Chaceley Meadow SSSI

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Chaceley Meadow
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Example - Close-up of Yellow Rattle ((Rhinanthus minor)
Shown within Gloucestershire
Area of Search	Gloucestershire
Grid reference	SO857306
Coordinates	51°58′27″N 2°12′32″W / 51.97413°N 2.20885°W / 51.97413; -2.20885Coordinates: 51°58′27″N 2°12′32″W / 51.97413°N 2.20885°W / 51.97413; -2.20885
Interest	biological
Area	1.8 ha (4.4 acres)
Notification	1954
Natural England website

Chaceley Meadow (grid reference SO857306) is a 1.8-hectare (4.4-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1954 and renotified in 1993.^[1]^[2] It lies on the eastern edge of Chaceley village and is about half a mile west of the River Severn.

The site is listed in the ‘Tewkesbury Borough Local Plan to 2011’, adopted March 2006, Appendix 3 'Nature Conservation',' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).^[3]

The site is owned (bought in 1994) and managed by the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. It is one of the county's finest unimproved wet meadows. Though it is some distance from the River Severn the meadow may flood in winter.^[4]

Plants

A colourful variety of flowers may be seen throughout Spring and Summer. These include Cuckoo Flower, Marsh-marigold, Great Burnet, Meadowsweet, Common Knapweed, Meadow Vetchling, Marsh Ragwort, Meadow Buttercup, Sorrel, Ragged-robin, Reed Canary-grass, Sweet Vernal-grass and Meadow Brome. The wet conditions encourage many sedges including Brown Sedge, Oval Sedge, Yellow Sedge and Carnation Sedge. The Slender Spike-rush (Eleocharis uniglumis) grows in this meadow which is rare in Gloucestershire.^[4]

Surroundings

The meadow is surrounded by mature Hawthorn and Blackthorn hedge and includes old White Willow pollards. This habitat supports many birds, including Tawny Owl and Turtle Dove.^[4]

Conservation

The meadow is traditionally managed by a late summer hay cut, which allows wildflowers to set their seeds. There is then cattle grazing. The willow pollards are recut regularly to reduce the risk of splitting.^[4] There are earlier cuts every 3 years to help to increase the frequency of rarer species found in the field which include Common Knapweed, Yellow Rattle, Cuckoo Flower, Bird's-foot Trefoil and Marsh Bedstraw. This helps remove nutrients at the peak of the hay growing season.^[5]

Publications

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

↑ Natural England SSSI information on the citation
↑ Tewkesbury Borough Local Plan to 2011, adopted March 2006, Appendix 3 'Nature Conservation', Sites of Special Scientific Interest
↑ Tewkesbury Borough Local Plan to 2011, adopted March 2006, Appendix 3 'Nature Conservation', Key Wildlife Sites
↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 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'
↑ Natural England report on the unit status

SSSI source

External links

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust
Natural England (SSSI information)

v t e 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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