59-541: Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve is located on the north-west escarpment of the Chiltern Hills , in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . It has an area of 159.1 hectares (393 acres), and most of it is a 128.5 hectares (318 acres) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest . It is listed as a Grade 1 site in A Nature Conservation Review . The reserve is in several sections, mostly in
118-728: A cricket club. Its first eleven plays in Oxfordshire Cricket Association League Division 2. The Watlington Club (previously the Watlington Memorial Club) provides facilities for the sports of tennis , squash and lawn bowls . Watlington has a Women's Institute . Watlington is twinned with Mansle , in southwestern France. Five episodes of the TV series Midsomer Murders have been filmed partly in Watlington, with
177-667: A mixed-sex comprehensive school . Icknield Community College does not provide sixth form education, and instead works with three partnership schools in the area, Henley College in Henley-on-Thames , Lord Williams's School in Thame , and Wallingford School in Wallingford , as well as sending students to many other sixth forms and colleges in the area. Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC South and ITV Meridian . Television signals are received from
236-459: A Public Enquiry. The event helped to motivate conservation groups to oppose infrastructure projects that would damage protected natural habitats, such as the M3 cutting through Twyford Down near Winchester , which could have been protected by tunnelling. 51°39′54″N 0°57′00″W / 51.665°N 0.95°W / 51.665; -0.95 Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills or
295-467: A spire. He therefore had this unusual folly cut into the chalk soil in 1764, and it continues to this day to be maintained by the local residents. The mark is 36 feet (11 m) wide at its base and 270 feet (82 m) long. The oldest parts of the Church of England parish church of St Leonard are Norman , including a diapered tympanum that was over the north door until this was dismantled for
354-532: Is Coombe Hill , 260 m (852 ft.) above sea level. The more gently sloping country – the dip slope – to the southeast of the Chiltern scarp is also generally referred to as part of the Chilterns; it contains much beech woodland and many villages. Enclosed fields account for almost 66% of the " Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty " (AONB) area. The next most important, and archetypal, landscape form
413-497: Is woodland , covering 21% of the Chilterns, which is thus one of the most heavily wooded areas in England. Built-up areas (settlements and industry) make up over 5% of the land area; parks and gardens nearly 4%, open land (commons, heaths and downland) is 2%, and the remaining 2% includes a variety of uses, including communications, military, open land, recreation, utilities and water. The Chilterns are almost entirely located within
472-597: Is a more prominent hill, although its altitude is only 249 m (817 ft.). It is the starting point of the Icknield Way Path and the Ridgeway long-distance path , which follows the line of the Chilterns for many miles to the west, where they merge with the Wiltshire downs and southern Cotswolds . To the east of Ivinghoe Beacon is Dunstable Downs, a steep section of the Chiltern scarp. Near Wendover
531-479: Is a small market town and civil parish about 7 miles (11 km) south of Thame in Oxfordshire , near the county's eastern edge and less than 2 miles (3 km) from its border with Buckinghamshire . The parish includes the hamlets of Christmas Common , Greenfield and Howe Hill, all of which are in the Chiltern Hills . The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,727. The Watlington area
590-440: Is believed to be Brittonic in origin. According to Eilert Ekwall , Chiltern is possibly related to the broader ethnic name Celt ( Celtæ in early Celtic languages ); the root celto- "high" (and suffix -erno- ) could provide the origin of Chiltern . Before the 18th century, the population lived dispersed across the largely rural landscape of the Chilterns in remote villages, hamlets, farmsteads, and market towns along
649-527: Is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) as part of Watlington and Pyrton Hills . It is managed by the National Trust . The nearby Shirburn Hill is another SSSI in the area. The Watlington White Mark, a spire mark, is cut into the chalk soil of Watlington Hill. This was designed by local squire Edward Horne , who felt that the parish church of St Leonard , when viewed from his home, would be more impressive if it appeared to have
SECTION 10
#1732779683882708-489: Is likely to have been settled at an early date, encouraged by the proximity of the Icknield Way . The toponym means "settlement of Waecel's people " and indicates occupation from around the 6th century. A 9th-century charter by Æthelred of Mercia records eight 'manses' or major dwellings in Watlington. The Domesday Book of 1086 referred to the town as Watelintone or Watelintune . Medieval documents indicate that
767-792: Is managed by Natural England assisted by the Oxford Conservation Volunteers. It offers a nationally important habitat of chalk grassland and juniper scrub with significant areas of hanging beechwood at Aston Rowant Wood. Aston Rowant is especially noted in spring and summer for the wildflowers and orchids associated with close-cropped chalk grassland, managed by careful grazing regimes. Orchid species recorded include common spotted orchid , fragrant orchid , pyramidal orchid , bee orchid , frog orchid , early purple orchid and greater butterfly orchid . Other flowers include eyebright , scabious , marjoram , Chiltern gentian , and yellow-wort . The chalk grassland habitat
826-416: Is part of the longer Icknield Way , passes nearby between the town and the hill. Due to its close proximity and easy access to the Chilterns, Watlington is a popular gateway to the many outdoor activities in the area, including hill walking, cycling and birdwatching , especially of the red kite , which is well established in the vicinity. Watlington Hill is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna , and
885-461: Is particularly attractive to many species of butterflies such as the Adonis blue , the chalkhill blue , marbled white , silver-spotted skipper , the dark green fritillary , and the silver-washed fritillary . Over 30 species of butterflies have been recorded on the reserve. Muntjac and roe deer are found on the reserve, as are the brown hare . Aston Rowant is an important conservation site for
944-702: Is the Oxford Bus Company service city11 between Watlington and Oxford. In 1872 the Watlington & Princes Risborough Railway was opened. Its Watlington terminus is in fact in Pyrton parish, 1 ⁄ 2 mile (800 m) from Watlington. In 1883 the Great Western Railway took over control of the line. In 1957 British Railways closed Watlington station and withdrew all passenger services between Watlington and Chinnor , which
1003-537: The Chiltern Hills above Watlington. The M40 motorway is about 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (4 km) from Watlington, with access at junctions 5 and 6. There are frequent coach services to Oxford and London , and to London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports, from M40 junction 6 at nearby Lewknor . Bus routes serving Watlington have been reduced in the 2010s because of funding cuts by Oxfordshire County Council . Earlier services to Thame , Wallingford and Reading have been discontinued. The only remaining service
1062-922: The Chiltern Hundreds . By established custom, Members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom , who are prohibited from resigning their seats directly, may apply for the Stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds as a device to enable their departure from the House. Hills in The Chilterns more than 200 metres in elevation and with more than 30 metres of topographic prominence are listed from southwest to northeast. Watlington, Oxfordshire Watlington
1121-661: The English Reformation Oxfordshire had numerous recusant Roman Catholics . In 1549 William Grey, 13th Baron Grey de Wilton was sent to Oxfordshire with 1,500 troops to enforce the Reformation. Grey ordered William Boolar, a Catholic of Watlington, to be hanged as an example. Despite persecution, a number of local landowning families including the Stonors remained Catholic, and they and their chaplains supported small numbers of other Catholics in
1180-792: The Lincolnshire Wolds , finally ending as the Yorkshire Wolds in a prominent escarpment, south of the Vale of Pickering . The beds of the Chalk Group were deposited over the buried northwestern margin of the Anglo-Brabant Massif during the Late Cretaceous . During this time, sources for siliciclastic sediment had been eliminated due to the exceptionally high sea level. The formation is thinner through
1239-783: The London to Aylesbury Line via Amersham , the West Coast Main Line via Berkhamsted , and the Midland Main Line all run through the Chiltern Hills. The Great Western Main Line and its branches such as the Henley and Marlow branch lines link the southern side of the Chilterns with London Paddington . The Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway is a preserved line. High Speed 2 (HS2) will pass underneath
SECTION 20
#17327796838821298-558: The Oxford TV transmitter. Local radio stations are BBC Radio Oxford on 95.2 FM, Heart South on 102.6 FM, and Greatest Hits Radio South (formerly Jack FM ) on 106.4 FM. The town is served by the local newspapers, Henley Standard and Oxfordshire Guardian . Watlington Town FC is a Non-League football club. Its first team plays in North Berks Football League Division 1. Watlington has
1357-936: The River Thames drainage basin , and also drain towards several major Thames tributaries, most notably the Lea , which rises in the eastern Chilterns, the Colne to the south, and the Thame to the north and west. Other rivers arising near the Chilterns include the Mimram , the Ver , the Gade , the Bulbourne , the Chess , the Misbourne and the Wye . These are classified as chalk streams , although
1416-523: The River Thames , there are no navigable rivers. The Grand Union Canal passes through the Chilterns between Berkhamsted and Marsworth following the course of the Gade and Bulbourne . Also, after crossing a watershed, the Ouzel is partly in the Chilterns. During the Iron Age , the Chiltern ridge provided a relatively safe and easily navigable route across southern Britain. The toponym , Chiltern ,
1475-518: The Weald Basin of southern England, underwent structural inversion . This phase of deformation tilted the chalk strata to the southeast in the area of the Chiltern Hills. The gently dipping beds of rock were eroded , forming an escarpment. The chalk strata are frequently interspersed with layers of flint nodules which apparently replaced chalk and infilled pore spaces early in the diagenetic history. Flint has been mined for millennia from
1534-571: The 19th century when George Wilkinson , a Methodist bought six of them and closed them down. Today Watlington has three public houses remaining: The Spire & Spoke (ex-Carriers Arms), The Chequers and The Fat Fox Inn. Parliamentarian troops were billeted at Watlington during the English Civil War . It is thought that John Hampden stayed in the town the night before the Battle of Chalgrove Field . In 1664–65 Watlington Town Hall
1593-563: The AONB. Third, to publish and promote the implementation of a management plan for the AONB. In contrast to National Parks , The Chilterns – as other AONBs – do not possess their own planning authority . The Board has an advisory role on planning and development matters and seeks to influence the actions of local government by commenting upon planning applications . The local authorities (two County Councils, three Unitary Authorities and four District and Borough Councils) are expected to respect
1652-531: The Chiltern AONB area. The Board's purposes are set out in Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 : In summary these are:- First, to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the AONB, and increase the understanding and enjoyment by the public of the special qualities of the AONB. Second, while taking account of the first purpose, to foster the economic and social wellbeing of local communities within
1711-609: The Chiltern Hills than the chalk strata to the north and south and deposition was tectonically controlled, with the Lilley Bottom structure playing a significant role at times. The Chalk Group, like the underlying Gault Clay and Upper Greensand , is diachronous . During the late stages of the Alpine Orogeny , as the African Plate collided with Eurasian Plate , Mesozoic extensional structures, such as
1770-549: The Chiltern Hills. They were first extracted for fabrication into flint axes in the Neolithic period, then for knapping into flintlocks . Nodules are to be seen everywhere in the older houses as a construction material for walls. The highest point is at 267 m (876 ft.) above sea level at Haddington Hill near Wendover in Buckinghamshire; a stone monument marks the summit . The nearby Ivinghoe Beacon
1829-403: The Chilterns are a chalk escarpment in southern England, northwest of London, covering 660 square miles (1,700 km ) across Oxfordshire , Buckinghamshire , Hertfordshire , and Bedfordshire , stretching 45 miles (72 km) from Goring-on-Thames in the southwest to Hitchin in the northeast. The hills are 12 miles (19 km) at their widest. In 1965, almost half of the Chilterns
Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve - Misplaced Pages Continue
1888-571: The Chilterns in the Chiltern tunnel . This tunnel, the longest under construction on the HS2 route, will be 16 km (9.9 miles) in length. The Conservation Board has made clear it was opposed to the routing of HS2 through the Chilterns AONB. Bus services are provided by Arriva Shires & Essex and Carousel Buses . Air corridors from Luton Airport pass over the Chilterns. Apart from
1947-723: The Chilterns, including long-distance trackways such as the Icknield Way and The Ridgeway . The M40 motorway passes through the Chilterns in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire sections with a deep cutting through the Stokenchurch Gap . The M1 motorway crosses the Bedfordshire section near Luton . Other major roads include the A41 and the A413 . The Chiltern Main Line Railway via High Wycombe and Princes Risborough ,
2006-701: The Great in the 9th century, was rediscovered in Watlington by James Mather, an amateur metal-detectorist, in 2015. The hoard was subsequently excavated, and eventually purchased by the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford for £1.35m. The town of Watlington lies at the foot of Watlington Hill, a 240 metres (790 ft) peak on the western edge of the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . The Ridgeway National Trail walking route, which
2065-835: The Lea is degraded by water from road drains and sewage treatment works. The Thames flows through a gap between the Berkshire Downs and the Chilterns. Portions around Leighton Buzzard and Hitchin are drained by the Ouzel , the Flit and the Hiz , all of which ultimately flow into the River Great Ouse (the last two via the Ivel ). Several transport routes pass through the Chilterns in natural or human-made corridors. There are also over 2,000 km (1,200 mi) of public footpaths in
2124-476: The area's status as a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Examples of historical architecture in the Chiltern region are preserved at the Chiltern Open Air Museum near Chalfont St Giles . This open-air folk museum contains reconstructed buildings which might otherwise have been destroyed or demolished as a result of redevelopment or road construction. The Chilterns include
2183-723: The area. In 1930 Fr. William Brown, the chaplain at Stonor Park , brought about the building of the Roman Catholic church of the Sacred Heart in Watlington. The present Roman Catholic church in Watlington is dedicated to St Edmund Campion , a Jesuit priest who was executed at Tyburn in 1581. During the 17th and 18th centuries several nonconformist denominations existed in Watlington, with Quakers , Baptists and Seventh Day Baptists most prominent in different periods. Methodist preachers visited Watlington by invitation from 1764, with John Wesley himself preaching in
2242-577: The boys' and girls' schools were absorbed into a new Board school , which like its predecessors was affiliated to the National Society for Promoting Religious Education . In 1927 the school was divided into separate junior and senior schools. In 1956 a new secondary school – the Icknield School – opened for senior pupils and the primary school took over the old premises. The Icknield School is now Icknield Community College . By 1895
2301-423: The building of the north aisle . The church was extensively rebuilt in the 14th century, and the arcade of the south aisle survives from this period. The south chapel is 15th century, built for Maud Warner as a memorial for her husband Richard, a woolman. The tower is also Medieval. A few Decorated Gothic and Perpendicular Gothic windows survive, but in the 1870s some were moved to different positions within
2360-486: The chalk aquifer is exploited via a network of pumping stations to provide a public supply for domestic consumption, agriculture and business uses, both within and well-beyond the Chilterns area. Over-exploitation has possibly led to the disappearance of some streams over long periods. In a region without building stone, local clay provided the raw materials for brick manufacture. Timber and flint were also used for construction. Mediaeval strip parishes reflected
2419-548: The church. In 1763 Edward Horne , a local landowner, obtained permission to build a burial vault east of the Warner chapel and south of the chancel . In 1877 the architects H.J. Tollit and Edwin Dolby restored St Leonard's. The church is a Grade II* listed building . The west tower had a ring of six bells until 1909, when two recently cast ones were hung and increased it to eight. Henry I Knight of Reading, Berkshire cast
Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve - Misplaced Pages Continue
2478-489: The diversity of land from clay farmland , through wooded slopes to downland. Their boundaries were often drawn to include a section of each type of land, resulting in an irregular county boundary. These have tended to be smoothed out by successive reorganisations. As people have come to appreciate the open country, the area has become a visitor destination and the National Trust has acquired land to preserve its character, for example at Ashridge , near Tring . In places, with
2537-530: The endangered hazel dormouse . In 1989, the Aston Rowant NNR became one of the initial four sites selected by the RSPB and Natural England for the reintroduction to England of the red kite , which had become extinct in England and Scotland due to persecution since the early 1900s, and reduced to a residual population of a few dozen pairs in central Wales. Initially birds were brought in from Spain but
2596-417: The first extinct plant to be re-introduced into the wild in British history. The M40 motorway passes through the reserve, where the Aston Rowant Cutting creates an important geological exposure of the Coniacian chalk strata, and drops the motorway down onto the Oxfordshire plain between Junction 5 Stokenchurch and junction 6 Watlington . This section of the "Midlands Link" motorway opened in 1974 after
2655-465: The fourth bell in 1587. Ellis I Knight cast the sixth bell in 1635. Henry II Knight cast the third and fifth bells in 1663. Charles and John Rudhall of Gloucester cast the seventh bell in 1785. Mears and Stainbank of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry cast the tenor bell in 1869 and the treble and second bells in 1905. St Leonard's parish is now part of the Benefice of Icknield, along with the parishes of Britwell Salome , Pyrton and Swyncombe . During
2714-444: The government confirmed that the landscape qualities of AONBs are equivalent to those of National Parks, and that the protection given to both types of area by the land use planning system should also be equivalent. The Chilterns Conservation Board was established by Parliamentary Order in July 2004. It is an independent body comprising 27 members drawn from the relevant local authorities and from those living in local communities within
2773-456: The library as 'Midsomer Library'. At least one episode of the TV series Inspector Morse was filmed partly in Watlington, with the nearby Shirburn Castle appearing as the Balcombe family home in the episode Happy Families. The 2014 film Fury , starring Brad Pitt , was partly filmed in and near Watlington. The pivotal balloon-accident-scene in the opening chapter of the novel Enduring Love by Ian McEwan takes place on an escarpment of
2832-409: The main turnpike routes which coursed through the navigable valleys. The development of canals in the 18th century and railways in the 19th century encouraged settlement and the growth of High Wycombe , Tring , and Luton . Significant housing and industrial development took place in the first half of the 20th century and continued throughout the 20th century. In 1965 almost half of the Chiltern Hills
2891-464: The modern street plan was in existence in the 14th century, as Cochynes-lane (Couching Street), and Brook Street are recorded. There are records of inns in Watlington since the 15th century. In 1722 the town's market was listed as being held on a Saturday. By the end of the 18th century the town had six inns, all of which were bought up in the next few years by a local brewing family, the Haywards. The number of licensed premises increased until late in
2950-516: The parish of Lewknor in Oxfordshire , with smaller sections in the parish of Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire . The reserve is home to plants and butterflies of chalk grassland . The flowers include at least seven species of orchid and the Chiltern gentian ; the butterflies include the silver-spotted skipper and the Adonis blue . As well as chalk grassland, the reserve contains woodland with beech , yew , and juniper . Overhead, reintroduced red kites are resident. The Aston Rowant reserve
3009-721: The reduction of sheep grazing , action has been taken to maintain open downland by suppressing the natural growth of scrub and birch woodland. In the 1920s and 1930s, the Youth Hostels Association established several youth hostels for people visiting the hills. The hills have been used as a location for telecommunication relay stations such as Stokenchurch BT Tower and that at Zouches Farm . The Chilterns are an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and so enjoys special protection from major developments, which should not take place in such areas except in exceptional circumstances. This protection applies to major development proposals that raise issues of national significance. In 2000
SECTION 50
#17327796838823068-474: The reintroduction programme based in the Chilterns was so successful that the local population has now self-generated to a level of approximately 200 pairs and chicks are now taken from the Chilterns population for reintroduction projects elsewhere in the UK. In the summer of 2004, seeds of the interrupted brome grass , which had become extinct in the wild, were dispersed at the Aston Rowant NNR. The plants successfully germinated, fruited and persisted. This marked
3127-470: The southernmost extent of the ice sheet during the Anglian glacial maximum . The Chilterns are part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England, formed between 65 and 95 million years ago, comprising rocks of the Chalk Group ; this also includes Salisbury Plain , Cranborne Chase , the Isle of Wight and the South Downs in the south. In the north, the chalk formations continue northeastwards across Hertfordshire , Norfolk and
3186-399: The town hall, which was no longer used as a school, was in disrepair. In 1907 it was restored by public subscription. It is a landmark at the meeting point of three roads in the centre of the town. Since 1990 Watlington has been twinned with the town of Mansle in the Poitou-Charentes region of France. The Watlington Hoard , a collection of silver items dating back to the time of Alfred
3245-412: The town in 1766, 1774 and 1775. The current Wesleyan chapel was built in 1812, and now forms part of the Oxford Methodist Circuit . Early years and primary education in Watlington is provided by Watlington Primary School, first opened in 1874. Lower secondary education for students up to the age of 16 from Watlington and many of the surrounding villages is provided by Icknield Community College ,
3304-401: Was built at the expense of Thomas Stonor. Its upper room was endowed by Stonor as a grammar school for boys, and in 1731 Dame Alice Tipping of Ewelme gave a further endowment to increase the number of pupils. In 1842 the town Vestry established a National School , which shared the same rooms in the town hall. In 1843 a National School for girls was built next to St Leonard's church. In 1872
3363-522: Was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The western edge of the Chilterns is notable for ancient strip parishes , elongated parishes with villages in the flatter land below the escarpment, and woodland and summer pastures in the higher land. The hills have been used for their natural resources for millennia . The chalk has been quarried for the manufacture of cement, and flint for local building material. Beechwoods supplied furniture makers with quality hardwood . The area
3422-446: Was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The northwest boundary is clearly defined by the escarpment . The dip slope is by definition more gradual, and merges with the landscape to the southeast. The southwest endpoint is the River Thames . The hills decline slowly in prominence in northeast Bedfordshire. The chalk escarpment of the Chiltern Hills overlooks the Vale of Aylesbury and roughly coincides with
3481-455: Was once (and still is to a lesser degree) renowned for its chair-making industry, centred on the towns of Chesham and High Wycombe (the nickname of Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is the Chairboys). Water was and remains a scarce resource in the Chilterns. Historically it was drawn from the aquifer via ponds , deep wells , occasional springs or bournes and chalk streams and rivers. The River Chess directly supplies watercress beds. Today
#881118