Grangelands and Pulpit Hill is a biological

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 ...

Cadsden Cadsden is a hamlet in South Buckinghamshire, England, two miles north east of Princes Risborough. At the time of the 2011 Census, the population of the hamlet was included in the civil parish of Lacey Green. History The origin of the name, ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

. It lies within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the planning authorities are

Wycombe District Council Wycombe may refer to the following places: Australia *Wycombe, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa REgion *High Wycombe, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth United Kingdom *High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England **Wycombe District, a local ...

and Buckinghamshire County Council.

Ownership

Pulpit Hill is a

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 ...

site, and Grangelands was formerly owned by Buckinghamshire County Council and was transferred to the

Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), is a wildlife trust covering the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire in England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It sh ...

in 2014.

Biodiversity

The site has grassland and scrub, which support interesting breeding birds and invertebrates, such as

glow-worm Glowworm or glow-worm is the common name for various groups of insect larvae and adult larviform females that glow through bioluminescence. They include the European common glow-worm and other members of the Lampyridae, but bioluminescence also o ...

s and marbled white and chalkhill blue butterflies. There are areas of mature

beech 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 ...

woodland, with a sparse

shrub layer Stratification in the field of ecology refers to the vertical layering of a habitat; the arrangement of vegetation in layers. It classifies the layers (sing. ''stratum'', pl. ''strata'') of vegetation largely according to the different heights to w ...

of holly and elder, and a ground layer of wood sorrel, woodruff, broad helleborine and

tufted hairgrass ''Deschampsia cespitosa'', commonly known as tufted hairgrass or tussock grass, is a perennial tufted plant in the grass family Poaceae. Distribution of this species is widespread including the eastern and western coasts of North America, parts o ...

. Further down the slope there is mixed woodland of recent origin where the beech trees are associated with a variety of other trees and shrubs including

yew Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus br ...

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 ...

, whitebeam and wild cherry, blackthorn,

hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

and

purging buckthorn ''Rhamnus cathartica'', the European buckthorn, common buckthorn, purging buckthorn, or just buckthorn, is a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Rhamnaceae. It is native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia, from the cent ...

. Several orchids can be found here including

white helleborine ''Cephalanthera damasonium'', the white helleborine, is a species of orchid. It is widespread across much of Europe, the Middle East and Asia. ''Cephalanthera damasonium'' is the type species of the genus ''Cephalanthera''. Description ''Cephal ...

narrow-lipped helleborine ''Epipactis leptochila'', the narrow-lipped helleborine, is a species of orchid in the genus ''Epipactis''. Found in chalk or limestone-based beech and hornbeam woodland in southern England, the orchids are also found with birch and alder trees ...

, yellow bird's-nest orchid and

bird's-nest orchid ''Neottia nidus-avis'', the bird's-nest orchid, is a non-photosynthetic orchid, native to Europe, Russia and some parts of the Middle East. Description ''Neottia nidus-avis'' grows to tall and each shoot can carry up to 60 flowers. Plants ar ...

. There are several areas of scrubland, and several types of grassland, each with its characteristic flora of downland plants. These include cowslip, field scabious, greater and lesser knapweeds,

marjoram Marjoram (; ''Origanum majorana'') is a cold-sensitive perennial herb or undershrub with sweet pine and citrus flavours. In some Middle Eastern countries, marjoram is synonymous with oregano, and there the names sweet marjoram and knotted mar ...

, common St John's wort and basil, as well as the common spotted orchid, the

bee orchid Bee orchid is a common name for several orchids and may refer to: *'' Cottonia peduncularis'', a species of orchid from India and Sri Lanka *'' Diuris carinata'', a species of orchid from the south-west of Western Australia *'' Ida barringtoniae'', ...

, the pyramidal orchid and the

fragrant orchid ''Gymnadenia conopsea'', commonly known as the fragrant orchid or chalk fragrant orchid, is a herbaceous plant of the family Orchidaceae native to northern Europe. Etymology The name of the genus ''Gymnadenia'' is formed from Greek words (', ...

History

There is a small but well-preserved

multivallate A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

hill fort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

on the summit of Pulpit Hill, which dates to the late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

and

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

. It 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 ...

under the

Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 or AMAAA was a law passed by the UK government, the latest in a series of Ancient Monument Acts legislating to protect the archaeological heritage of England & Wales and Scotland. Norther ...

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

(now Historic England) carried out an archaeological survey and investigation of the prehistoric hillfort in November 2000. The site is always open but accessibility is difficult for anyone who is not able bodied, due to steep slopes and soft ground.

References

{{coord, 51.7376, -0.8009 , type:landmark_region:GB-BNE, display=title Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Buckinghamshire Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust

Ownership

Biodiversity

History

See also

References