©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
Interfluve of rivers Beane and Rib, north of Bengeo to Tonwell and the edge of Woodhall Park.
©Crown
Copyright. All rights reserved. Hertfordshire County Council, LA 076678, 2001
Gently undulating light arable upland and valley slopes between the Rib and Beane valleys, widening to the north. Generally large irregular fields and woodlands on very light soils, with several blocks of ancient woodland in the south. Very rural, with few settlements but many mineral extraction sites.
Moat in woodland south of Watton-at-Stone (P. Shears)
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Geology and soils. Deep well-drained fine loam with clay subsoil, over chalky till on the plateau (Hanslope series), with brown (free draining loamy) soils over chalk on the slopes (Melford series).
Topography. Undulating sloping land rising to a small plateau in the north.
Degree of slope. 1 in 30 to 1 in 50.
Altitude range. 40m to 83m.
Hydrology. This area is partly defined by the effect of two watercourses on the landform, but there are few streams draining into them, due to the free-draining nature of the soils.
Land cover and land use. This area of wooded farmland has experienced a high degree of disturbance from mineral extraction. Some areas have been restored to grassland and now support a range of heath-related species. Elsewhere the farmland is mainly in arable cultivation, with a few paddocks, while ancient woodland and conifer plantations abut each other.
Vegetation and wildlife. The ancient woodland in this area is dominated by oak/hornbeam, but a wide variety of other species are also present, as hazel, elm and field maple, with ash, willow and sallow on the slopes near the watercourses. Recent plantations are of Scots pine, hazel and sycamore behind a hazel edge. There are some well maintained hedgerows or relic hedgerow oaks and very trimmed field maple, with hawthorn, blackthorn (sloe), field maple and holly (on the slopes) but hedges are generally poor or absent, with a few overgrown tree rows and some important relic hedge systems. Field boundaries are treed holly or hawthorn hedgerows, occasionally mixed, with large oaks. Mature individual oaks and holly are locally distinctive species. The northern part of this area has more calcareous soils, with cowslips along the roadsides. The gravel pits are not ecologically valuable at present.
The historic pattern of land use in this area has been significantly disturbed locally by mineral extraction, but elsewhere there is a strong pattern of fields and woodland.
Field pattern. Large regular and irregular fields. Field boundaries are usually medium height treed hedgerows, occasionally hedgebanks or fences. In many instances they are in poor condition.
Transport pattern. There is a limited rather cruciform road network within this area, consisting of narrow, often sunken, unhedged lanes with occasional hedgerow trees. Where verges are present they are usually very narrow.
Settlements and built form. Chapmore End is the only settlement within this area, an 18th/20th century hamlet with houses of the Georgian and Victorian eras and the 20th century, surrounded by paddocks.
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This is an open area, rising above the river valleys to either side and with wide views over the surrounding landscape, filtered in places by the woodland blocks. It is visible from the higher ground to the north, i.e. the Sacombe estate farmland. It is a tranquil area, with occasional distant noise from the railway to the west, and is very clearly demarcated from the urban area to the south.
Rarity and distinctiveness. The soils in this area appear to be lighter than in most other areas in the south of the county, and are obviously mineral-bearing. This has had an impact on the character of the area.
Most of the mineral extraction sites in this area are well screened, but there are very limited views of huge landfill sites on the skyline and evidence throughout the area of former workings, some of which are now restored for nature conservation interest.
Extensive footpaths.
This area is not regarded as particularly distinctive (D).
| CONDITION | |
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| Land cover change: | localised |
| Age structure of tree cover: | mixed |
| Extent of semi-natural habitat survival: | fragmented |
| Management of semi-natural habitat: | good |
| Survival of cultural pattern: | declining |
| Impact of built development: | low |
| Impact of land-use change: | high |
| ROBUSTNESS | |
| Impact of landform: | apparent |
| Impact of land cover: | apparent |
| Impact of historic pattern: | relic |
| Visibility from outside: | locally visible |
| Sense of enclosure: | open |
| Visual unity: | incoherent |
| Distinctiveness/rarity: | unusual |
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Stoneyhills (P. Shears)
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