Upper Rapeland Wood (sometimes Upper Rapelands Wood) is a mixed mature woodland in

Old Holbrook Old Holbrook (formerly known as Northlands) is a hamlet in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England. This rural hamlet is located north of the Horsham residential area of Holbrook beyond the A264. It is bordered by Graylands to the west, ...

, a hamlet close to

Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

, England. It lies on Rapeland Hill, on the north-western fringes of

, 1.2 miles (1.94 km) north of the A264 dual carriageway. It is directly opposite Northlands Copse, an area of ancient woodland and a partially managed plantation in the neighbouring hamlet of

Graylands Graylands is a hamlet in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England. The largely rural hamlet is located north of Holbrook beyond the A264. It is bordered by Langhurstwood Road to the west, Old Holbrook to the east, and Green Lane on its nor ...

. As the area lies on a steep hill, Upper Rapeland Wood has a relatively high elevation, being 350 feet above sea level.

Broadleaf tree A broad-leaved, broad-leaf, or broadleaf tree is any tree within the diverse botanical group of angiosperms that has flat leaves and produces seeds inside of fruits. It is one of two general types of trees, the other being a conifer, a tree with n ...

s are prevalent in the

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

-covered northern and southern areas of the woodland, with large pine trees and shallow ravines dominating the central areas. Notably, three channels of Northlands Gill flow through the width of Upper Rapeland Wood. The area hosts a network of tracks with varying degrees of accessibility. Although unmaintained, the tracks guide walkers in cardinal directions through the woodland. Intensive prospecting for iron ore took place in the area in the 16th and 17th centuries. Geologists have noted the remains of an isolated mine pit in Upper Rapeland Wood. The wood lies at the centre of the Faygate Syncline, which runs between the Crawley Fault and the Holmbush Fault. Most iron pits along the Faygate Syncline are on the Horsham Stone

horizon The horizon is the apparent line that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This line divides all viewing directions based on whether i ...

, but the one in Upper Rapeland Wood is anomalous in that it is on an outcrop of sandstone. A small stream has cut a deep valley through the wood and this may be responsible for exposing ironstone in a very localised area.Bernard Charles Worssam
"Iron ore workings near Horsham, Sussex, and the sedimentology of the Weald Clay ironstone"
''Proceedings of the Geologists' Association'', vol. 83, iss. 1, pp. 37–53. The 1892–1914 25-inch Ordnance Survey map marks "Dismal Castle" on the northwestern border of the wood. This was demolished sometime during the 20th Century and no trace now remains.

Gallery

File:Pine trees and narrow ravine in Upper Rapeland Wood.jpg, Pine trees and ravines dominate the central areas of the woodland File:Primrose_flowers,_Upper_Rapeland_Wood.jpg, Plants such as common primrose can be seen in these woods File:A minor bridge inbetween Upper Rapeland Woods and Northlands Gill.jpg, A bridge allows Northlands Gill to flow into Upper Rapeland Wood File:Holly_leaves,_Upper_Rapeland_Wood.jpg, Holly leaves on a plant in the north of the woodland

References

Forests and woodlands of West Sussex {{WestSussex-geo-stub