Wychwood

For other uses, see Wychwood (disambiguation).

Wychwood
Site of Special Scientific Interest
LocationOxfordshire
Grid referenceSP 337 170[1]
InterestBiological
Area501.7 hectares (1,240 acres)[1]
Notification1988[1]
Location mapMagic Map

Wychwood or Wychwood Forest is a 501.7-hectare (1,240-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Witney in Oxfordshire.[1][2] It is also a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 1,[3] and an area of 263.4 hectares (651 acres) is a national nature reserve[4][5] The site contains a long barrow dating to the Neolithic period, which is a scheduled monument.[6]

In past centuries the forest covered a much larger area, since cleared in favour of agriculture, villages and towns. However, the forest's area has fluctuated. Parts cleared for agriculture during Britain's centuries under Roman rule later reverted to forest.[7] The existence of the ancient Wychwood is recognised by the authoritative Victoria County History, but the planned Volume XIX has yet to be completed.[8]

  1. ^ a b c d "Designated Sites View: Wychwood". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Map of Wychwood". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  3. ^ Ratcliffe, Derek, ed. (1977). A Nature Conservation Review. Vol. 2. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 51, 170, 302. ISBN 0521-21403-3.
  4. ^ "Designated Sites View: Wychwood". National Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  5. ^ "Map of Wychwood". National Nature Reverses. Natural England. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  6. ^ Historic England. "Long barrow 150m west of Churchill Copse in Wychwood Forest (1011216)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  7. ^ Rackham 1976, p. 50.
  8. ^ "Wychwood and Cornbury" (PDF). Victoria County History. University of London. Retrieved 12 December 2017.