Poor's Allotment () 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.Natural England SSSI information on the citation
/ref> The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS). The site is now part of a larger nature reserve of 60 hectares (The Park & Poor's Allotment ()) 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 ...

. The Park's conservation interest is now managed in partnership with the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respon ...

who are the land owners. Poor’s Allotment is owned by trustees from the parish of Tidenham.The Park & Poor's Allotment description
/ref>

Location and history

The site partly overlies carboniferous rocks of the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to ...

. Some of the site is heath vegetation which is over Drybrook sandstone, and some is vegetation which grows on the calcareous soils on Drybrook limestone. This nature of this site is, therefore, of significant regional importance because of this complexity of habitats. The land (as its name would indicate) was historically allocated under an Enclosure Award (1814) and was to be managed for the benefit of the poor. The parishes involved were Lancaut and

Tidenham Tidenham () is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean of west Gloucestershire, England, adjoining the Welsh border. Tidenham is bounded by the River Wye (which forms the Welsh border) to the west and the River Severn to the south. Offa ...

. It remains rough grazing land and it is a local viewpoint.

Habitat and flora

This is acidic grassland and lowland heath with areas of dense bracken. In the south-east the limestone soils support calcareous grassland and broad-leaved woodland. Heathland species include

Common bent ''Agrostis capillaris'', the common bent, colonial bent, or browntop, is a rhizomatous and stoloniferous perennial in the grass family ( Poaceae). It is native to Eurasia and has been widely introduced in many parts of the world. Colonial be ...

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 Creeping Fescue. There are extensive areas of

Western Gorse ''Ulex gallii'', the western gorse or dwarf furzeA R Clapham, T G Tutin, E F Warburg, ''Flora of the British Isles'', Cambridge, 1962, p. 332 is an evergreen shrub in the pea family (Fabaceae), native to the Atlantic coasts of western Europe: sou ...

and

Ling Ling may refer to: Fictional characters * Ling, an ally of James Bond's from the film ''You Only Live Twice'' * Ling, a character in the ''Mulan'' franchise * Ling, a playable character from the mobile game '' Mobile Legends: Bang Bang'' * Ling ...

. Also recorded are

Bell Heather ''Erica cinerea'', the bell heather, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, native to western and central Europe. The plant provides a great deal of nectar for pollinators. It was rated in the top 5 for most nectar produ ...

Cross-leaved Heath ''Erica tetralix'', the cross-leaved heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to western Europe, from southern Portugal to central Norway, as well as a number of boggy regions further from the coast in Central Europ ...

Bilberry Bilberries (), or sometimes European blueberries, are a primarily Eurasian species of low-growing shrubs in the genus ''Vaccinium'' (family Ericaceae), bearing edible, dark blue berries. The species most often referred to is '' Vaccinium myrtill ...

Sheep's Sorrel ''Rumex acetosella'', commonly known as red sorrel, sheep's sorrel, field sorrel and sour weed, is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family Polygonaceae. Native to Eurasia and the British Isles, the plant and its subspecies are commo ...

and Heath Bed-straw. The calcareous limestone grassland includes a range of fescue species and herbs such as

Rock Rose Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

Thyme Thyme () is the herb (dried aerial parts) of some members of the genus '' Thymus'' of aromatic perennial evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are relatives of the oregano genus ''Origanum'', with both plants being mostly indigen ...

Stemless Thistle ''Cirsium acaule'' or ''acaulon'' has the English name dwarf thistle or stemless thistle. It is widespread across much of Europe.

Salad Burnet ''Sanguisorba minor'', the salad burnet, garden burnet, small burnet, burnet (also used for ''Sanguisorba'' generally), pimpernelle, Toper's plant, and burnet-bloodwort, is an edible perennial herbaceous plant in the family Rosaceae. It has ...

and Bird's-foot Trefoil. The wooded areas include

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 ...

Holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

, Yew,

Field Maple ''Acer campestre'', known as the field maple, is a flowering plant species in the family Sapindaceae. It is native to much of continental Europe, Britain, southwest Asia from Turkey to the Caucasus, and north Africa in the Atlas Mountains. It has ...

and

Whitebeam The whitebeams are members of the family Rosaceae, comprising subgenus ''Aria'' (or, according to some authorities, its own genus) of genus ''Sorbus'', and hybrids involving species of this subgenus and members of subgenera ''Sorbus'', ''Torminar ...

. Ground flora includes

Dog's Mercury ''Mercurialis perennis'', commonly known as dog's mercury, is a poisonous woodland plant found in much of Europe as well as in Algeria, Iran, Turkey, and the Caucasus, but almost absent from Ireland, Orkney and Shetland.Bluebell Recently noted scarce plants are Flea Sedge, Soft-leaved sedge, Autumn-ladies tresses, Star sedge and Lesser skullcap. Alder buckthorn also occurs. There is a spring which feeds a pond towards the centre of the site. This area supports invertebrates. Wetland plants flourish along the edges.

References

SSSI Source

Natural England SSSI information on the citation

Natural England SSSI information on the Poor's Allotment units

External links

Natural England
(SSSI information) Image:A Stile into Poor's Allotment - geograph.org.uk - 522132.jpg, A stile into Poor's Allotment Image:Poor's Allotment, Tidenham - geograph.org.uk - 221649.jpg, Poor's Allotment Image:Spring and pond on Poor's Allotment - geograph.org.uk - 1601873.jpg, Spring and pond on Poor's Allotment Image:A footpath on Poor's Allotment - geograph.org.uk - 522010.jpg, Footpath on Poor's Allotment Poors pony condition 13 days till move to edgehills

Poors pony condition 13 days till move to edgehills

{{SSSIs Gloucs biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1954 Tidenham