Crickley Hill and Barrow Wake ( & ) 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 1974.Natural England SSSI information on the citation
/ref> The site (two parts) lies within 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 Jura ...

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 ...

. It was formerly known as Crickley Hill and includes some of a site known as Tuffleys Quarry. Part of the site is owned and managed by

Gloucestershire County Council Gloucestershire County Council is a county council which administers the most strategic local government services in the non-metropolitan county of Gloucestershire, in the South West of England. The council's principal functions are county road ...

and 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 ...

as a Country Park.Gloucestershire Country Council – Crickley Hill Country Park information including leaflet 'Crickley Hill Country Park – Discover the Countryside in Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds', (undated), Gloucestershire County Environment Department
/ref> The

Cotswold Way The Cotswold Way is a long-distance footpath, running along the Cotswold Edge escarpment of the Cotswold Hills in England. It was officially inaugurated as a National Trail on 24 May 2007 and several new rights of way have been created. His ...

National Trail passes through Crickley Hill and Barrow Wake. Barrow Wake and Tuffley's Quarry are listed in the 'Cotswold District' Local Plan 2001–2011 (on line) as Key Wildlife Sites. Crickley Hill is listed in the 'Cotswold District' Local Plan 2001–2011 (on line) as an SSSI and

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 ...

Location

The site lies south of Cheltenham on the Cotswold scarp and it supports a range of habitats characteristic of the Cotswold

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 ...

. It includes species-rich grassland, semi-natural woodland, scrub and particularly nationally important rock exposures.

Biological interest

The site supports several types of grassland and the turf contains many lime-loving herbs. There are several species of orchid recorded such as

early purple orchid ''Orchis mascula'', the early-purple orchid, early spring orchis, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Description ''Orchis mascula'' is a perennial herbaceous plant with stems up to high, green at the base and ...

, bee orchid, 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 ...

. Viper's bugloss flowers in abundance. This diversity supports a varied invertebrate fauna (butterflies, moths and local snails). The site includes the Scrubbs and Crickley Woods which are areas of mature Beech woodland with regenerating Beech 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 ...

. Short Wood is an area of

Oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

parkland. The scarp slopes provide basking areas for adders.

Geological interest

The rock exposures constitute a key

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and 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 Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...

locality and show a major section in the Lower Inferior Oolite. There are extensive exposures of Lower and Middle Jurassic rocks and these exhibit the best sections in the Cotswolds in the Pea Grit and the overlying Coral Bed. Crickley Hill is part of the Cotswold escarpment which runs from

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

to the

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

Coast. The stone has been quarried for hundreds of years and was probably used for dry stone walling.

Archaeology

There is evidence of settlements over 5,000 years back. As the soil is thin on the hill the evidence lies close to the surface under the grassland. The site has been excavated each summer period from 1969 to 1993 and is considered to be of international importance as a result of the findings. These point to occupation by humans over 4,000 years (Neolithic period) to a post-Roman period. The archaeologists have stayed regularly at

Ullenwood Ullenwood is a village in the Coberley civil parish, near Cheltenham in Gloucestershire. It is the site of a formerly secret civil defence bunker intended as a Regional Seat of Government in the event of nuclear war. It is the site of the form ...

Camp close to Crickley Hill for the excavation period.

Crickley Hill Country Park

The Crickley Hill Country Park was established in 1979 with assistance from the then

Countryside Commission The Countryside Commission (formally the Countryside Commission for England and Wales, then the Countryside Commission for England) was a statutory body in England and Wales, and later in England only. Its forerunner, the National Parks Commissio ...

. Access to the countryside at this park provides limestone grassland; beech woodlands, oak parkland; an archaeological site and panoramic views. There is a range of self-guided trails with supporting leaflets. These include Hill Fort Trail; Scrubbs Trail; Scarp Trail; Family Trail and Park Trail. There are also circular walks of different lengths (5 and 8.5 miles). Crickley Hill is wardened by Gloucestershire Country Council Sites Warden Service and volunteers from the Cotswold Warden Service.

Literary associations

Crickley Hill was immortalised by

Ivor Gurney Ivor Bertie Gurney (28 August 1890 – 26 December 1937) was an English poet and composer, particularly of songs. He was born and raised in Gloucester. He suffered from bipolar disorder through much of his life and spent his last 15 years in ps ...

in his poem of that name (from 1919), recounting how mention and memory of the ridge led to bonding on the Western Front, the hill epitomising in local miniature the England for which they felt they were fighting.R. Gill, ''Mastering English Literature'' (2006) p. 500

References

Archaeological publications

* Dixon, Philip, 2019, The Hillfort Settlements, Crickley Hill, Volume 2, with contributions by Alvey, R C, Alvery, M, Badock, A, Elsdon, S, Muir, R, Savage, R D A, Crickley Hill Archaeological Trust. * Dixon, Philip, 1994, The Hillfort Defences, Crickley Hill, Volume 1, with contributions by Alvey, R C, Elsdon, S, Firman, R, Gelling, M, Haldane, J W, Sturgess, J, Crickley Hill Trust and the Department of Archaeology, University of Nottingham * Cunliffe B, 1984, Gloucestershire and the Iron Age of Southern Britain, Transactions of the Bristol Gloucestershire Archaeological Society 102:5–15. * Dixon, P W, 1979, A Neolithic and Iron Age site on a hill top in southern England, Scientific American 241(5):42–50. * Dixon, P W, 1977, Crickley Hill and Gloucestershire Prehistory, Gloucestershire County Council, Gloucester.

SSSI Source

Natural England SSSI information on the citation

Natural England SSSI information on the Crickley Hill And Barrow Wake units

External links

Natural England
(SSSI information)
Gloucestershire Country Council – Crickley Hill Country Park information

National Trust
Image:Crickley Hill - geograph.org.uk - 659954.jpg, Crickley Hill Image:Crickley Hill - geograph.org.uk - 659948.jpg, Crickley Hill Image:Crickley Hill, Gloucestershire - geograph.org.uk - 639791.jpg, Crickley Hill Image:Crickley Hill Viewpoint - geograph.org.uk - 659937.jpg, Crickley Hill Viewpoint Image:Old Quarry, Crickley Hill - geograph.org.uk - 135775.jpg, Old Quarry, Crickley Hill Image:The Devil's Table, Crickley Hill Quarry, Gloucestershire - geograph.org.uk - 192782.jpg, Old Quarry, Crickley Hill Image:Crickley Hill Country Park (14) - geograph.org.uk - 1300171.jpg, Crickley Hill Country Park showing quarry workings Image:Crickley Hill Country Park (1) - geograph.org.uk - 1298974.jpg, Crickley Hill Country Park Image:Crickley Hill Country Park (10) - geograph.org.uk - 1299489.jpg, Crickley Hill Country Park Image:The Cotswold Way on Barrow Wake - geograph.org.uk - 1755250.jpg, Cotswold Way on Barrow Wake Image:Beech trees on Crickley Hill - geograph.org.uk - 652946.jpg, Beech trees, the Scrubbs Image:Footpath on Crickley Hill - geograph.org.uk - 652937.jpg, Footpath through woodland, Crickley Hill {{SSSIs Gloucs geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1974 Cotswolds Country parks in Gloucestershire