Tudor Farm Bank

Tudor Farm Bank
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Example - large thyme (Thymus pulegioides)
Location within Gloucestershire
Area of Search	Gloucestershire
Grid reference	SO573081
Coordinates	51°46′13″N 2°37′10″W / 51.77039°N 2.619492°W / 51.77039; -2.619492Coordinates: 51°46′13″N 2°37′10″W / 51.77039°N 2.619492°W / 51.77039; -2.619492
Interest	Biological
Area	3.68 hectare
Notification	1999
Natural England website

Tudor Farm Bank (grid reference SO573081) is a 3.68-hectare (9.1-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1999.^[1]^[2]

Location and habitat

The site is in the village of Clearwell, which is on the western edge of the Forest of Dean and in west Gloucestershire. The Old Bow and Old Ham Mines SSSI is close-by. Tudor Farm Bank is considered to be the biggest remaining grassland site of its type, and is near the western-most edge of the natural distribution. It lies on a small escarpment and is south-west facing. It is on Carboniferous limestones. The site is designated because of its calcarous grassland and the species it supports. These limestones surround the Forest of Dean. Neutral grassland areas are present at the bottom of the slope and to the west. There are limestone outcrops^[1]

Flora

The grassland species include sheep's fescue, quaking grass and glaucous sedge. Herbs include rock-rose, restharrow, Carline thistle, common milkwort and dwarf thistle, yellow-wort, fairy flax, wild thyme and large thyme (Thymus pulegioides). Thyme and common knapweed are plentiful, which is usual for this kind of grassland.^[1]

The neutral grassland areas support crested dog's-tail, common knapweed, red fescue, yellow oat-grass, meadow vetchling, common bird's-foot-trefoil, yarrow and ribwort.^[1]

Scrub has developed in an area of the site which supports a range of species such as hawthorn, blackthorn, bramble, dog's mercury, cuckoo-pint, hart's-tongue fern and primrose. The area supports a rarity being stinking hellebore.^[1]

Fauna

The habitat and flora encourages a good range of invertebrates and butterflies include large skipper, ringlet, marbled white and common blue. The yellow meadow ant thrives on this bank.^[1]

References

SSSI Source

External links

Natural England (SSSI information)

Biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire

Summarised data for all sites (biological and geological)

Ashleworth Ham Astridge Wood Badgeworth Barnsley Warren Barton Bushes Bigsweir Woods Blaisdon Hall Bourton Down Box Farm Meadows Boxwell Brassey Brooks Head Grove Buckshraft Mine & Bradley Railway Tunnel Bull Cross, The Frith and Juniper Hill Bushley Muzzard, Brimpsfield Caerwood and Ashberry Goose House Chaceley Meadow Clarke's Pool Meadow Cleeve Common Cockleford Marsh Collinpark Wood Coombe Hill Canal Coombe Hill Cotswold Commons and Beechwoods Cotswold Water Park Crickley Hill and Barrow Wake Daneway Banks Dean Hall Coach House & Cellar Devil's Chapel Scowles Dingle Wood Dixton Wood Dymock Woods Edge Common Elmlea Meadows Frampton Pools Highbury Wood Hobbs Quarry Hornsleasow Roughs Hucclecote Meadows Innsworth Meadow Juniper Hill, Edgeworth Kempley Daffodil Meadow Kingscote and Horsley Woods Lark Wood Leckhampton Hill and Charlton Kings Common Lineover Wood Lower Woods Lower Wye Gorge May Hill Midger Minchinhampton Common Nagshead Old Bow and Old Ham Mines Old River Severn, Upper Lode Pennsylvania Fields, Sedbury Poor's Allotment Puckham Woods Range Farm Fields River Wye Rodborough Common Rough Bank, Miserden Salmonsbury Meadows Selsley Common Severn Estuary Severn Ham, Tewkesbury Shorn Cliff and Caswell Woods Slade Brook Soudley Ponds Speech House Oaks Stenders Quarry Stinchcombe Hill Strawberry Banks Swanpool Wood and Furnace Grove Swift's Hill Sylvan House Barn The Hudnalls The Malvern Hills Tudor Farm Bank Turvey's Piece Upper Severn Estuary Upham Meadow and Summer Leasow Upper Wye Gorge Walmore Common Westbury Brook Ironstone Mine Whelford Meadow Wigpool Ironstone Mine Wildmoorway Meadows Winson Meadows Woodchester Park Workman's Wood Wotton Hill Yarley Meadows

Neighbouring areas Avon Hereford and Worcester Oxfordshire Wiltshire

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