| Landscape Character Assessment | HertsDirect | Environment | |||
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©Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. Hertfordshire County Council, LA 076678, 2001
This area follows the Chess Valley between the M25 in the north west and its confluence with the Rivers Gade and Colne. The valley passes to the north of Rickmansworth and to the west of Croxley Green.
©Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. Hertfordshire County Council, LA 076678, 2001
A marked valley feature with steep side slopes and a distinctive yet narrow valley floor. To the north west there are areas of woodland, together with residential areas set in mature well-treed gardens. To the south, land use is a mix of grazing on the valley floor and some arable on the valley slopes
Chess
Valley from Croxley Green (J. Billingsley)
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Geology and soils. There are contrasting geology and soil types within the area. The more steeply sloping ground to the north east comprises a mix of chalk and chalky drift overlaid by well-drained calcareous and fine silty soils, locally deep in valley bottoms and more shallow on valley sides (Coombe 1 association). The south-west slopes are plateau and river-terrace drift overlaid with well-drained fine loamy and coarse loamy over clayey soils with slight seasonal waterlogging (Marlow series). On the narrow valley bottom the geology is a chalky and gravelly river alluvium with shallow calcareous and non-calcareous loamy soils over flint gravel, affected by groundwater with small pockets of peat (Frome series).
Topography. Strong valley landform.
Degree of slope. Side slopes generally 1 in 10 but locally as steep as 1 in 4.
Altitude range. Valley floor varies between 48-63m. Top of slopes between 60-105m.
Hydrology. The River Chess is often referred to as the cleanest and best of the chalk streams that flow off the Chilterns, with 'excellent' or 'good' biological quality results from Environment Agency tests. On the valley floor the river meanders vigorously. There are a number of chases, secondary channels and quiet cut-off ponds. Some of the frequent spring sources were modified in the 19th century to form the now-derelict watercress beds. These add character to the area and highlight the way that the watercourse has been utilised by man. There is a risk of localised flooding along the valley bottom. There are no significant watercourses on the valley sides.
Land cover and land use. There is a mixed though coherent pattern of land cover. Riverside meadow pasture predominates south of Loudwater. The side slopes outside Croxley Green have arable land cover on the better calcareous soils. From Loudwater to the M25 the area is settled, with low-density housing set in mature and well-treed ground, both along the valley floor and on the side slopes. Houses are concealed behind groups of mature trees. To the north an aquatic garden centre has a pleasant setting alongside the river, spoilt by the thundering traffic on the M25. To the south west the grounds of the Royal Masonic School are a significant feature together with the associated public recreation ground along the valley floor.
Vegetation and wildlife. Woods within the area are discrete and typically linear, emphasising either the river course or the upper slopes. River species include poplar, alder and willow while on the slopes there is a mix of beech, oak and ash. Beechengrove Wood to the west is the largest wood in the area and comprises a mix of ancient and plantation woodland. There is a mini scarp on the valley side within the wood where chalk is locally exposed and beech is dominant. In other areas there is chalk grassland and scrub on the lower slopes. Within the wooded areas, including parts of the Loudwater residential areas, the nationally scarce coralroot bittercress is frequent. Hedge species include hawthorn, hazel and field maple, generally in a declining condition. A number of the boundaries within the floodplain are marked by fences. Along the chalk stream there are alluvial pastures on gravel and chalk and limited rich fen communities.
The history of the valley has strong links with water management. Features include a Roman water mill, watercress beds, a 20th-century trout farm and currently a tropical fish-breeding farm. To the south west lies the former Rickmansworth Park, which dates back to 1766, now occupied by the 1930 Royal Masonic School. Features of the park still exist, most notably the walled garden by the Chess, the avenue of limes and individual specimen trees on the higher ground.
Field pattern. Areas of meadow pasture pre-dating 1880 remain within the area. Some 20th-century enclosure has taken place on the side slopes. South of Loudwater, the field pattern comprises small to medium irregular fields enclosed in part by mixed tall hedges.
Transport pattern. A pattern of minor, sinuous and narrow local roads runs across the valley. Some lanes are sunken where they rise up the steepest slopes.
Settlements and built form. Historic settlement on the slopes included only a few isolated farms and cottages, often rendered in white. A number of waterside properties line the river, including a mill (now a restaurant) to the south and isolated brick houses and weatherboarded barns. Chess Place is a gault brick Victorian house. Twentieth-century development has been much more extensive, particularly at Loudwater. Here, large 'Metroland' houses are well integrated among tree groups to give a mature sylvan character.
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This is a contained landscape with limited views from outside the area due to the strong valley landform and tree cover on the upper slopes. Views within the area are limited to individual sections due to woodland groups on the valley floor or the curving nature of the valley. Apart from by the M25 the area is secluded and quiet.
Rarity and distinctiveness.
This an unusual landscape type. Its distinctive qualities are the combination of residential areas within mature woodland and the high quality of the chalk river environment.
The M25 is a major impact to the north west, crossing by cutting and embankment. The traffic is partly visually contained by acoustic fencing. Pylons are locally disruptive to the south. There has been considerable land-use change to residential but this has been well integrated in the wooded setting.
There are a number of rights of way through the area both along and across the valley. The Chess Valley Walk follows the valley but only locally follows the course of the river. The route is not always well signed and part of its length is narrow and inhospitable, being enclosed by high close-boarded fencing.
This part of the generally well-regarded Chess Valley has some significantly distinctive and valued aspects (C).
Re. River Chess: 'the pleasant bottoms of this county, the hills being shaded with beech, oak and birch' (Thomas Baskerville's 1696 recollection).
Chilterns AONB (to north including Beechengrove Wood).
| CONDITION | |
|---|---|
| Land cover change: | localised |
| Age structure of tree cover: | mature |
| Extent of semi-natural habitat survival: | fragmented |
| Management of semi-natural habitat: | poor |
| Survival of cultural pattern: | interrupted |
| Impact of built development: | moderate |
| Impact of land-use change: | moderate |
| ROBUSTNESS | |
| Impact of landform: | prominent |
| Impact of land cover: | apparent |
| Impact of historic pattern: | interrupted |
| Visibility from outside: | locally visible |
| Sense of enclosure: | contained |
| Visual unity: | coherent |
| Distinctiveness/rarity: | unusual |
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Chess Plain at Loudwater (HCC Landscape Unit)
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