Marsden Moor Estate
Encyclopedia
Moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
situated in the Pennines, between the conurbation
Conurbation
A conurbation is a region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area...
s of West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
and Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
in the north of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is named after the adjacent small town of Marsden
Marsden, West Yorkshire
Marsden is a large village within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, west of Huddersfield and located at the confluence of the River Colne and the Wessenden Brook...
, and is owned and administered by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
to whom it was conveyed in 1955 by the Radcliffe family
Radcliffe Baronets
The Radcliffe Baronetcy, of Milnsbridge House in the County of York, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 2 November 1813 for Joseph Radcliffe as a reward for his public services....
in lieu of death duties.
The estate covers some 2,429 ha
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
(5,685 acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s) of unenclosed common moorland and almost surrounds Marsden. It forms the most northerly section of the Peak District National Park. The landscape is made up of valleys, peaks and crags and has long been modified by man. The fact that Marsden forms the eastern gateway to the important Standedge
Standedge
Standedge is a moorland escarpment in the Pennine Hills of northern England. Located between Marsden and Diggle, on the edges of the metropolitan counties of West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester respectively, Standedge has been a major moorland crossing point since Roman times and possibly...
crossing of the moors has resulted in the presence of transport related archaeological remains dating from pre-Roman times to the great engineering structures of the canal and railway ages. The moors have also been used as a water catchment area since the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
, and several reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
s are present, along with their associated catchwater
Catchwater
A catchwater is a large-scale man-made device for catching surface runoff from hills and channelling it to reservoirs for later usage as a part of the public water supply....
s.
The landscape supports large numbers of moorland birds such as the Golden Plover
Golden Plover
There are three species of wading birds in the plover family called Golden Plover. They are* Eurasian Golden Plover, Pluvialis apricaria* Pacific Golden Plover, Pluvialis fulva* American Golden Plover, Pluvialis dominica...
, Red Grouse
Red grouse
The Red Grouse is a medium sized bird of the grouse family which is found in heather moorland in Great Britain and Ireland. It is usually classified as a subspecies of the Willow Grouse but is sometimes considered to be a separate species Lagopus scoticus...
, Curlew
Curlew
The curlews , genus Numenius, are a group of eight species of birds, characterised by long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. They are one of the most ancient lineages of scolopacid waders, together with the godwits which look similar but have straight bills...
and Twite
Twite
The Twite is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.The Twite is a small finch, similar in size and shape to a Linnet. Birds of the subspecies flavirostris are long, and those of the subspecies altaica are long. It lacks the red head patch and breast shown by the Linnet and the...
. The estate is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
, forms part of an Special Protection Area
Special Protection Area
A Special Protection Area or SPA is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certain particularly threatened birds.Together with Special...
and is a candidate Special Area of Conservation
Special Area of Conservation
A Special Area of Conservation is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive , also known as the Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora...
.
The estate is managed from a base in the old goods yard, adjacent to Marsden railway station
Marsden railway station
Marsden railway station serves the village of Marsden near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. The station is on the Huddersfield Line, operated by Northern Rail and is about west of Huddersfield station...
, and the old goods shed has been converted into a public exhibition, entitled Welcome to Marsden, which gives an overview of the estate and its history.