Nettlecombe Court
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nettlecombe Court | |
  Shown within Somerset
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| Building information | |
|---|---|
| Town | Williton |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: |
Nettlecombe Court Field Centre is a large country mansion set in a secluded valley approximately 3.6 miles from Williton in Somerset.
Nettlecombe Court was originally built as a manor house, becoming a boys' preparatory school in 1963 and since 1967 has been the Leonard Wills Field Centre run by the Field Studies Council.
It has a late medieval hall, with the entrance front, porch, great hall and parlour added in 1599. Around 1641 there were further additions to rear of great hall, and between 1703 and 1707 the South West front was extended. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building.[1]
Nearby hills and woodlands, including Exmoor National Park, provide excellent opportunities for general introductory courses on environmental themes. Habitats include marine, freshwater and heather moorland and the surrounding settlements range from hamlets to villages to the country town of Taunton.
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[edit] Nettlecombe Park
| Nettlecombe Park | |
|---|---|
| Area of Search | Somerset |
| Grid Reference | ST055375 |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 90.4 hectare (223.4 acre) |
| Notification | 1990 |
| Location Map | English Nature |
It is surrounded by the Nettlecombe Park a 90.4 hectare (223.4 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the northern fringes of the Brendon Hills within the Exmoor National Park in Somerset, notified in 1990.
Nettlecombe Park is important for its lichen flora. Records suggest this site has been wood pasture or parkland for at least 400 years. There are some very old oak pollards which may be of this age or older. The oldest standard trees are over 200 years of age. The continuity of open woodland and parkland, with large mature and over-mature timber, has enabled characteristic species of epiphytic lichens and beetles to become established and persist. Many of these species are now nationally scarce because this type of habitat has been eliminated over large areas of Great Britain.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Leonard Wills Field Centre(formerly listed as NettlecombeCourt) (http). English Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-11-16.
- ^ Nettlecombe Park. English Nature. Retrieved on 2006-08-17.
[edit] Bibliography
- Rose, Francis; P. Wolseley (1984). Nettlecombe Park: Its History and Its Epiphytic Lichens - An Attempt at Correlation. Field Studies Council. ISBN 1-85153-165-3.
