Minchinhampton Common () is a biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, notified in 1972.Natural England SSSI information on the citation
/ref> The site is owned and managed by 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 ...

. The common is one of the largest grassland commons in the

Cotswold The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of Juras ...

area. It is south of

Rodborough Common Rodborough Common is a biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1954. The site is listed in the ‘Stroud District’ Local Plan, adopted November 2005, Appendix 6 (online for download) as ...

SSSI. Both commons are on

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

and are a central plateau with steep sides. They drop down to the

Nailsworth Nailsworth is a town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, lying in one of the Stroud Valleys in the Cotswolds, on the A46 road (the Roman Fosse Way), south of Stroud and about north-east of Bristol and Bath. The parish had a populat ...

valley on the west side and the

Frome Frome ( ) is a town and civil parish in eastern Somerset, England. The town is built on uneven high ground at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, and centres on the River Frome. The town, about south of Bath, is the largest in the Mendip d ...

valley on the north side. The site designation includes the outlying areas of Iron Mills and Littleworth Commons.

Neu-Lindsey Nature Reserve Neu-Lindsey Nature Reserve () is a nature reserve in Gloucestershire.Kelham, A, Sanderson, J, Doe, J, Edgeley-Smith, M, et al., 1979, 1990, 2002 editions, 'Nature Reserves of the Gloucestershire Trust for Nature Conservation/Gloucestershire Wild ...

adjoins the western edge of Minchinhampton Common.

Minchinhampton Minchinhampton is an ancient Cotswolds market town in the Stroud District in Gloucestershire, South West England. The town is located on a hilltop, south-east of Stroud. The common offers wide views over the Severn Estuary into Wales and furth ...

Common is of both geological and biological importance. There are disused quarries near the centre which provide fossil evidence for research purposes. It is unimproved, ''herb-rich'' grassland. There are five units of assessment The limestone Longstone of Minchinhampton is supposedly the burial site of a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

leader.

Geology

The quarries are one of the most important Bathonian (Middle Jurassic) research sites in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The fossil Limestones provide examples of various marine species including

bivalve Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...

and

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

fauna including

limpet Limpets are a group of aquatic snails that exhibit a conical shell shape (patelliform) and a strong, muscular foot. Limpets are members of the class Gastropoda, but are polyphyletic, meaning the various groups called "limpets" descended indep ...

s and thick-shelled

sea snail Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...

crustacea Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean gro ...

ns and

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

s. The site provides opportunities for significant further research on the local rock strata of the Minchinhampton and Burleigh limestones, and the relationship to the Bathonian successions to the east and south.

Biology

Flora

The central plateau supports a short grassland sward (due to stock grazing) with longer vegetation on the steeper slopes. The grassland includes

upright brome ''Bromus erectus'', commonly known as erect brome, upright brome or meadow brome, is a dense, course, tufted perennial grass. It can grow to . Like many brome grasses the plant is hairy. The Botanical name#Components of plant names, specific epit ...

tor-grass ''Brachypodium pinnatum'', the heath false brome or tor-grass, is a species of grass with a widespread distribution in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It typically grows in calcareous grassland, and reaches tall. The flowerhead is ...

sheep's fescue ''Festuca ovina'', sheep's fescue or sheep fescue, is a species of grass. It is sometimes confused with hard fescue (''Festuca trachyphylla''). General description It is a perennial plant sometimes found in acidic ground, and in mountain pastur ...

, quaking grass and

crested dog's-tail ''Cynosurus cristatus'', the crested dog's-tail, is a short-lived perennial grass in the family Poaceae, characterised by a seed head that is flat on one side. It typically grows in species rich grassland. It thrives in a variety of soil types ...

. Flowering herbs include common rock-rose,

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 ...

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 ...

and

field scabious ''Knautia arvensis'', commonly known as field scabious, is a herbaceous perennial species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. Description It is a perennial plant that grows between . It prefers grassy places and dry ...

. The area has a significant population of orchids, including 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'', ...

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 (', ...

and

frog orchid ''Coeloglossum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the orchid family Orchidaceae. It has long been considered to have only one species, ''Coeloglossum viride'', the frog orchid. Some recent classifications regard ''Coeloglossum'' as part of the ...

. There are more neutral grasslands and herb species in areas of landslip on the margins of the site. There are wet areas which support

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

y vegetation. There are also areas of scrub which is dominated by

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 ...

bramble 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 ...

and

dog rose ''Rosa canina'', commonly known as the dog rose, is a variable climbing, wild rose species native to Europe, northwest Africa, and western Asia. Description The dog rose is a deciduous shrub normally ranging in height from , though sometimes it ...

. There is

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

on the site, and a limited amount of broad-leaved woodland on the margins.

Fauna

The site is known for its variety of invertebrates and butterflies recorded are

chalkhill blue The chalkhill blue (''Lysandra coridon'') is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is a small butterfly that can be found throughout the Palearctic realm, where it occurs primarily in grasslands rich in chalk. Males have a pale blue colour, wh ...

small blue The small blue (''Cupido minimus'') is a Palearctic butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. Despite its common name, it is not particularly blue. The male has some bluish suffusion at the base of its upper wings but is mostly dark brown like the fem ...

marsh fritillary The marsh fritillary (''Euphydryas aurinia'') is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. Commonly distributed in the Palearctic region, the marsh fritillary's common name derives from one of its several habitats, marshland. The prolonged larval s ...

and

Duke of Burgundy fritillary ''Hamearis lucina'', the Duke of Burgundy, the only member of the genus ''Hamearis'', is a European butterfly in the family Riodinidae. For many years, it was known as the "Duke of Burgundy fritillary", because the adult's chequered pattern is s ...

. Moth records include cistus forester and juniper carpet. The rare

greater horseshoe bat The greater horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus ferrumequinum'') is an insectivorous bat of the genus '' Rhinolophus''. Its distribution covers Europe, Northern Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Asia. It is the largest of the horseshoe bats in Europe an ...

is recorded as hibernating in the disused stone mines on the Nailsworth side.

Usage

There is a golf club and course. The grass is used to graze cattle in the warmer months, this is administered by the "hayward". Because of the cattle roaming free, there is a speed limit of 40 mph in the area. Part of the common was used to house a US military field hospitalArmy Camps & Barracks in Gloucestershire
/ref> during WW2.

References

SSSI Source

Natural England SSSI information on the citation

Natural England SSSI information on the Minchinhampton units

External links

Natural England
(SSSI information)
National Trust

Stroud Oral History Archive (filtered for Minch Common)
Image:Woodchester village - geograph.org.uk - 38441.jpg, Looking west from Minchinhampton Common Image:Minchinhampton Common, near Minchinhampton - geograph.org.uk - 930988.jpg, Minchinhampton Common Image:Minchinhampton Common and some cattle, near Minchinhampton - geograph.org.uk - 931032.jpg, Cattle on Minchinhampton Common Image:Hazards on the road - geograph.org.uk - 225224.jpg, Road systems on Minchinhampton Common Image:Minchinhampton Common, beware of cows - geograph.org.uk - 225219.jpg, Road systems on Minchinhampton Common Image:Part of the road network, Minchinhampton Common, near Minchinhampton - geograph.org.uk - 930998.jpg, Road network on Minchinhampton Common Image:Tom Long's Post - geograph.org.uk - 225226.jpg, Directional post on Minchinhampton Common {{SSSIs Gloucs geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1972 Cotswolds