Area 6 Hinton Blewett and Newton St Loe Plateau Lands

Context

Introduction

7.6.1 This is the second largest character area covering nearly 64sq km. It has a varied character marked by an undulating, much eroded Oolitic and Lias Limestone plateau with tributary valleys of the River Avon and a number of notable rounded hills. The area extends in a south-west to north-east band across the centre of the area from Hinton Blewett in the south-west to the edge of Bath in the north-east. The boundaries are defined by the edge of the plateau before it falls away except for the eastern boundary which abuts the edge of Bath and a small part of the Cotswolds Plateaux and Valleys character area. It borders the character areas of Chew Valley, Avon Valley and Cam and Wellow Brook Valleys to the west, north and south respectively as well as the smaller Hollow Marsh and Farrington Gurney Farmlands character areas.

Description

Landform and Drainage Pattern

7.6.8  This area comprises an undulating mainly Lias and in part Oolitic Limestone plateau. It is at its highest towards the south and south-west where it reaches 200m and at its lowest towards the north and north-east at 80-100m. The plateau generally rises quite sharply from the surrounding  valleys and lower-lying land. Exceptions occur at the northern edge of the plateau, which rises gently out of the River Avon Valley, and the eastern corner, which is almost level with the southern end of the Cotswold plateau.  

7.6.9 Although this is undoubtedly a plateau in terms of overall landform, it has been very heavily eroded to form a complex undulating plateau and valley landscape with some very notable conical or rounded hills protruding out of the plateau. Extensive, exposed, flat plateau tops are not really characteristic and it therefore contrasts quite strongly with the Cotswold plateau. 

7.6.10 The area divides very roughly into two landform patterns. In the west around Clutton, High Littleton, Farmborough and Timsbury the landform is very undulating and has the majority of the distinctive rounded hills as at Farmborough Common, Priest Barrow, Nap Hill, The Sleight and Mearns Hill. In the east the incised valleys of the Conygre, Newton and Corston Brooks within the area and the Cam Valley immediately outside the area, give rise to two particularly distinctive wide ridge lines. The most northerly is at Wilmington and the southerly ridge is between Tunley and Longhouse.

7.6.11 The area has two main drainage systems. The Cam Brook and tributaries originate to the west passing through the Mercia mudstones before continuing their easterly course in the Cam and Wellow Brook Valleys character area. The Newton, Conygre and Corston Brooks and their tributaries originate to the west and follow a generally north-easterly course to join the River Avon west of Bath. They generally pass through the Lias Clay.

Land-use

7.6.12 Much of the arable land in the area is found within this character area, such as around Corston, Wilmington and Englishcombe, forming a patchwork within areas of grassland. Generally the arable land is on the flatter or gently sloping plateau land whilst the grassland is on the more undulating, steeply sloping land.

7.6.13 Most of the villages have characteristic areas of horse paddock around them, often fenced or sub-divided by white tape.

7.6.14 There are several areas of parkland and estate farms, which have given rise to distinct landscapes. Newton St Loe, Englishcombe and Kingwell Hall are examples. At Newton St Loe, Newton Park is a grade II registered park designed by Capability Brown. There is a management plan in place here to restore the landscape.

 7.6.15 There is very little landscape evidence remaining of the previous mining activities around Clutton, Temple Cloud, High Littleton and Timsbury. There are a few small batches at Clutton, east of Radford Hill and at Greyfields, High Littleton.

Fields, Boundaries and Trees

7.6.16 Field hedges are mostly regularly trimmed, except in some of the steeper valley areas. Many are ‘welltreed’ except for the more exposed plateau tops such as south of Corston and around Hinton Blewett. The condition of hedges and hedgerow trees is very variable with particularly poor hedges around arable fields. There were no survey points where particularly good hedgerow management was noted and only two recently planted hedges were noted, both suffering from poor establishment management. The area features a variety of field sizes, medium predominating, with large fields on plateaux or gentler slopes and smaller fields on steeper slopes and around some villages. Most fields are irregular in shape and pattern. This is often associated with late medieval enclosure of the open field system and in more recent times with amalgamation of smaller fields to form more easily worked units.

7.6.17 Fencing is not common except around settlements. Walls are typically found around the edges and within villages and hamlets, for example at Stanton Prior. Nearby at Wilmington there is a walled field boundary, the only one in the parish of Priston, which marks the Manorial boundary between Wilmington and Priston. This is doubly unusual in that it contains megaliths suggesting it was already a boundary in pre-historic times. 

7.6.18 Specimen trees in fields are an occasional rather than frequent feature. Newton Park has some fine specimens and there are avenues at Clutton and Timsbury. Some villages and the grounds of large old properties are particularly ‘well-treed’ with large specimens. Newton St Loe, Englishcombe and Timsbury are good examples.

 7.6.19 This is not a particularly well-wooded character area. A historical survey of Priston suggests that there was much more extensive woodland in the parish in medieval times and it is likely that the same is true throughout much of the character area. Now the only extensive woodland areas are Greyfield Wood to the west of High Littleton and Stantonbury Hill Wood. Smaller woodland areas, tree belts and copses are scattered throughout the area but do not predominate in the landscape except around the historic park of Newton Park. There are also trees beside the main watercourses. This is much more a landscape of fields and field boundaries with a generally open character except in valleys where views are generally limited by landform and vegetation.

Settlement and Communications

7.6.20 There are two principal roads. The A37 and A39 pass north/south through the area connecting Bristol and Bath to Wells. The A367 connecting Radstock and Bath runs along the southern boundary for a short section to the east of the area. There is a good network of minor roads, which are often narrow and hedge lined connecting villages, hamlets and isolated farms. Narrow hedge lined ‘green lanes’ are also a particular feature of the area and are often sunken as for example around Englishcombe.

7.6.21 The principal villages include Hinton Blewett, Clutton, High Littleton, Temple Cloud, Timsbury, Farmborough, Marksbury, Priston, Englishcombe and Newton St Loe. Each to a greater or lesser degree forms the hub of a number of roads, tracks and paths. The settlements are generally located within valleys and dips and are either nucleated around a village centre as at Clutton and Newton St Loe or are linear in form as at Hinton Blewett and Temple Cloud. More rarely as at Timsbury and Marksbury settlement is located on the plateau.

7.6.22 Most of the settlements have a core of old stonebuilt buildings with modern buildings and small housing estates added towards the edges. This occurs at Clutton, Temple Cloud and Timsbury. The villages and hamlets generally fit sensitively into their setting, typically with old Lias or Oolitic Limestone buildings and more rarely sandstone and often roofed with clay tiles. There are also many rendered houses often white and occasionally cream in colour. Modern barns, often of pre-formed steel, are visible from many viewpoints and fit less harmoniously where positioned in exposed areas.

Landscape Characteristics

7.6.23 The open undulating nature of the landscape gives rise to many extensive views often framed through field openings. The Cotswold Hills and the landmark of Kelston Round Hill, the edge of Bath and the wooded Avon and Cam Brook Valleys are generally visible across much of the area. Within the area there are numerous small rounded hills such as Stantonbury Hill, Winsbury Hill, Barrow Hill, Farmborough Common, Priest Barrow, Mearns Hill, The Sleight, Amesbury Hill, Nap Hill, the hill north of Priston, the hill south of Whistling Copse and Duncorn Hill. These are important landmarks within the area. The varied topography gives rise to interesting light and shading effects emphasising the characteristic landform.

7.6.24 There are a number of historical features of interest within the area. Stantonbury Hillfort, a Scheduled Monument is dominant in the north east of the area and the Wansdyke crosses the area from Stantonbury Hill to Odd Down. This nationally important and enigmatic linear earthwork is clearly visible in sections such as at Englishcombe and Stantonbury Hill. The earthworks of the late medieval Culverhay Castle also survive at Englishcombe and at Priston there is a well-preserved mill. Early Ordnance Survey maps also show a number of quarries and limekilns and at Clutton Hill a brick-works and gravel pit. Coal mining has also left its mark, particularly in the centre of the area around Temple Cloud and Clutton.