Green Spaces and Hidden Places - Malvern Hills Conservators

The presence of indicator species such as yellowarchangel, pignut, dogwood and bluebell showsthat Fish Pool Leys Coppice, between JubileeDrive and Ledbury Road, is an ancient woodland.The multi-stemmed hazel and chestnut stoolsconfirm that, as its name suggests, this wood wasmanaged for coppicing.In Mathon, the Conservators have recentlyacquired The Hacketts, 20 hectares of unimprovedmeadow and ancient woodland which givewonderful views of the Malvern Hills.PowickOld Hills has many interesting historical features,including remnants of medieval ridge and furrow.Oliver Cromwell’s parliamentarian army campedhere in September 1651 before winning thedecisive Battle of Worcester. Local commonersstill graze animals, including geese, on thecommon land.Castlemorton and HollybedCastlemorton Common is a relic of MalvernChase, the royal hunting ground which stretchedfrom the Malvern Hills to the River Severn. Largeareas of the common have never been cultivatedand are still grazed by commoners’ cattle andsheep. Castlemorton Common is a notable site forone of Britain’s rarest trees, the black poplar, andhas been declared a Site of Special ScientificInterest (SSSI) in recognition of its nationalimportance as a plant and wildlife habitat. The areaaround the Mill Pond in Golden Valley is afavourite local beauty spot.Grass VergesOne of the most attractive features of the Malvernarea are the broad grass verges along the roads.Many of these are owned and maintained by theMalvern Hills Conservators, including those atSherrard’s Green, Poolbrook, Hall Green,Guarlford, Newland Green, Townsend Way and theRhydd. Along Guarlford Road, the verges are oldgrassland with a high number of wildflower speciesand are managed as a hay crop.The Malvern Hills ConservatorsThe Malvern Hills Conservators are one of Britain’soldest conservation bodies and a registeredcharity. They own, or have under their jurisdiction,most of the Malvern Hills and Commons (a totalarea of 1,200 hectares or 3,000 acres) andmanage them to preserve their unique ecology andnatural beauty.A map highlighting the location of all the landowned by the Malvern Hills Conservators can beviewed or purchased at the Conservators’ Office.For more information about the Conservators andtheir work, please contact:The Malvern Hills Conservators, Manor House,Grange Road, Malvern, Worcestershire WR14 3EYOffice open weekdays 9am–1pm and 2pm–4pm.Telephone: 01684 892002 Fax: 01684 577457E mail: conservators@malvernhills.org.ukwww. malvernhills.org.ukCharity No. 515804 Published 2004Cover image: Wild garlic at Fish Pool Leys CoppicePhotography by Vincent DolanM HCMalvern HillsGreen spacesand hidden placesM HC

The Malvern Hills Conservators are best knownfor caring for the hills after which they are named,but they also own and protect many other greenspaces in the area. Like all land owned by theConservators, the woods, meadows, commonsand ancient tracks featured in this leaflet are opento the public. We hope you enjoy exploring them.Around MalvernSituated close to the centre of Great Malvern offAlbert Road North, Woodford’s Meadow is namedafter Guy Woodford, a local resident whospearheaded the campaign to save this greenspace for the townspeople. Between GreatMalvern and Malvern Wells, the 60 plus hectares ofMalvern Common are a mix of open grassland,magnificent mature trees, streams, ponds andspecies-rich wetlands.In West Malvern, Horsecroft Coppice is an almostuntouched ancient woodland, with high numbers ofthe nationally rare wild service tree, whose berrieswere once used to cure colic and dysentery. Thelarge amount of dead wood in the coppice makes ita very biodiverse habitat, of particular value tobeetles. Walmspout Coppice has largely beengrazed out, but has some small-leaved limes,which indicate that it is an ancient (at least 400years old) semi-natural woodland. The nearbymeadows are noted for their wetland flora. ParkWood is another ancient semi-natural woodland,which is home to plants like field maple and dog’smercury, as well as being the site of old limekilnsand quarries.In North Malvern, Kendalls Common houses thepound and stocks, whilst in nearby Lodge Fields,there are old stone boundary walls and a bank andditch marks the site of the hedgerow which oncedivided the meadow.Link Common stretches for 22 hectares betweenNorth Malvern and Malvern Link. In Victorian times,Link Common was the place where day-trippersThe Mill Pond at Golden ValleyWood StreetYellow archaengel isone of a number ofancient semi-naturalwoodland indicatorspecies. These plantstake several centuriesto colonise an area,so their presence insignificant numbersindicates that thewoodland has existedfor at least 400 years.from the industrial towns of the Midlandsconverged before heading up to the hills; today, thetwo annual fairs on the common continue acenturies-old tradition.Around GuarlfordWood Street, part of an ancient drover’s trackwhich ran from the river crossings at the Rhyddand Clevelode, across the Malvern Hills at theWyche Cutting and down the Purlieu intoHerefordshire, has definitely been in use fromAnglo Saxon times and possibly dates from theprehistoric era. Today it is a green lane whichstarts in Guarlford and runs towards GreatMalvern; at the end of Wood Street, a series offootpaths lead across fields to the town. Jack PitsLane is a remnant of the historic “wastes” ofthe manor of Malvern and is also now a greenlane.The Ryhdd and ClevelodeOriginally major wharfs and crossing points on theRiver Severn, all that remains of these once busyvillages is a few cottages and the foundations oflost buildings. The Conservators care for RhyddGreen, where offenders against the laws of theroyal forest were hung in medieval times, and asection of the riverbank at Clevelode. Clevelodevillage was known for its basket weaving in theMiddle Ages and osiers still grow in abundancealong the riverbank; the stone for Malvern Priorywas unloaded at the wharf here.Colwall and MathonBallard’s Land, a series of small meadowsadjacent to the Malvern Hills, has interestingunimproved grassland flora and is the best sitein Herefordshire for Heath-Spotted Orchids.Nearby, at Colwall Lands, south of the Purlieu,the underlying limestone creates a good habitatfor common rock rose and salad burnet.

We have been told that many of the “Hidden Places” are so well hidden that some people have not been able to find them from theinformation given on the original printed leaflet. We have now added this extra page of information to our Web Site version of the leafletgiving grid references for all the places referred to:-“Hidden Place” OS Grid Reference Addition Information Add your own notesBallard's Land 764 426Clevelode 835 468Colwall Lands 762 439Fish Pool Leys Coppice 761 404Horsecroft Coppice 76177 46804 Go through Outdoor CentreJack Pits Lane 801 454Kendalls Common 77402 46872 Off the PurlieuLink Common 780 472Park Wood 76312 44309Rhydd Green 836 451The Hacketts 756 440Wood Street 809 449