Brassey () 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 ...

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 and renotified in 1983.Natural England SSSI information on the citation
/ref> It is situated on the north side of the Windrush Valley, midway between

Naunton Naunton is a village in Gloucestershire, England. It lies on the River Windrush in the Cotswolds, an area of outstanding natural beauty. Stow-on-the-Wold is about 6 miles to the east. Community The population of Naunton in 2000 was 371, whic ...

and

Upper Slaughter Upper Slaughter is a village in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England, south west of Stow-on-the-Wold. The village is located one mile away from the village Lower Slaughter, as well as being near the villages Bourton-on-the-Water, ...

. The reserve comprises sloping, unimproved limestone pasture. There is a fast-flowing stream. This site is one of the few freshwater marshes 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 Wildlife Trust' The stream joins the River Windrush. The site is in the Cotswolds

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of ...

. The site is listed in the 'Cotswold District' Local Plan 2001–2011 (on line) as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).Cotswold District Local Plan, Appendix 2, Key Wildlife Sites
The site is named after a previous owner, and was formerly farmland and water-cress beds. A waterwheel and wheelhouse pumped water to a reservoir on the hill above. The site has been managed by the

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust The Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust is the Gloucestershire local partner in a conservation network of 46 Wildlife Trusts. The Wildlife Trusts are local charities with the specific aim of protecting the United Kingdom's natural heritage. The Gl ...

since 1964 and is part of a larger SSSI named Brassey Reserve and the Windrush Valley which is a site. In 1974 the

Thames Water Authority The Thames Water Authority was one of ten regional water authorities created in the UK on 1 April 1974 under the provisions of the Water Act 1973 to bring together all the water management functions of the region in one public body. Predece ...

assumed control of Seven Springs Marsh Pumping Station, which was constructed in the early 1950s and the rest of the site. The SSSI has eight units and the Brassey nature reserve is unit 1 and unit 7.Natural England SSSI information on the Brassey and Windrush Valley units
/ref>

Plants and trees

Fuller information may be found in the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust nature reserves handbook and the Brassey Nature reserve descriptive handbook.1977, 'The Brassey Nature Reserve - Descriptive Handbook', Gloucestershire Trust for Nature Conservation

The marsh

The wetland contains a collection of marshland plants. County rarities such as bog pimpernel are recorded, together with marsh lousewort, common cotton-grass, skull-cap,

ragged-robin ''Silene flos-cuculi'' (syn. ''Lychnis flos-cuculi''), commonly called ragged-robin, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. This species is native to Europe and Asia, where it is found along roads and in wet meadows and p ...

and southern marsh-orchid. Many sedges may be found. These include the only recorded Gloucestershire population of dioecious sedge. A particular feature of the marsh is tussock-sedge, with about forty different flowering plants living as

epiphytes An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

on the 2–3 ft high tussocks. The marsh is fringed with

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 ...

, buckthorn and various willows.

The pasture

The sloping pasture is a good example of

oolitic limestone Oolite or oölite (''egg stone'') is a sedimentary rock formed from ooids, spherical grains composed of concentric layers. The name derives from the Ancient Greek word for egg (ᾠόν). Strictly, oolites consist of ooids of diameter 0.25–2 ...

grassland.

Hairy violet ''Viola hirta'' is a species of the plant genus ''Viola''. It is also called the hairy violet. As with the sweet violet, no fossil seeds of this species have been found. It is confined to the cold temperate zone, in Europe, north and west Asia, ...

, cowslip,

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 ...

, common rock-rose and autumn gentian provides colour in the spring and the summer. Uncommon

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

purple milk-vetch Purple milkvetch or purple milk-vetch is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *'' Astragalus agrestis'', native to North America *''Astragalus danicus ''Astragalus danicus'', known as purple milk-vetch, is a species of flowering p ...

are also present. One of the reserve's rarest plants, the semi-parasitic bastard toadflax can be seen normally in July.

Other species

Fuller information may be found in the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust nature reserves handbook and the Brassey Nature reserve descriptive handbook. The yellow meadow ant creates numerous anthills, which is an indicator of the ancient nature of the grassland. Glow-worms are amongst a diverse invertebrate fauna, which also includes the purse-web spider. Lizards can be seen in hot weather. Butterflies includes

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

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 ...

. Downland and wetland birds include

dipper Dippers are members of the genus ''Cinclus'' in the bird family Cinclidae, so-called because of their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater. Taxonomy The genus ''Cinclus'' ...

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

yellowhammer The yellowhammer (''Emberiza citrinella'') is a passerine bird in the bunting family that is native to Eurasia and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia. Most European birds remain in the breeding range year-round, but the eastern ...

and

tree pipit The tree pipit (''Anthus trivialis'') is a small passerine bird which breeds across most of Europe and the Palearctic as far East as the East Siberian Mountains. It is a long-distance migrant moving in winter to Africa and southern Asia. The s ...

. Reed buntings breed in the marsh.

Conservation

The open short grassland sward is maintain by periodic sheep grazing and scrub removal. Invasive plants are removed from the wetland. These are, in particular, monkey-flower,

purple moor-grass ''Molinia caerulea'', known by the common name purple moor-grass, is a species of grass that is native to Europe, west Asia, and north Africa. It grows in locations from the lowlands up to in the Alps. Like most grasses, it grows best in acid so ...

and blunt-flowered rush.

Publications

1977, 'The Brassey Nature Reserve - Descriptive Handbook', Gloucestershire Trust for Nature Conservation * 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 Wildlife Trust'

References

SSSI Source

Natural England SSSI information on the citation

Natural England SSSI information on the Brassey and Windrush Valley units

External links

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust

Natural England
(SSSI information) {{SSSIs Gloucs biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1954 Nature reserves in Gloucestershire Meadows in Gloucestershire Cotswolds