The Wildflower Ark
Working to help conserve plant diversity in the Lower Tees Valley and increase public awareness of local plants and their habitats.
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Ancient Hedgerows of Stockton
During 2005 members the Wildflower Ark with the help of a team of volunteers carried out a study of ancient hedgerows (over 300 years old) in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees. The importance of hedgerows in our landscape has been recognised by the local Biodiversity Action Plan and this project was intended to help towards increasing our understanding of their heritage and biodiversity, and so contribute towards their conservation.
Research into historical documentation revealed that the area had only a few hedgerows during the medieval period and that the majority of hedgerows across the borough were planted in the Seventeenth Century. There was not sufficient historic material to accurately date particular hedges with the exception of the parish of Longnewton.
505 hedgerows were surveyed and of these 389 were considered ancient or partly ancient. Ancient hedgerows had more native shrub species present (over four) and generally were present on a hedgebank or by a ditch. Field Maple and Hazel were used as indicators of ancient hedgerows. The information collected from the hedgerow survey was entered onto a GIS layer and can be viewed on ArcView software.
A copy of the final report of the project can be downloaded by clicking here.
The project also worked to increase awareness and understanding of ancient hedgerows locally. An exhibition on the ‘Ancient hedgerows of Stockton’ was placed in libraries and museums in Stockton during the autumn of 2005. A leaflet detailing a guided walk around a number of ancient hedgerows explaining features present has been published.
To download a copy of the leaflet click here.
Please note these downloadable files are in Protable Document Format (PDF) and you will need to have the FREE Adobe Acrobat Reader software installed in order to view and print it. This software is available for free from the Adobe web site.
The project was made possible through a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, with additional support from Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council and Tees Archaeology.