©Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. Hertfordshire County Council, LA 076678, 2001
| Landscape Character Assessment | HertsDirect | Environment | |||
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©Crown
Copyright. All rights reserved. Hertfordshire County Council, LA 076678, 2001
To the south east of Stevenage, between the Datchworth plateau and the upper Beane valley to the east; bounded to the west by Knebworth and to the south by Bramfield Plain.
©Crown
Copyright. All rights reserved. Hertfordshire County Council, LA 076678, 2001
Undulating and gently sloping large-scale arable farmland with no settlements. Discrete medium to large blocks of woodland frame views over large fields with few hedges, but are insufficient in scale to create strong vertical elements. A long cultivated landscape, lacking variety.
Bragbury Lane and edge of Stevenage (P. Shears)
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Geology and soils. Slowly permeable calcareous clayey soils over chalky till (Hanslope series).
Topography. East-facing slope.
Degree of slope. 1 in 60.
Altitude range. 75m to 122m.
Hydrology. The north-eastern edge of this area is marked by the Stevenage Brook, a tributary of the river Beane, which delineates the eastern edge of this area. Stevenage Brook is the main tributary of the Beane and helps maintain fish species, despite recent problems associated with low water flows, high temperatures and algal blooms.
Land cover and land use. The dominant land use in this area is arable cultivation, with several areas of woodland linked to the more prominent woodland on the plateau above. There are several chalk pits in the area.
Vegetation and wildlife. Most of the woodland in this area is ancient hornbeam woodland with bluebells, with a linked group just north of the Roman road. There are very few hedges. Field boundaries abut roads without any intervention, although there are a few medium-width verges of considerable wildflower interest. Bramfield Park Wood contains aspen, hornbeam, silver birch, hawthorn, ash, oak, Viburnum opulus and sycamore. There is some neutral grassland with cowslips but most tends to be acidic, except where chalk is found at the surface.
This is historically an area of large arable fields. The area's significance in Roman times is marked by the Roman road; there are also moated enclosures in Well Wood and Chapel Wood, both Scheduled Ancient Monuments. Bramfield Park is shown on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey, but not earlier
Field pattern. Large regular and irregular fields, with a distinct radial pattern out from the plateau, narrower in the west, bearing the marks of post-18th century enclosure.
Transport pattern. The roads also follow this radial pattern and, although sinuous, are markedly straighter than those on the plateau, and open. Even the Roman road, linking Welwyn and Watton-at-Stone, although apparently straight on the map is undulating and sinuous, mainly open but partly edged with ragged hedges, small woodland belts or hedgerow trees.
Settlements and built form. There are no settlements in this area, only isolated farms of some antiquity (Great and Little Gobions) and Bramfield Park, which has a well-wooded enclosed park. The crematorium on the south-eastern edge of Stevenage, outside the urban envelope, is an anomaly.
HCC information on historic parks and gardens.
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This area is widely visible, both from the Datchworth plateau and from the lower areas on both sides of the river Beane. Similarly, extensive views can be obtained from within the area. It is a large-scale, unified, rather exposed landscape, somewhat monotonous and lacking vertical elements. It is quite tranquil, with occasional distant noise from road traffic.
Rarity and distinctiveness. The radial field pattern of this area is unusual, but not directly distinguishable as a visual landscape feature. The area is perhaps unusual in its unity and lack of variety.
The crematorium on the southern edge of Stevenage has a stronger visual impact within this area than the urban area itself. It stands outside the urban envelope, in open arable farmland within which there are few other structures, and is of an unusual design with little obvious attempt at integration, making it a distinctive feature within this area.
There are no noted recreational land uses within the area and footpaths and bridleways are almost non-existent.
There is little evidence that this area is valued for its distinctiveness, although the Roman Road was highlighted. (D).
Landscape Conservation Area.
| CONDITION | |
|---|---|
| Land cover change: | localised |
| Age structure of tree cover: | mature |
| Extent of semi-natural habitat survival: | fragmented/relic |
| Management of semi-natural habitat: | not obvious |
| Survival of cultural pattern: | intact |
| Impact of built development: | high |
| Impact of land-use change: | low |
| ROBUSTNESS | |
| Impact of landform: | prominent |
| Impact of land cover: | apparent |
| Impact of historic pattern: | interrupted |
| Visibility from outside: | widely visible |
| Sense of enclosure: | open |
| Visual unity: | unified |
| Distinctiveness/rarity: | unusual |
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