summary

©Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. Hertfordshire County Council, LA 076678, 2001

LOCATION

Plateau between High Cross and Colliers End, bounded to the east by the Rib valley, to the south by a tributary and to the west by a tributary of the Beane. To the north this area abuts and runs to the west of the Puckeridge parklands. There is a small sub-area on the western edge, separated by The Bourne, a tributary of the Rib.

©Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. Hertfordshire County Council, LA 076678, 2001

LANDSCAPE CHARACTER

A two-speed landscape. Open undulating clay plateau bisected by fast A-road along ancient route with several wayside settlements. In arable cultivation with several ancient woodlands. Noticeably larger field pattern to the east of the A10, without settlements; more ancient, smaller scale to the west, with settlements. The linear area west of The Bourne shares some of the characteristics of the Sacombe estate farmland but does not lie within it, relating rather to the wooded farmland to its north.

KEY CHARACTERISTICS

• undulating arable upland
• filtered views out from and along A10
• limited views elsewhere, filtered by hedgerow vegetation
• isolated blocks of woodland, some large, especially east of A10
• ancient buildings in roadside settlements
• place names with 'green' or 'end' in small, remote settlements
• irregular or sinuous lanes and field boundaries

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES

• impact of A10
• transport-related commercial development along the A10
• the transition to the neighbouring valley areas is blurred because arable cultivation extends right down to the watercourses
• Roman roads

High Cross Plateau (HCC Landscape Unit)

assessment

PHYSICAL INFLUENCES

Geology and soils. Slowly permeable calcareous clay soils over chalky till (Hanslope series). Neutral to mildly acidic.

Topography. Strongly undulating upland

Degree of slope. 1in 20 locally; generally 1 in 55

Altitude range. 80m to 125m

Hydrology. The boundaries of this area are formed by tributary streams of the Beane and Rib, which flow into the river Lea. Small watercourses flow off this upland area into the tributaries. There are many ponds on this poorly drained land.

Land cover and land use. This area is treed farmland with some woodland. Major land uses are arable cultivation and forestry, with a likelihood that the woodland is managed for shooting. There is a private airstrip on the plateau part of this area and pasture in small fields around the settlements, which are small and remote.

Vegetation and wildlife. The woodland cover in this area consists of isolated blocks of ancient woodland, largely oak/ash/maple and hornbeam on gravelly soils, with some beech, sweet chestnut, holly, oak and willow but not especially species-rich. Bracken is also plentiful in this area. Great Southey Wood with Ash Plantation is the largest area of woodland. Dilly Wood is unmanaged hornbeam coppice with hazel coppice on the edge. There are some good old neutral grass pastures and important hedges at Standon Green End. With arable cultivation dominating there has been an inevitable loss of hedges, but it is not extreme in this area. Hedges are usually medium-height hawthorn with young mature and mature hedgerow oaks. Hornbeam, elm, willow, ash and hazel are also present in hedges, especially where the verges are ditched. Near Levens Green the vegetation is distinctly water tolerant, with oak, willow, ash and sallow, hazel, field maple and dogwood and some blackthorn encroachment on the edge of the green. Rowney Priory has a lime avenue leading through parkland.

Associated features: old benches under young mature oaks with views across Bourne valley.

HISTORIC AND CULTURAL INFLUENCES

This has long been a farmed landscape in arable cultivation, with woodlands linked by hedges and small, isolated settlements and farms. The large common arable fields probably originated in the late Saxon period and most survived well into the 19th century in spite of piecemeal enclosure over the centuries.

• Rigery Lane, west of the A10, is a section of Roman road and a SAM.
• It is possible that there was a medieval deer park around Shelly's Wood, north of Potter's Green.
• The historic importance of the old A10 as a major transport route from London to the north is reflected in the ancient linear settlements along it, such as High Cross and Colliers End, which lies just south of a Roman crossroads and formerly had a weighbridge, turnpike and several inns.
• Rowney Priory is largely Victorian but is on the site of a small Benedictine nunnery founded c. 1164.
• There is an ancient moat at Sutes, north of High Cross and just off the A10, and the remains of a medieval moated house in Roughground Wood.

Field pattern. Fields are generally hedged to form a regular medium to large field pattern. Around the settlements there are smaller, unhedged pasture fields.

Transport pattern. Ditched lanes, often very narrow. Very wide verge on lane near Rowney Priory, opposite wooded edged with hazel. Verges are variable, either absent or medium-width with ditches.

Settlements and built form

• High Cross, the largest settlement in the area, is an ancient linear village, with coaching inns, car dealers and equestrian enterprises along the A10 and 20th-century development off the main road. Balhams Hall at High Cross is a 15th-century hall-house with an 18th-century front.
• Colliers End is another linear settlement with many weatherboarded houses, painted a distinctive buff colour.
• The houses in Sacombe Green cluster around a tiny historic green with young manna ash planted on its edge. The Old Rectory (15th-century timber-framed) is described in Pevsner as 'exceptionally picturesque'.
• Standon Green End is an ancient hamlet with red brick, white weatherboard and flint buildings.
• Levens Green, on the edge of the plateau, has a large village green and is surrounded by small meadows.
• Potter's Green is a deserted village dating from at least the 12th century. Farmhouses and houses in the hamlets may date from the 16th century.

OTHER SOURCES OF AREA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION

Rowe, A., The Protected Valley: a history of Little Munden, Hamels Publishing, Buntingford (1999).

Pevsner, N., rev. Cherry, B., Hertfordshire, Penguin (2000).

English Heritage, List of Scheduled Ancient Monuments.

English Heritage, Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

evaluation

VISUAL AND SENSORY PERCEPTION

This area is largely concealed from outside by reason of its topography. From within it appears very open, with extensive views over the plateau and across the Bourne valley. The A10 is not widely visible, being screened by vegetation. The scale of landscape elements is generally medium to large, usually smaller near settlements. It is both a coherent and a tranquil area, away from the A10, which brings the 21st century to this ancient area.

Rarity and distinctiveness. This is not a rare landscape type but the tranquillity and historic character of the settlements deserves protection and conservation.

VISUAL IMPACT

Along the A10 there is high local impact from built development and associated light industrial and commercial uses, contrasting with the absence of impact elsewhere within the area. Most of the area has long been in arable cultivation; there has been some loss of hedges and enlargement of field sizes, balanced by the retention of small pasture fields around settlements.

ACCESSIBILITY

Footpaths are limited to the southern part of the area. Waymarked routes include the Harlowcam Way. Both are in fair condition and of medium width.

COMMUNITY VIEWS

With the significant exceptions of the contributions made by woodlands and Roman landscape features, this is a rarely remarked upon landscape (D)

LANDSCAPE RELATED DESIGNATIONS

Mainly but not completely a Landscape Conservation Area;

SAM: Rigery Lane

 

CONDITION
Land cover change:	insignificant
Age structure of tree cover:	mature
Extent of semi-natural habitat survival:	fragmented
Management of semi-natural habitat:	not obvious
Survival of cultural pattern:	interrupted
Impact of built development:	low
Impact of land-use change:	low
ROBUSTNESS
Impact of landform:	apparent
Impact of land cover:	apparent
Impact of historic pattern:	continuous
Visibility from outside:	concealed
Sense of enclosure:	open
Visual unity:	coherent
Distinctiveness/rarity:	unusual

guidelines

STRATEGY AND GUIDELINES FOR MANAGING CHANGE: IMPROVE AND CONSERVE

• encourage landowners to safeguard existing hedges, increase hedged field boundaries, create permanent grass strips around field margins and prevent spray drift, using financial incentives as available
• promote crop diversification and the restoration of mixed livestock/arable farming
• encourage woodland planting around existing woodland, where this is in keeping with local landscape character, is on the site of former woodland or can provide an ecological link to other woodlands/habitat
• ensure that proposed woodland planting will contribute to the local landscape rather than destroying an existing and valued habitat or historic artefact, such as a bank or ditch
• encourage the reversion of arable to pasture and appropriate management to increase grassland biodiversity
• promote the appropriate management of coppice woodland to establish and maintain a species-rich ground flora and a distinction between high forest, coppice, coppice-with-standards and wood pasture
• encourage the reversal of habitat fragmentation and the creation and improvement of habitat links such as hedges and small woodlands
• replacement hedges should follow historic field boundaries
• any design proposals for a bypass of the A10 around High Cross should reflect the historic character of the settlements along the existing road, the landscape character of the surrounding area and the traditional pattern of fields and hedgerows

High Cross Plateau-Knoll Farm (HCC Landscape Unit)