Titnore Wood
Encyclopedia
Titnore Wood is an area of ancient woodland
to the north-west of Worthing
in West Sussex
. With neighbouring Goring Wood it forms one of the last remaining blocks of ancient woodland on the West Sussex coastal plain.
Since 2006 land in and around the wood has been the site of a proposed major urban extension to the Worthing suburb of West Durrington
. The proposed development has prompted environmental protestors to tree-sit within the wood since May 2006.
Titnore wood is a Site of Nature Conservation Interest
, as is neighbouring Goring Wood and Highdown Hill
. Much of the site lies within the boundaries of the new South Downs National Park
.
estate, a grade I listed country house built at the end of the 18th century for Sir Bysshe Shelley, grandfather of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley
. Titnore wood lies to the east of Titnore Lane, an ancient droveway from the coastal plain onto the South Downs
. To the south of the wood lies a lake, known as Titnore Lake or Castle Goring Lake. The lake is fed by streams from surrounding farmland which in turn feeds the Ferring Rife which flows into the English Channel
at Ferring
.
(part of Taylor Woodrow) and Persimmon Homes. The proposal required the loss of around 275 trees including some from the proposal to straighten Titnore Lane to improve the flow of traffic. In May 2006 a group of around 25 environmentalist protesters moved into the wood, constructing tree houses and a network of tunnels. In July 2006, the landowner was granted a possession order from the High Court
to remove the protesters. In March 2010 councillors at Worthing Borough Council voted unanimously to reject the development plans.
and ash are the predominant species in the wood. There are frequent silver birch
, field maple
, hazel
and common hawthorn
. Mammals include mole
, shrew
, dormouse
, bank vole
, woodmouse, grey squirrel
, weasel
, fox
, as well as various bat species. Species of bat which can be found in the wood including the Pipistrelle bat, Serotine bat
, Natterer's bat
, Noctule bat and long-eared bat. Species of bird found include Eurasian Jay
, common pheasant
, chaffinch
, carrion crow
, wood pigeon, robin
, chiffchaff
, wren
, magpie
, dunnock
, great spotted woodpecker
, lesser spotted woodpecker
, tree creeper, tawny owl
, common kestrel
, great tit
, long-tailed tit
, blackbird, nuthatch
and whitethroat
.
Ancient woodland
Ancient woodland is a term used in the United Kingdom to refer specifically to woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England and Wales . Before those dates, planting of new woodland was uncommon, so a wood present in 1600 was likely to have developed naturally...
to the north-west of Worthing
Worthing
Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
in West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
. With neighbouring Goring Wood it forms one of the last remaining blocks of ancient woodland on the West Sussex coastal plain.
Since 2006 land in and around the wood has been the site of a proposed major urban extension to the Worthing suburb of West Durrington
Durrington, West Sussex
Durrington is a neighbourhood of the Borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. It is situated near the A27 road, northwest of the town centre.Durrington means 'Dēora's farmstead', Dēora presumably being the name of a Saxon settler...
. The proposed development has prompted environmental protestors to tree-sit within the wood since May 2006.
Titnore wood is a Site of Nature Conservation Interest
Site of Nature Conservation Interest
Site of Nature Conservation Interest is a designation used in many parts of the United Kingdom to protect areas of importance for wildlife and geology at a county scale...
, as is neighbouring Goring Wood and Highdown Hill
Highdown Hill
Highdown Hill is a prominent hill in the South Downs, as its name suggests, reaching a height of . The summit of the hill and its western slopes lie in the parish of Ferring in the Arun district, while its eastern slopes lie in the borough of Worthing. It is a popular spot for picnickers,...
. Much of the site lies within the boundaries of the new South Downs National Park
South Downs National Park
The South Downs National Park is England's newest National Park, having become fully operational on 1 April 2011. The park, covering an area of in southern England, stretches for from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east through the counties of Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex...
.
Location
Titnore wood lies to the north-west of Worthing, a large town on the coast of West Sussex. The wood was formerly part of the Castle GoringCastle Goring
Castle Goring is a grade one listed country house in Worthing, in Sussex, England.The building to some extent defies categorisation, being neither fully a castle, nor is it fully in Goring. The word is often used for English country houses constructed after the castle-building era and not...
estate, a grade I listed country house built at the end of the 18th century for Sir Bysshe Shelley, grandfather of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...
. Titnore wood lies to the east of Titnore Lane, an ancient droveway from the coastal plain onto the South Downs
South Downs
The South Downs is a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east. It is bounded on its northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose...
. To the south of the wood lies a lake, known as Titnore Lake or Castle Goring Lake. The lake is fed by streams from surrounding farmland which in turn feeds the Ferring Rife which flows into the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
at Ferring
Ferring
Ferring is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It is part of the built-up area of Worthing and is located on the A259 road west of the town. The parish has a land area of 430.6 hectares...
.
Proposed development
In 2003 a new greenfield development was put forward for 875 homes by the West Durrington Consortium, a group made of Heron Corporation, Bryant HomesBryant Homes
Bryant Homes was one of the larger UK housebuilders when it was acquired by Taylor Woodrow in 2001; Bryant then became the principal housebuilding operation of the enlarged group. Taylor Woodrow merged with Wimpey in 2007 and during 2010 the Bryant brand was phased out...
(part of Taylor Woodrow) and Persimmon Homes. The proposal required the loss of around 275 trees including some from the proposal to straighten Titnore Lane to improve the flow of traffic. In May 2006 a group of around 25 environmentalist protesters moved into the wood, constructing tree houses and a network of tunnels. In July 2006, the landowner was granted a possession order from the High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
to remove the protesters. In March 2010 councillors at Worthing Borough Council voted unanimously to reject the development plans.
Flora and fauna
OakOak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
and ash are the predominant species in the wood. There are frequent silver birch
Silver Birch
Betula pendula is a widespread European birch, though in southern Europe it is only found at higher altitudes. Its range extends into southwest Asia in the mountains of northern Turkey and the Caucasus...
, field maple
Field Maple
Acer campestre, common name Field Maple, is a maple native to much of Europe, north to southern Scotland , Denmark, Poland and Belarus, and also southwest Asia from Turkey to the Caucasus, and north Africa in the Atlas Mountains...
, hazel
Hazel
The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins...
and common hawthorn
Common Hawthorn
Crataegus monogyna, known as common hawthorn or single-seeded hawthorn, is a species of hawthorn native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia. It has been introduced in many other parts of the world where it is an invasive weed...
. Mammals include mole
Mole (animal)
Moles are small cylindrical mammals adapted to a subterranean lifestyle. They have velvety fur; tiny or invisible ears and eyes; and short, powerful limbs with large paws oriented for digging. The term is especially and most properly used for the true moles, those of the Talpidae family in the...
, shrew
Shrew
A shrew or shrew mouse is a small molelike mammal classified in the order Soricomorpha. True shrews are also not to be confused with West Indies shrews, treeshrews, otter shrews, or elephant shrews, which belong to different families or orders.Although its external appearance is generally that of...
, dormouse
Dormouse
Dormice are rodents of the family Gliridae. Dormice are mostly found in Europe, although some live in Africa and Asia. They are particularly known for their long periods of hibernation...
, bank vole
Bank Vole
The bank vole is a small vole with red-brown fur and some grey patches, with a tail about half as long as its body. A rodent, it lives in woodland areas and is around in length. The bank vole is found in western Europe and northern Asia...
, woodmouse, grey squirrel
Eastern Gray Squirrel
The eastern gray squirrel is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus native to the eastern and midwestern United States, and to the southerly portions of the eastern provinces of Canada...
, weasel
Weasel
Weasels are mammals forming the genus Mustela of the Mustelidae family. They are small, active predators, long and slender with short legs....
, fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
, as well as various bat species. Species of bat which can be found in the wood including the Pipistrelle bat, Serotine bat
Serotine bat
The serotine bat Eptesicus serotinus is a fairly large European bat with quite large ears. It has a wingspan of around 370mm and often hunts in woodland. It sometimes roosts in buildings, hanging upside down, in small groups or individually...
, Natterer's bat
Natterer's bat
Natterer's bat is a European bat with pale wings. It has brown fur, also seen on the leg wing membrane, tending to white on its underside...
, Noctule bat and long-eared bat. Species of bird found include Eurasian Jay
Eurasian Jay
The Eurasian Jay is a species of bird occurring over a vast region from Western Europe and north-west Africa to the Indian Subcontinent and further to the eastern seaboard of Asia and down into south-east Asia...
, common pheasant
Common Pheasant
The Common Pheasant , is a bird in the pheasant family . It is native to Georgia and has been widely introduced elsewhere as a game bird. In parts of its range, namely in places where none of its relatives occur such as in Europe , it is simply known as the "pheasant"...
, chaffinch
Chaffinch
The Chaffinch , also called by a wide variety of other names, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.- Description :...
, carrion crow
Carrion Crow
The Carrion Crow is a member of the passerine order of birds and the crow family which is native to western Europe and eastern Asia.-Taxonomy:...
, wood pigeon, robin
European Robin
The European Robin , most commonly known in Anglophone Europe simply as the Robin, is a small insectivorous passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family , but is now considered to be an Old World flycatcher...
, chiffchaff
Chiffchaff
The Common Chiffchaff, or simply the Chiffchaff, is a common and widespread leaf-warbler which breeds in open woodlands throughout northern and temperate Europe and Asia....
, wren
Wren
The wrens are passerine birds in the mainly New World family Troglodytidae. There are approximately 80 species of true wrens in approximately 20 genera....
, magpie
Magpie
Magpies are passerine birds of the crow family, Corvidae.In Europe, "magpie" is often used by English speakers as a synonym for the European Magpie, as there are no other magpies in Europe outside Iberia...
, dunnock
Dunnock
The Dunnock, Prunella modularis, is a small passerine bird found throughout temperate Europe and into Asia. It is by far the most widespread member of the accentor family, which otherwise consists of mountain species...
, great spotted woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
The Great Spotted Woodpecker , Dendrocopos major, is a bird species of the woodpecker family . It is distributed throughout Europe and northern Asia, and usually resident year-round except in the colder parts of its range...
, lesser spotted woodpecker
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is a member of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is assigned to the genus Dendrocopos ....
, tree creeper, tawny owl
Tawny Owl
The Tawny Owl or Brown Owl is a stocky, medium-sized owl commonly found in woodlands across much of Eurasia. Its underparts are pale with dark streaks, and the upperparts are either brown or grey. Several of the eleven recognised subspecies have both variants...
, common kestrel
Common Kestrel
The Common Kestrel is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European Kestrel, Eurasian Kestrel, or Old World Kestrel. In Britain, where no other brown falcon occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".This species...
, great tit
Great Tit
The Great Tit is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common species throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central and Northern Asia, and parts of North Africa in any sort of woodland. It is generally resident, and most Great Tits do not migrate except in extremely...
, long-tailed tit
Long-tailed Tit
The Long-tailed Tit or Long-tailed Bushtit is a common bird found throughout Europe and Asia. There are several extensive accounts of this species, most notably Cramp and Perrins, 1993; Gaston, 1973; and Harrap and Quinn, 1996...
, blackbird, nuthatch
Nuthatch
The nuthatches are a genus, Sitta, of small passerine birds belonging to the family Sittidae. Characterised by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet, nuthatches advertise their territory using loud, simple songs...
and whitethroat
Whitethroat
The Common Whitethroat, Sylvia communis, is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds throughout Europe and across much of temperate western Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical Africa, Arabia and Pakistan.This is one of several Sylvia species...
.