Rodborough 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 1954.Natural England SSSI information on the citation
/ref> The site is listed in the ‘Stroud District’ Local Plan, adopted November 2005, Appendix 6 (online for download) as an SSSI and a

Regionally Important Geological Site Regionally important geological and geomorphological sites (RIGS) (also known as regionally important geological sites or, especially in Wales, regionally important geodiversity sites) are locally designated sites of local, national and regional imp ...

(RIGS). The Common is also a

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

(SAC) under the EU Habitats Directive

Rodborough Rodborough is a large village and civil parish in the district of Stroud, Gloucestershire, in South West England. It is directly south of the town of Stroud, north of the town of Nailsworth and north-west of the town of Minchinhampton. The pari ...

Common is sited south of

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five ...

and 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 ...

. It is north of

Minchinhampton Common Minchinhampton Common () is a biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1972. The site is owned and managed by the National Trust. The common is one of the largest grassland commons in the ...

. It lies 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 is on top of 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 ...

scarp. It is bounded on either side by 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 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. It is on a hill (a plateau area), and its margins are dissected by dry valleys. The sides of this plateau are steep. Rodborough Common, like Minchinhampton Common, is notified for its biological and geological importance. The grassland is unimproved, ''herb-rich'' and calcareous. There is an important geological area for fossils for research purposes.

Geology

There are old quarry workings which are near Rodborough Fort. These contain exposures of

Inferior Oolite The Inferior Oolite is a sequence of Jurassic age sedimentary rocks in Europe. It was deposited during the Middle Jurassic.Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Middle Jurassic, Europe)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Pet ...

s of the Middle

Period. The fossils are numerous in the strata, and provide many species. Of particular interest are bivalve molluscs, and these were first defined from specimens collected on this site. The site is particularly significant as it is the only remaining one in the region. It is close to the southern edge of the Middle Inferior Oolite. This is cut out beneath the overlying Upper Trigonia Grit (across the common and to the south). In research terms this shows the effects of earth movements on the local succession.

Biology

Flora

The grassland plateau supports

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

and quaking grass. This area is relatively short as it is grazed and there is recreational use. The slopes support a higher sward and this is the area for insect life. Herbs recorded include

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 ...

clustered bellflower ''Campanula glomerata'', known by the common names clustered bellflower or Dane's blood, is a species of flowering plant in the genus '' Campanula'', belonging to the family Campanulaceae. It is the county flower of Rutland, England. Etymology ...

kidney vetch ''Anthyllis vulneraria'', the common kidneyvetch, kidney vetch or woundwort is a medicinal plant native to Europe. The name ''vulneraria'' means "wound healer". Description ''Anthyllis vulneraria'' reaches of height. The stem is simple or more ...

and

autumn gentian ''Gentianella amarella'', the autumn gentian, autumn dwarf gentian, or autumn felwort, is a short biennial plant flowering plant in the gentian family, Gentianaceae. It is found throughout Northern Europe, the western and northern United States ...

. There are several species of orchid which include

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 ...

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'', ...

and

musk orchid ''Herminium monorchis'', the musk orchid, is a commonly occurring species of orchid. It is widespread across much of Europe and northern Asia from France to Japan, including China, Siberia, Mongolia, Ukraine, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, etc. It ...

. The rare

pasqueflower The genus ''Pulsatilla'' contains about 40 species of herbaceous perennial plants native to meadows and prairies of North America, Europe, and Asia. Derived from the Hebrew word for Passover, "pasakh", the common name pasque flower refers to the ...

is recorded at this site. Scrub is scattered over the Common and near the edges. This include

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 there are various types of small trees.

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 ...

is present. Where there is broad-leaved woodland, this is mainly

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 ...

and

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 ...

Fauna

Invertebrates flourish on this site and butterflies recorded include the

Duke of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy (french: duc de Bourgogne) was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by France in 1477, and later by Holy Roman Emperors and Kings of Spain from the House of Habsburg ...

and

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 ...

. There are bugs, beetles and moths recorded. The snail '' Abida secale'' is present. In 2019 a project to reintroduce the endangered

Large blue The large blue (''Phengaris arion'') is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. The species was first defined in 1758 and first recorded in Britain in 1795. In 1979 the species became mostly extinct in Britain but has been successfully ...

to the common was undertaken with an estimated 750 butterflies emerging in the summer of 2020.

References

SSSI Source

Natural England SSSI information on the citation

Natural England SSSI information on the Rodborough Common units

External links

Natural England
(SSSI information)
National Trust
Image:Rodborough Common - geograph.org.uk - 187681.jpg, Rodborough Common Image:Rodborough Common, near Stroud - geograph.org.uk - 801852.jpg, Rodborough Common Image:Rodborough Common, near Stroud - geograph.org.uk - 801619.jpg, Rodborough Common flowering Image:Rodborough Common, near Stroud - geograph.org.uk - 801621.jpg, Rodborough Common flowering Image:Rare Adonis Blue butterfly on Rodborough Common - geograph.org.uk - 365194.jpg, Butterfly on Rodborough Common Image:Orchid, Rodborough Common - geograph.org.uk - 1286533.jpg, Green winged orchid on Rodborough Common Image:Rodborough Common - geograph.org.uk - 1286481.jpg, View to Stroud Image:Rodborough Common and the Frome valley - geograph.org.uk - 1286517.jpg, View to Frome Valley Image:Rodborough Common - geograph.org.uk - 1286466.jpg, View facing east Image:A view west from Rodborough Common - geograph.org.uk - 802543.jpg, A west view Image:A view north from Rodborough Common - geograph.org.uk - 802457.jpg, A north view Image:A view from Rodborough Common - geograph.org.uk - 801793.jpg, Northern extent Image:Rodborough Common, near Stroud - geograph.org.uk - 801827.jpg, View to south-west Image:A view from Rodborough Common - geograph.org.uk - 801618.jpg, View to south-west Image:A view from Rodborough Common - geograph.org.uk - 801622.jpg, A view looking north west to Forest of Dean Image:Rodborough Fort, Rodborough Common, near Stroud - geograph.org.uk - 801624.jpg, Rodborough Fort Image:Rodborough Common, near Stroud - geograph.org.uk - 801719.jpg, Rodborough Common showing Fort {{SSSIs Gloucs geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1954 Cotswolds Local Nature Reserves in Gloucestershire