contain broad boundary banks and ditches typical of coppice woods dating from the medieval period or before. In more recent times in the twentieth century pigs were kept in Frithy Wood and at one time the wood extended as far as The Street.

Newspaper records

On 31 August 1921 it was reported in the Suffolk Free Press that the remains of George Nunn aged 55 of Lawshall were discovered hanging in Frithy Wood. He had been missing for around 4 months since 22 April and was found a short distance from where he lived.

Access

The woods are not private with easy access.

References

{{Lawshall Forests and woodlands of Suffolk Lawshall Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Suffolk Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1987