Above is an old quarry on the eastern slope of
Wolstonbury Hill, which hill is an outstanding example of
rare chalk grassland. This quarry is becoming overgrown with scrub (mainly hawthorn), plus some sycamore trees and
wayfarer shrubs The Down is managed for its chalk grassland habitat, by grazing with cattle and sheep and by manual scrub clearing. Such management enables twelve native orchid species to grow: Common-spotted, Common Twayblade, Early-purple, Bee, Fly, White Helleborine, Butterfly, Fragrant, Man, Pyramidal, Autumn Lady's-tresses, and occasionally Frog orchids.
What has this to do with America? A tenuous one, in that in the 18th century when the American revolutionary war was kicking off, this quarry was dug for flints. Just 14 miles away is Firle Place, the ancestral home of General Gage who was in charge of the British army in Boston, Mass. The research by Deborah Gage at
https://firle.com/news_articles/the-gage-family/general-thomas-gage/ beautifully details the complexity of the situation in North America in the eighteenth century.
Having climbed the probably 4,000 years or more old track to get here, one could muse on the 18th century origin of this quarry and the clearing of a Hawthorn tree overlooking it on Saturday, 25 January 2025.
Some lopping and sawing, repeated many times, left much of the top growth hanging in an impenetrable tangle, which will dry out and decay over the years.
Down on the quarry floor and up a steep cliff trees and scrub were cleared and burnt. With hindsight, a log pile could have been left for fungi and beetles' larvae to eat and for other wildlife to hide and hibernate.
To join such merry activities with "The Friends of Wolstonbury" see
www.wolstonbury.com Google earth shows the hill and quarry. Select the 3D button for awesome views.
