Kinver Edge
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Kinver Edge | |
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Kinver as seen from Holy Austin Rock Houses | |
Highest point | |
Elevation | 164 m (538 ft) |
Listing | None |
Coordinates | 52°27′00″N 2°14′34″W / 52.4501°N 2.2427°W |
Geography | |
Location | Staffordshire, England |
OS grid | SO829824 |
Topo map | OS Landranger 102 |
Kinver Edge is a high
History
Kinver Edge is a remnant of the Mercian forest, although much planting dates from post-1945. There are two Iron Age hillforts on Kinver Edge; the larger one, Kinver Edge Hillfort, is at the northern end, while the other is at the southern end, on a promontory known as Drakelow Hill.
The area has been a popular local tourist destination since Edwardian times, when an electric tramway, the Kinver Light Railway, connected Kinver to the Birmingham tram system.
The National Trust was given 198 acres of Kinver Edge in 1917 by the children of Thomas Grosvenor Lee, a Birmingham solicitor born in Kinver, in memory of Lee and his wife. The Trust acquired a further 85 acres between 1964 and 1980.[1] In 2014 Worcestershire Council Cabinet approved the transfer of Kingsford Forest Park (also known as Kingsford Country Park) to the National Trust.[2] The Forest Park, which covered approximately 200 acres (0.81 km2), lay entirely in Worcestershire where it adjoined the southern end of the Edge. The transfer had been completed by 2018, with 'Kingsford Forest Park' signs being replaced by 'National Trust Kinver Edge' signs. The total area covered by Kinver Edge now amounts to approximately 600 acres.[note 1]
Rock Houses
Kinver Edge is home to the last
Other cave dwellings found on Kinver Edge include:
- Nanny's Rock, a large cavern with five compartments which was apparently never converted into a house. For many years it was known as 'Meg-o-Fox-Hole'; the parish register records the death on 8 June 1617 of one 'Margaret of the fox earth' who may have lived there.[3]
- Vale's Rock, also known as Crow's Rock, later turned into a house on two levels. It was also inhabited until the 1960s but due to its dangerous condition has since been fenced off to prevent public access.[4]
Geography
Kinver Edge is situated to the east of the
The Edge is a sandstone ridge topped with Bunter pebbles, and is subject to erosion.
Flora and fauna
Kinver Edge contains two areas of
The heathland on Kinver Edge is inhabited by
From time to time longhorn cattle are allowed to graze on the heathland areas.
Contemporary uses
The primary economic activity is tourism and estate management. The Staffordshire Way long-distance footpath passes over the summit, while the North Worcestershire Path runs through the former Forest Park, which is also used for mountain biking.
References
- ISBN 0-903363-46-1.
- ^ "Agenda item - Call-in: Transfer of Kingsford Forest Park to the National Trust". 12 November 2014.
- ISBN 0-9506253-0-2.
- ISBN 0-9506253-0-2.
- ^ Proposals displayed on National Trust noticeboards at the Edge, February 2020
Notes
- ^ Subsequent to the incorporation of the Forest Park, National Trust notices displayed in 2019 requesting that dogs be kept on leads during the breeding season for heathland birds stated "This request only applies to around 100 acres of the approximately 600 acres of Kinver Edge".
External links
- Kinver Edge and the Rock Houses - National Trust
- Internet Guide to Stourbridge Kinver Page
- BBC Radio 4 documentary about Kinver Edge (listen online)
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Summit of Kinver Edge
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Holy Austin Rock Houses
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Unrestored rock houses