Mousehold Heath
Mousehold Heath is a freely accessible area of
The name also refers to the much larger area of open heath that once extended from Norwich almost to the Broads, and which was kept free of trees by both human activity and the action of animals grazing on saplings. This landscape was transformed by enclosure during the 19th century and has now largely disappeared, as almost all of it has since been converted into farmland or landscaped parks, reverted to woodland, or has been absorbed by the rapid expansion of Norwich and its surrounding villages, where new roads, shops, houses and industrial units have been built. The present Mousehold Heath consists of mostly broad-leaf woodland, with isolated areas of heath that are actively managed. It is home to a number of rare insects, birds and other vertebrates.
A
Description
Mousehold Heath is a 184-acre (74 ha) public area of heathland, woodland and recreational open space to be found to the north of Norwich city centre. It is the largest of the
Geology
The landscape of Mousehold Heath (as it was before enclosure occurred at the beginning of the 19th century) is part of an
Chalk was deposited 75 million years ago, when the area was part of a warm, tropical sea. The chalk is now exposed near the southern tip of the heath at St James' Pit, which is an 8.6-acre (3.5 ha) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest[3][4] and Geological Conservation Review site.[5] About two million years ago sands, gravels, quartz pebbles and clays were deposited across the area of Norfolk that now includes the heath. Similar materials were deposited during a glacial period that occurred more than 475,000 years ago. Clay, sand and gravel was laid over Mousehold Heath about 425,000 years ago, caused by the movement of melted ice. The heath's present landscape was more recently formed as a result of erosion, caused by streams cutting through the soft rocks. It later became altered when silts were blown over the topsoil, when the ground churned as a result of temperature variations and when sludge layers moved downhill during warmer seasons.[6]
Detailed information about the geological history of the present Mousehold Heath, in the form of a 'Heritage Trail' leaflet and accompanying notes for points around the trail, has been produced by Norwich City Council.[7]
Etymology
Various ideas have been proposed for the origin of the heath's name. The old name Mushold is nowadays interpreted as meaning 'mouse wood':
History
Medieval times
Extensive areas of heathland developed across Norfolk towards the end of the prehistoric period. It largely reverted to woodland again after the end of the Roman occupation, reappearing as heath as the population increased. According to the Domesday Book, the original area of Mousehold Heath was still substantially wooded, but the landscape changed as more trees were felled for fuel, and it eventually became largely treeless. This landscape was maintained by animal grazing and human activity, with parts of it being ploughed into fields, known as 'brecks'. The name Mousehold originally referred to the 'holt' or wood that existed before it became an area of heathland.[10][page needed]
St Leonard's Priory was founded on the heath close to the city boundary in around 1094, as a temporary home for the monks of the unfinished Norwich Cathedral, and as a way of establishing Norman control over a nearby chapel. The priory was demolished in 1538 and nothing of it now survives above ground.[11]
In 1144 the body of a young apprentice boy called William was found on a part of the heath known at that time as Thorpe Wood. A false story was circulated that his death was the result of a 'ritual murder' carried out by local Jews. This was the first example in Europe of what became known as blood libel.[12][page needed] The sheriff of Norwich succeeded in protecting the innocent Jewish population from persecution in the wake of an angry reaction from the local people. The boy later attained the status of saint and martyr, and a chapel, originally dedicated to St Catherine, was built where William's body was supposed to have been found. In 1168 it was rededicated as the chapel of St William in the Wood, and offerings continued to be made there until 1506. The overgrown remains of the site can be found on the northern edge of the present heath.[13][14]
In 1381 the final battle of the Peasants' Revolt took place a few days after a huge meeting on the heath occurred on 17 June. There Geoffrey Litster, later to be defeated at the Battle of North Walsham, was proclaimed "King of the Commons".[15]
1500-1810
In the Tudor period the heath, then almost treeless, was continuously open countryside that extended from Norwich to the edge of the Broads.[1] The local population was free to collect wood from the heath, and to allow their stock to graze there.[16] Small villages bordered the heath: the
Enclosure
Until the start of the 19th century, Mousehold Heath still stretched to
The entire heath was turned over to arable land and pasture by Parliamentary Enclosure Acts between 1799 and 1810, a process that produced long straight roads and new farms. There was little sympathy shown for the practical needs of the local population, many of whom became impoverished as they were increasingly denied access to the land. Parks surrounding large houses, such as at Sprowston, Rackheath, Thorpe St Andrew and Little Plumstead, became enlarged by the acquisition of land, and new views were created for their owners by the removal of existing woodland and the planting of new belts of trees.[20]
1810–1914
Mousehold Heath was
In his autobiographical work
Before the 20th century the heath was used to extract sand and gravel.
During much of the 19th century, the people of Pockthorpe, situated between Norwich's
The ownership of the remaining heathland was transferred to the city authorities in 1880, when the Church of England donated the land to the Corporation of Norwich, on the assurance that it prevented "the continuance of trespasses nuisances and unlawful acts" and held the heath "for the advantage of lawful recreation". The Pockthorpe committee was defeated, and the people of Pockthorpe, now forced to obey restrictive byelaws, could no longer use any part of the heath to support themselves. As a result of this change in the use of the land, the unmanaged part of heath remained ungrazed and it reverted to woodland.[31]
Despite strong local resistance, the 1884 Mousehold Heath Confirmation Act confirmed a local law establishing a number of 'conservators' to manage the transformation of the remaining part of the heath.[32][1] The current managers are Norwich City Council and the Mousehold Heath Conservators.[33]
The Britannia Barracks were built for the Norfolk Regiment on Mousehold Heath. After the Battle of Almansa in 1707, the regiment had been awarded the honour of wearing a figure of Britannia on their uniforms, and the new infantry barracks was named from the figure worn by the regiment. The main buildings were built between 1887 and 1897. The regiment left the barracks in 1959 when it amalgamated with the Suffolk Regiment to become the 1st East Anglian Regiment and moved to Bury St Edmunds. Most of the buildings subsequently became part of Norwich Prison.[34]
During the
Mousehold Heath airfield
In October 1914 an old cavalry training drill ground on the heath was taken over by the Royal Flying Corps and converted into an aerodrome. It was used by several local firms in connection with aircraft production, including Boulton & Paul. Boulton & Paul employed up to 3000 people in assembling aircraft in Norwich, many of whom were women brought in to supplement the workforce. The women were trained in basic engineering skills in a specially provided training school. From October 1915, when the first aircraft was completed, over 2,500 machines were built by the company.[38]
In 1918 the
The airfield continued to be used until around 1950. Much of the old aerodrome was then built over when the Heartsease housing estate was created, but some of the airfield buildings survived and are now within the Roundtree Way industrial estate.[43]
The heath in recent years
Today there are numerous tracks and paths all over the remaining 184 acres (74 ha) of Mousehold Heath. There are two football pitches, a
Vinegar Pond,[45] which was created by quarrying and subsequent wartime activity, is an important site for breeding frogs. It is fed by rain water and so has a tendency to dry out when the weather is hot.[46] In the heatwave and drought of August 2022 hundreds of goldfish were humanely removed from the pond where they had been dumped and had bred, feeding on the native amphibian species.[47] 1946 aerial photographs of the area show the pond existed at this time, but it does not feature on earlier large-scale maps.[48][49]
In 1984 a new Mousehold Heath Act became law. In 1992 the bandstand by the football ground was rebuilt by the Mousehold Defenders using locally raised funds.[50]
The 67 acres (27 ha) Harrison's Wood, which was once originally part of the heath before it was enclosed and turned into a tree plantation, was opened to the public in May 2016. It lies within the White House Farm housing development.[51]
At the start of 2019 a draft version of the new Mousehold Heath Management Plan was made available online for public consultation. The Management Plan aimed to increase the safety and security of Mousehold Heath, increase the cleanliness of the heath and to safeguard the historic aspects and buildings of the heath among other aims.[52][53]
On 22 April 2019, a body was found in the heath. After investigation, the body was identified as that of Mark Sewell, 37, who had committed suicide by hanging.[54][55]
Wildlife
Mousehold Heath is a designated
A variety of different vertebrates live on Mousehold Heath.
Heathland plants to be found on Mousehold Heath include Sheep's Sorrel,[61] bracken, Wavy Hair-grass,[62] Mossy Stonecrop, Trailing St John's-wort, Common Cudweed and Viper's Bugloss.[60]
References
- ^ a b c "About Mousehold Heath". Norwich City Council. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- ^ "Mousehold Heath Earth Heritage leaflet" (PDF). Norwich City Council and partners. p. 2. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
- ^ "Designated Sites View: St James' Pit". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
- ^ "Map of St James' Pit". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
- ^ "St James's Pit, Norwich (Jurassic – Cretaceous Reptilia)". Geological Conservation Review. Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
- ^ "Origins of Mousehold Heath landscape" (PDF). Norwich City Council. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- ^ "Mousehold Heath Earth Heritage Trail". Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- ^ "Mousehold Heath". Norfolk Heritage Explorer. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ Stacy 1819, p. 74.
- ^ Barnes & Williamson 2015.
- ^ "Site of St Leonard's Priory, Norwich". Norfolk Heritage Explorer. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
- ^ Rose 2015.
- ^ "Remains of the chapel of St.William in the Wood". Norfolk Heritage Explorer. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ^ Rose 2015, p. 13.
- ISBN 978-0-19-820471-8
- ^ Rawcliffe & Wilson 2004a, pp. 292–293.
- ^ McCormick 2016, p. 55.
- ^ Rawcliffe and Wilson (eds.), Medieval Norwich, p. 285.
- ^ "Introduction to Reconstructing Rebellion: Digital Terrain Analysis of the Battle of Dussindale (1549)". Internet Archaeology. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
- ^ a b Spooner 2016, pp. 88–92.
- ^ Paintings and etchings of the heath produced by members of the Norwich School are held by many different museums, including the British Museum.
- ^ Waites 2012, p. 65.
- ^ "Mousehold Heath as a Location". Sam Smiles (ed.), In Focus: Mousehold Heath, Norwich c.1818–20 by John Crome, Tate Research Publication, 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- ^ "Lavengro, by George Borrow". Project Gutenberg. p. 560. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
- ^ Grimmer, Dan (12 May 2011). "Norwich memorial badly damaged in attack". Eastern Daily Press. Archant Community Media Ltd. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
- ^ Rawcliffe, Carole, Norwich Since 1550, p. 442.
- ^ Norfolk LXIII.SE (includes: Norwich; Thorpe Next Norwich; Trowse with Newton.) (Map). Six Inches to One Mile. Cartography by the Ordnance Survey. National Library of Scotland. 1886. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ Norfolk LXIII.NE (includes: Catton; Norwich; Spixworth; Sprowston.) (Map). Six Inches to One Mile. Cartography by the Ordnance Survey. National Library of Scotland. 1886. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ Banks 2014, pp. 160–162.
- ^ Rawcliffe & Wilson 2004b, p. 352.
- ^ Meeres 1998, p. 172.
- ^ Banks, Stephen, Informal Justice in England and Wales, p. 163.
- ^ "Management Plan – Mousehold Heath" (PDF). Norwich City Council and Mousehold Heath Conservators. p. 3. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ISBN 978-1-78131-453-1. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
- ^ Roger J. C. Thomas. "Prisoner of War Camps 1939-48" (PDF). English Heritage. p. 38. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ^ "12.02.1942 No. 144 Squadron Hampden – AE141 PL-J Sgt. Nightingale D.F.M." Aircraft Remembered. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
- ^ "The Crash of 1942". flickr. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- ^ Rawcliffe and Wilson, Norwich since 1550, pp. 401–2.
- ^ "Norwich Electric Tramway". George Plunkett's Photographs. Retrieved 3 May 2016. (see References below).
- ^ "Mousehold – Tramway". Norfolk Heritage Explorer. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
- ^ "Mousehold Heath Aerodrome". Norfolk Airfields. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ^ "Mousehold Heath Airfield". Pastscape. Historic England. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ^ "Record Details for Site of Mousehold Heath Aerodrome and World War Two heavy anti-aircraft battery". Norfolk Heritage Explorer. Norfolk Historic Environment Service. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
- ^ "About Mousehold Heath". Norwich City Council. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
- ^ The Ordnance Survey grid reference for Vinegar Pond is TG2409310495.
- ^ "Mousehold Heath Earth Heritage Trail – Vinegar Road Gravel Pits". Norwich City Council. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
- ^ "Dumped goldfish relocated as pond shrinks amid scorching weather". Norwich Evening News. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
- ^ "Historic Map Explorer". Norfolk County Council. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
- ^ "Map Images". National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
- ^ "Norwich Parks and Gardens". George Plunkett's Photographs. Retrieved 7 May 2018. (see References below).
- ^ "New woodland near Sprowston is opened to the public". Eastern Daily Press. Archant Community Media Ltd. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
- ^ "Mousehold Heath Management Plan Review". Norwich City Council. 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
- ^ Mousehold Heath Management Plan Summary 2019-2028 (PDF), Norwich City Council, retrieved 6 August 2019
- ^ Grimmer, Dan (22 April 2019). "Body found at Mousehold Heath in Norwich". Retrieved 6 August 2019.
- ^ Ali, Taz (29 April 2019). "Man found dead at Mousehold Heath in Norwich is named". Retrieved 6 August 2019.
- ^ "Mousehold LNR". Natural England. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ "Map of Mousehold Heath". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
- ^ "County Wildlife Sites". Norfolk Biodiversity Information Service (NBIS). Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ "Volunteering in Norwich". The Conservation Volunteers. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
- ^ a b "Mousehold Heath Earth Heritage Trail (leaflet 12)". Norwich City Council. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
- ^ "Mousehold Heath Earth Heritage Trail (leaflet 1)". Norwich City Council. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
- ^ "Mousehold Heath Earth Heritage Trail (leaflet 11)". Norwich City Council. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
Sources
- Banks, Stephen (2014). Informal Justice in England and Wales, 1760-1914: The Courts of Public Opinion. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press. ISBN 978-1-84383-940-8.
- Barnes, Gerry; Williamson, Tom (2015). Rethinking Ancient Woodland: The Archaeology and History of Woods in Norfolk. University of Hertfordshire Press. ISBN 978-1-909291-58-4.
- McCormick, Coiln (2016). The Book of Salhouse & Woodbastwick. Wellington, Somerset: Halgrove. ISBN 978-0-85704-292-7.
- Meeres, Frank (1998). A History of Norwich. Chichester: Phillimore & Co. Ltd. ISBN 978-1-86077-083-8.
- Rawcliffe, Carole; Wilson, Richard, eds. (2004a). Medieval Norwich. London and New York: Hambleton and London. ISBN 978-1-85285-449-2.
- Rawcliffe, Carole; Wilson, Richard, eds. (2004b). Norwich since 1550. London and New York: Hambleton and London. ISBN 978-1-85285-450-8.
- Rose, E. M. (2015). The murder of William of Norwich: The origins of the blood libel in medieval Europe. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-021962-8.
- Spooner, Sarah (2016). Regions and Designed Landscapes in Georgian England. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-85281-5.
- Stacy, John (1819). A topographical and historical account of the city and county of Norwich. London: Longman and others.
- Waites, Ian (2012). Common Land in English Painting 1700-1850. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press. ISBN 978-1-84383-761-9.
Further reading
- "Tales of Mousehold Heath". The Norwich Magazine. 1: 147–53, 178–82, 212–18, 247–52, 309–14. 1835.
- Collins, Sarah (2022). "A Dangerously Empty Space: Crime and Punishment on English Wastelands". Landscapes. 28 (1): 48–66. .
- Funnell, B. M. (1975). "The Origin of Mousehold Heath, Norwich". Transactions of the Norfolk & Norwich Naturalists' Society. 23 (part 5): 251.
- Gunn, Peter (2017). Aviation Landmarks in Norfolk and Suffolk. Stroud: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-8655-7.
- ISBN 978-0-9553234-1-6.
External links
- Information about Mousehold Heath and the Mousehold Heath Conservators committee from Norwich City Council
- Mousehold Heath Conservators annual report 2020/2021
- A map (made in 1585) from George Plunkett's Norwich Maps that shows Mousehold Heath
- The archaeology of Mousehold Heath from Norfolk Heritage Explorer (showing the archaeological sites, historic buildings and former extent of the heath)
- Mousehold Aerodrome silent Pathé News newsreel (1927), filmed at Mousehold Aerodrome
- PoW Camp 253 Mousehold Heath from Repatriated Landscape.