Otmoor or Ot Moor is an area of

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

and wet

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, England, located halfway between

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Bicester Bicester ( ) is a historical market towngarden town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cherwell (district), Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in Southern England that also comprises an Eco-towns, eco town at North Wes ...

. It is about above sea level, and has an area of nearly . It is encircled by the "Seven Towns" of Otmoor: Beckley, Noke, Oddington,

Charlton-on-Otmoor Charlton-on-Otmoor is a village and civil parish about NE of Oxford and SW of Bicester in Oxfordshire, England. The village, one of the seven "towns" of Otmoor, is on the northern edge of the moor on a ridge of Cornbrash. The 2011 Census re ...

Fencott Fencott is a Hamlet (place), hamlet between the River Ray and Otmoor in the Civil parishes in England, civil parish of Fencott and Murcott, about south of Bicester in Oxfordshire, England. History In 1542 the Crown granted most of the land at ...

, Murcott and

Horton-cum-Studley Horton-cum-Studley is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about northeast of the centre of Oxford and bordering Otmoor, and is one of the "Seven Towns" of Otmoor. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 455. A majority of res ...

. Part of it is a nature reserve,

RSPB Otmoor Otmoor RSPB Reserve is a nature reserve, managed by the RSPB, between Beckley and Oddington, within the wider area of Otmoor, in Oxfordshire, England. The reserve was established in 1997 and restored large areas of marshland from what had prev ...

, which adjoins a Ministry of Defence firing range, which is part of 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 ...

History

Bisected north–south by the

Roman Road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

between

Alchester Alchester is the site of an ancient Roman town. The site is not included in any ancient references so the Roman name is not known. However, Eilert Ekwall contended that it appears as ''Alavna'' in the Ravenna Cosmography, with the addition of th ...

and

Dorchester-on-Thames Dorchester on Thames (or Dorchester-on-Thames) is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about northwest of Wallingford and southeast of Oxford. The town is a few hundred yards from the confluence of the River Thames and River Thame. A c ...

, its name is derived from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

for "Otta's Fen".

Enclosure

Watered by the

River Ray The River Ray is a tributary of the River Cherwell in south east England. It rises at Quainton Hill, Buckinghamshire and flows west through flat countryside for around to meet the Cherwell at Islip in Oxfordshire. The Ray's catchment area i ...

, it was until the early 19th century unenclosed marshland, and regularly flooded in winter. An

Enclosure Act The Inclosure Acts, which use an archaic spelling of the word now usually spelt "enclosure", cover enclosure of open fields and common land in England and Wales, creating legal property rights to land previously held in common. Between 1604 and 1 ...

was passed in 1815, under which the area was extensively drained. This disadvantaged the local farmers and led to civil disturbances known as the

Otmoor Riots Otmoor or Ot Moor is an area of wetland and wet grassland in Oxfordshire, England, located halfway between Oxford and Bicester. It is about above sea level, and has an area of nearly . It is encircled by the "Seven Towns" of Otmoor: Beckley, ...

of 1829–30.

Military range

In 1920 the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

acquired Otmoor for use as a

bombing range A bombing range usually refers to a remote military aerial bombing and gunnery training range used by combat aircraft to attack ground targets (air-to-ground bombing), or a remote area reserved for researching, developing, testing and evaluatin ...

. Part of the moor remains in military use as a

rifle range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, venue or field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice or competitions. Some shooting ranges are operated by military o ...

, and is also a large part of Otmoor Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Motorway to nature reserve

The semi-wetland landscape provided habitat for many rare species of birds and butterflies. These were threatened in 1980 by a government proposal for the route of the

M40 motorway The M40 motorway links London, Oxford and Birmingham in England, a distance of approximately . The motorway is dual three lanes except for junction 1A to junction 3 (which is dual four lanes) a short section in-between the exit and entry slip-r ...

to cross Otmoor. Opposition to the motorway was led by

Friends of the Earth Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an international network of environmental organizations in 73 countries. The organization was founded in 1969 in San Francisco by David Brower, Donald Aitken and Gary Soucie after Brower's split with ...

and included the "

Alice's Meadow Alice's Meadow is the name given to a small field in the Oxfordshire parish of Fencott and Murcott, England. It became the focus of a campaign by local people and Friends of the Earth in the 1980s, who opposed government plans to route the M40 mo ...

" campaign. The government eventually adopted an alternative route. Since 1997 a large part of Otmoor has been made an RSPB nature reserve, with large areas of land being returned to marshland. Immediately east of the RSPB reserve is Otmoor SSSI.

References

External links