Walthamstow Marshes
Encyclopedia
London Borough of Waltham Forest
The London Borough of Waltham Forest is in northeast London, England. Officially, it forms part of Outer London as it borders Essex. However, it can be seen that the NE London boundary does not extend far compared to elsewhere in the city...
, 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...
SSSI. It was once an area of lammas land — strips of meadow used for growing crops and grazing cattle.
In 1909, the aero-designer Alliott Verdon Roe
Alliott Verdon Roe
Sir Edwin Alliott Verdon Roe OBE, FRAeS was a pioneer English pilot and aircraft manufacturer, and founder in 1910 of the Avro company...
made the first all-British powered flight across the marsh in a Roe I Triplane (his earlier Roe I Biplane
Roe I Biplane
|-See also:* I * II Triplane* III Triplane* IV Triplane-External links:*...
had been fitted with a French motorcycle engine). He went on to found the Avro
Avro
Avro was a British aircraft manufacturer, with numerous landmark designs such as the Avro 504 trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the delta wing Avro Vulcan, a stalwart of the Cold War.-Early history:One of the world's...
Company, with his brother, in Manchester. A blue plaque
Blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker....
records his achievement, on the railway arch in which he had his workshop.
Geography
The River Lea forms the boundary with the London Borough of HackneyLondon Borough of Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....
, and the marshes lie within the Lee Valley Park
Lee Valley Park
Lee Valley Regional Park is a long linear park, much of it green spaces, running through the northeast of London, Essex and Hertfordshire from the River Thames to Ware in Hertfordshire, England through areas such as Hackney, Tottenham, Enfield, Stratford, Tower Hamlets, Walthamstow, Cheshunt,...
. South of the Walthamstow Marshes lie the Hackney Marshes
Hackney Marshes
Hackney Marshes is an area of grassland on the western bank of the River Lea in the London Borough of Hackney. It was incorporated into the Lee Valley Park in 1967...
, and to the north the remains of the Tottenham Marshes, now principally the Banbury Reservoir
Banbury Reservoir
Banbury Reservoir is located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest at Walthamstow. It is one of the storage reservoirs in the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain. The reservoir is owned by Thames Water.- History:...
. North of Coppermill Lane, are the linked set of Lockwood Reservoir
Lockwood Reservoir
Lockwood Reservoir is located in Walthamstow in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is one of the ten Walthamstow Reservoirs, which are part of the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain...
, High Maynard Reservoir
High Maynard Reservoir
High Maynard Reservoir is located in Walthamstow in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The storage reservoir is one of the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain and supplies drinking water to London.- History :...
, Low Maynard Reservoir
Low Maynard Reservoir
Low Maynard Reservoir is located in Walthamstow in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The storage reservoir is part of the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain and supplies drinking water to London.- History:...
, Walthamstow Reservoirs
Walthamstow Reservoirs
The Walthamstow Reservoirs are located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest at Walthamstow. They form part of the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain which supplies drinking water to London, and are owned and managed by Thames Water....
, East Warwick Reservoir
East Warwick Reservoir
East Warwick Reservoir is located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest at Walthamstow. The storage reservoir is part of the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain and supplies drinking water to London...
and West Warwick Reservoir
West Warwick Reservoir
West Warwick Reservoir is located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest at Walthamstow. The storage reservoir is part of the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain, which supplies drinking water to London...
s. The 90.7 acres (36.7 ha) area of marsh south of these escaped both development and use for gravel excavation to become an untouched refuge for wildlife, crossed only by the railway lines in 1840 and 1870.
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
es are one of the last remaining examples of semi-natural wetland in Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
. They contain a variety of plant communities typical of a former flood plain location, such as a range of neutral grassland types, sedge marsh, reed swamp, sallow scrub and areas of tall herb vegetation. Associated with this diversity of habitat are several species of plant and insect which are uncommon in the London area.
Wildlife
Volucella inanis
Volucella inanis is a species of hoverfly belonging to the family Syrphidae.-Description:The adults reach long and can be encountered from early July to early September, feeding on flowers of various species such as yarrow , dill , heather , thistles and...
, a pyralid
Pyraloidea
The Pyraloidea are a moth superfamily containing about 16,000 described species worldwide , and probably at least as many more remain to be described. They are generally fairly small moths....
moth Shoeribius micronellus and the sporadic breeding by the nationally-endangered Marsh Warbler
Marsh Warbler
The Marsh Warbler, Acrocephalus palustris, is an Old World warbler currently classified in the family Acrocephalidae. It breeds in temperate Europe and western Asia and winters mainly in south east Africa...
.
The breeding bird community contains several species typically associated with marshland habitats such as reed bunting, reed, sedge and willow warblers. A variety of wintering birds visit the marshes and neighbouring reservoirs while in autumn flocks of finches are to be found feeding on the seeds of the tall herbs.
Split Leaf
