Ufton Fields
Encyclopedia
| Ufton Fields SSSI | |
|---|---|
| Area of Search Area of Search Areas of Search are geographical areas used in the selection of Sites of Special Scientific Interest. In England these are largely based on the 1974–1996 administrative counties... |
United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
| Grid Reference Grid reference Grid references define locations on maps using Cartesian coordinates. Grid lines on maps define the coordinate system, and are numbered to provide a unique reference to features.... |
SP378615 |
| Interest | Wildlife |
| Area | West Midlands West Midlands (region) The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,... |
| Notification | 1981 |
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...
(Site of Special Scientific Interest) and nature reserve in Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, 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 situated on the A425
A425 road
The A425 road is an A road in England, which runs between Daventry in Northamptonshire and Warwick in Warwickshire via Staverton, Lower Shuckburgh and Southam.At Southam it links with the A426 as well as the A423....
close to the village of Ufton
Ufton
Ufton is a small village in the Stratford District of Warwickshire, England. It is south east of Leamington Spa and west of Southam on the A425 road. It sits on top of a glacial escarpment 121 metres above sea level which was formed during the last ice age...
, between Southam
Southam
Southam is a small market town in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. The 2001 census recorded a population of 6,509 in the town.The nearest sizeable town to Southam is Leamington Spa, located roughly 7 miles to the west...
and Leamington Spa
Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...
. The reserve is owned by Warwickshire County Council
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
and is administered and run by the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust
Warwickshire Wildlife Trust
The Warwickshire Wildlife Trust is a Wildlife Trust and Registered Charity covering the county of Warwickshire and Solihull and Coventry in the county of West Midlands, England. The Trust aims to protect and enhance wildlife, natural habitats and geology throughout Warwickshire, Coventry and...
. It covers an area of 77 acres (311,608.2 m²).
History
The site was originally agricultural, but in the 1950s had a change of use to quarryingQuarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
, when Portland Cement (later Blue Circle Cement
Blue Circle Industries
Blue Circle Industries was a British public company manufacturing cement. It was founded in 1900, and was bought out by the French company Lafarge in 2001.-History:...
) began extracting limestone for use in cement making. After quarrying ceased, the site was handed over to Warwickshire County Council in 1972. It became a Local Nature Reserve before gaining SSSI status in 1981.
Habitats
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s, especially butterflies, it is also rich in flora such as orchids, and numerous species of bird.