Higher and Lower Roads

In this post we explore some historical aspects of the landscape to the west of the Woodbury Salterton.

Crosshills, at the corner of Higher Road and Lower Road.

Taking the right turn out of the village towards Exeter, along Lower Road at the Crosshills corner, it is perhaps difficult to realise that within living memory the preferred route was instead straight ahead up Higher Road.  This was possibly because it was less prone to flooding, but Lower Road eventually became more favoured and was tarmacked first.  Higher Road, on the other hand - like other local minor lanes - was still formed of cracked stone up until the early 1960s.  Until the late 1970s, Lower Road was part of a bus route between Exeter and Budleigh.

Navigating the narrow length of Lower Road, it is also easy to miss that historically this is one of the most interesting areas of our surrounding landscape ... 

On the north side of Lower Road, as far as Heathfield Cross (the junction with Greendale Lane), the fields are long and narrow. This pattern is clearly visible on the modern two-and-a-half inch map, and is thought to be a relic of the medieval communal open-field system, still evident in the landscape.  It is very little altered since the time of the Tithe Map of 1839, and is presumed to date back to the agricultural land enclosures of the mid-18th century. 

The field names, too, are interesting, and indicate the nature of this land in the past.  'Heathfield' was an area of poor land or 'waste', open-country for common use, until it was enclosed: the nearby field-name 'Lousy Five Acres' perhaps suggests what quality of farmland this was!

Also in this area, opposite Bidgoods in Lower Road, is the last remaining old working orchard in the parish, whose produce is still used in commercial cider-making.  

It feels appropriate to be covering this at apple wassailing time - Woodbury Community Orchard has its wassail this Friday evening 16th January at 7pm, to which all are invited.  See p10 of the current issue of Woodbury News for more information. 

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We have been very involved in compiling the soon-to-be-published Historical Environment Action Plan for Woodbury Parish (in conjunction with the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and English Heritage) - hence the delay in producing this post, and also its focus on landscape history rather than on the natural world.  The photographs were taken in October and November 2014.  

The oral history information came from conversations in October between Sally Elliott and two people with deep connections with the village.  Several generations of the family of George Wilson (formerly of Bidgoods) farmed in the Heathfield area for over 200 years.  Jeff Dagworthy's family has been in the village even longer - since the 16th century - and he still lives at Browns Farm, which the family has occupied since the late 17th century.  We are grateful to both of them for their memories and information.

Finding out old field names is a bit of a labour of love, but not too difficult.  The information comes from the digitised Tithe Map of 1839 which can be accessed by clicking on the contents list on the Woodbury Village website.  On the map the fields are numbered, and their names are listed in number order in the Tithe Apportionment Book, which is also on the website.  

For more general information about landscape history, we draw on renowned Devonian historian W G Hoskins' The Making of the English Landscape, Francis Pryor's more recent book, The Making of the British Landscape, and Victor Bonham-Carter's The English Village.

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"Ye'll tak' the high road ... "

Taking the quieter 'Higher Road' first, beyond Crosshills it begins as a sunken lane leading up to Downhams, which is still a working farm.

Higher Road, heading west, begins as a sunken lane.

The horizontal stems of out-grown hedge trees
show that this was once a laid hedge on a Devon bank.

More out-grown hedge trees.

Looking back down Higher Road towards the village
from the entrance to Downham's Farm buildings.

Opposite the farm entrance, this hedge has been retained
but with some hedge trees growing to full height at the back.

Above the buildings of Downham's Farm, on both sides of Higher Road many of the old fields have been amalgamated.  Here two on the south side, previously known as 'Little Two Acres' and 'Higher Two Acres', were once village allotments, but are now part of a much larger field.  Within living memory, the village football pitch was on the more level of these - until 1967 when it was moved to the Glebe Field instead.  

This fairly level field on the south side of Higher Road
was once the village allotments and later the football pitch.

From the highest points of this lane there are long views across Exeter and towards the Raddon Hills to the north of the city. Several of the fields on this side include the name 'Bowhay' (pronounced Boohy) which is thought to refer to a person's name.

From fields on the north side of Higher Road there are 
extensive views across Exeter towards the Raddon Hills.

The lane leading to Higher Pilehays Farm,
at the right-angle bend in Higher Road.

At the junction with the lane to Higher Pilehays Farm, the field to the west was known as 'Lousy Five Acres'.  In the past one of the fields here always gave trouble to the Dagworthys who farmed it - causing the cows to produce tainted milk.  In this area some of the fields are smaller and more irregularly-shaped.  

Hard to show in a photograph,
this field on the west of  Higher Road is in fact triangular.

View west to the Haldon Hills

Lane from Higher Pilehays looking north towards Heathfield Park.

'Little Park': triangular field opposite Heathfield Park.

The land around Heathfield Cross was reclaimed and enclosed from former 'waste' in the mid-18th century.  That it continues to be marshy, however, is evident in the presence of needle-rush in several fields here, which would take over the land if un-checked.

Looking towards Heathfield Cross from Heathfield Park.

Heathfield Cross: gorse in the field boundary (above)
and rough ground (below) are here perhaps relics 
of the former 'waste'.

Heathfield Cross and Greendale Lane:
one of very few remaining ponds glimpsed through the hedge.

View north from Heathfield Cross along Greendale Lane (above)
and east along Lower Road (below):
the Scots pines were planted as boundary markers
by an owner of Greendale House in the 19th century.

" ... and I'll tak' the low road ..."

All along the north side of Lower Road is a series of long narrow fields running down the slope towards Grindle Brook.  Since the time of the Tithe Map of 1839, very few hedges have been taken out, so the landscape here is a relatively rare survivor of an agricultural landscape which has been little altered for several hundred years.  

The common-field system  originated in the Anglo-Saxon period (from about the 9th century) and in Medieval times was widely established throughout England.  Individuals farmed several strips scattered throughout large, common, open fields, to ensure a fair distribution of qualities of land.   The size and shape of the strips was determined by the capabilities of heavy, ox-drawn ploughs. Typically, each strip was twenty-two yards wide and two-hundred-and-twenty yards long, which was the distance an ox-team could plough without a rest (a furrow-long, or 'furlong').  This amounted to one acre in all, which was the area of land ploughable by oxen in a single day.

This form of farming started to be abandoned from the 15th century onwards.  Over time, individuals' strips often became amalgamated - usually by agreement.  By the period of the land enclosures - in this case in the mid-18th century - tenure within the common-field here was perhaps already divided into parcels. The shape of the present fields suggests that they were based on the original strips.  In the early 19th century, these fields were owned by a variety of individuals, which perhaps reflects historic tenure, and is possibly also why they have not been consolidated into larger fields to the same extent as elsewhere.

Field names at the time of the Tithe Map are also suggestive - 'Two Acres' and 'Three Acres', adjacent to Heathfield House, for example, perhaps refer to the standard acre of earlier strips.

Some of these field-names include 'Park',  which was usually an indicator of good quality land.  'Pit Field' or 'Small Moor', on the other hand, indicate poorer quality.

Above and below:  three of the long narrow fields
along the north side of Lower Road.

One historical curiosity - which is almost impossible to spot! - is the former entrance to what was once a very narrow lane leading north from Lower Road.  'Chilfie Lane' (as was) ran alongside the property now known as Meadow Rise, accessing fields further down the slope away from the lane.  In 1840, its name was recorded as 'Chelfy' or 'Chilpy', and earlier still, in auction details of 1732, it was written as 'Shelfhay'.  'Hay' is a word for 'field', and thus this name might mean 'Shelf Field' and may refer to its shape or topography - although the meaning is almost as lost as the lane itself, buried within the hedgerow.

Easy to miss!  The 'entrance' to 'Chifie Lane' in the hedge
on the north side of Lower Road
next to Meadow Rise.

Further on, opposite Bidgoods, are two old orchards, known jointly as 'Perchy Orchard'.  It is now the last working orchard in the parish and the crop is used commercially by Green Valley Cider at Darts Farm, to create Bidgood Orchard Cyder.  The crop can be very variable, and trees typically rest alternate years.  Last year's crop was only 3 tons compared with 15 tons the year before. There are several old varieties of apple here - Thomas Putt (a locally developed variety), Michelin, Coate Jersey and Debonet.

Perchy orchard on the south side of Lower Lane 
opposite Bidgoods.

Cider-production used to be a very significant part of the local economy, as cider was a crucial alternative to water for drinking, and cider vinegar was widely used for preserving foods.  Every farm had an orchard large enough to at least supply its own needs. In coastal areas, orchards were particularly common to supply sea-going ships, as crews who had access to cider were less likely to fall victim to scurvy.  

East Devon was rich in orchards until decline set in around 100 years ago - partly through social changes and partly through government policy.  Within Devon as a whole, between 1905 and 1979 more than 6000 acres of orchards were lost.  This loss can clearly be seen by comparing the modern two-and-a-half-inch map with the Tithe Map analysis of orchards existing in 1839, on the Woodbury Village website, or other historic maps available online, such as on the National Library of Scotland website.

(Information from Orchard Network and East Devon Council website)

Cob barn in Lower Road.

George Wilson remembers the cob barn in Lower Road opposite Little Paddocks as having been a threshing barn in his grandfather's time, and it was used as such until steam threshing was introduced in the mid- to late-19th century, when the barn became redundant.  George's grandfather used it as a cider-barrel store and sold cider to local pubs - until about 1915, when it became a hay-store until the Wilson family gave up the farm.

The last long field on Lower Road
before the corner by Parkhayes Plantation.

"Wassail the old apple tree!"

An old orchard tree at Little Paddocks opposite the cob barn.

Woodbury Common and the East Devon Pebblebed Heaths

Woodbury Common

Woodbury Common opposite the end of Castle Lane:
a clear view east towards Peak Hill and High Peak.
Portland Bill was also visible on the horizon that day in early October.

Woodbury Common is part of a low ridge of land known as the East Devon Pebblebed Heaths, which stretches inland from the coast at Budleigh Salterton, and is 12km long and up to 3km wide. Being on our doorstep, it is perhaps easy to take this landscape for granted, but in fact this ridge is absolutely unique in the United Kingdom: consisting existing entirely of pebbles, there is nothing to compare with it.

In addition, the habitat is a lowland heathland which is now one of Britain's rarest and most threatened.  Nationally this type of landscape has faced astonishing decline in the last couple of centuries, due to changing land use practices and loss to commercial agriculture or building development.  It is estimated that since 1800 an incredible 80% of Britain's lowland heathland has been lost.  However, England, in particular, retains the major proportion of heathland in Europe.  It is home to a diverse range of unique flora and fauna, and is now a priority for conservation under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan.  

The East Devon Pebblebed Heaths are one of the most important conservation sites in Europe, and are designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a Special Area of Conservation, and a Special Protection Area.  They are managed by the Pebblebed Heaths Conservation Trust, a charity set up by Clinton Devon Estates in 2006. 

How lucky we are to live close to such a particular, extraordinary and valued landscape ...

More information on heathland can be found on the website of the Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) Network, a UK-wide citizen science initiative whose partners include Plymouth University. The book East Devon Pebblebed Heaths, by Andrew Cooper, is a good resource.  Heathland, by James Parry (part of the National Trust Living Landscapes series) is also excellent (out of print but good secondhand copies can be found online).

Origins, history and management 

Heathlands are essentially the result of human activity: what began as woodland cleared for farming is always trying to revert to woodland.  Without continued intervention, heathland would become forest, and the particular vegetation and wildlife that thrive in that habitat would be lost.  However, this is often poorly understood - and locally, as elsewhere, management practices such as the use of cattle to graze areas of the Pebblebed Heaths have caused a lot of debate. 

A very informative and impassioned letter on this topic appeared in the October 2014 issue of Woodbury News, written by Nicky Hewitt.  Although she works for the RSPB on the Commons as a part-time administrator and writes the regular report on the Aylesbeare Common Reserve, this piece is based on her own knowledge and opinions.  We like it so much that Nicky has kindly allowed us to re-publish it here, too:

View south towards Budleigh Salterton

East Devon Pebblebed Heaths

I want to write a "special", alongside my regular newsletter, as judging by some recent comments, I think a few facts need to be clarified about the origins and continuance of the East Devon Pebblebed heaths.  They are perhaps not as old or as permanent as some people seem to believe.  Anyway, my background is in geology and I love any chance to talk about the deep, deep past.

The underlying rocks set the scene for heathland: the Budleigh Salterton Pebblebeds consist of pebbles, set in a lot of sand, as revealed at Blackhill Quarry.  The sands provide an acid soil and the pebbles give the resistance to erosion that has formed the wind and rain-swept ridge as it stands today.

But 240 million years ago, when the Pebblebeds were being created, this was a very different place: in the dry centre of a continent experiencing desert conditions, broken occasionally by storm-runoff floods from the nearby mountains, tearing fragments of rock from the mountains, then bashing and rolling them down into rounded pebbles and spreading them across a harsh, dry plain.  Between storms, the wind dried out the river channels, rolled and eroded the pebbles a bit more and drifted the sand. Imagine the conditions around the edges of the mountains in the Sahara today and you will get the picture – hot, dry and windy, the sandy surface constantly moving, with very little vegetation and almost no animals.

But over the following 240 million years this little patch of the world underwent dramatic changes: moving from the middle of a continent to the edge, from dry desert to deep under the ocean and back to land, tilted and squashed by continents breaking up and colliding to form new mountains far away in southern Europe. And as the land rose up it had layer after layer stripped away by the weather over many millions of years, until all the rocks were exposed as we see them now, striped across the sea-cliffs like a huge geology textbook.  That is the story of the Jurassic Coast and well worth exploring elsewhere.  But my point is that the heaths were not here 240 million years ago.  Indeed, they were not here until humans took a hand.

Very little of the landscape of Britain is unchanged by human activity: we’ve been here permanently since soon after the last ice sheets retreated about 11,500 years ago.  But initially we would have been hunter-gatherers, living off the heavily wooded landscape.  The farming lifestyle arrived in the Neolithic, probably starting with pastoralism before moving onto settled arable farming around 4-5,000 years ago.  Fire would have been the first tool used to clear trees, and thin sandy soils would have been much easier to work with hand tools than heavy silts and clays. But the meagre nutrients would also be quickly exhausted and the high land abandoned to grazing animals, as agricultural tools and techniques improved and allowed the farmers to move onto richer, deeper soils in the valleys.  

But that constant grazing, by cattle, sheep, goats and even geese would have kept the trees and scrub at bay, allowing the heathland fauna and flora to develop and spread.  By the Bronze Age great swathes of the country had been cleared of trees and settled by farming communities.  Almost no traces of Bronze Age peoples’ day-to-day lives exist on the ridge tops, but their ritual sites and burial mounds are everywhere, looking down over the sheltered valleys where we live today, probably in much the same places as our ancient ancestors lived.

Then agricultural life continued pretty much the same up until the end of the 19th century when mechanisation really started to take off.  We are about to lose the generation who can still remember when commoners rights were regularly exercised, which was the last connection to a lost form of land-use.   And probably a good thing too, because the heaths were born out of poverty and need. Down the centuries the heaths have always been pretty marginal agriculturally, and only exploited when better options failed.  At a recent local history conference, a retired farmer from Woodbury described the last time he exercised commoners rights: to cut bracken for animal bedding when the hay crop failed – a desperate stop-gap as the bracken would not compost down after use.

The Furze Cutter: an engraving of 1799,
from a painting by Joseph Barney

But go back two or three centuries and the heaths were the only free resource for the common people.  There they could pasture animals, harvest gorse and peat for firing, cut heather for thatch, dig pebbles and sand for building – in fact provide themselves with the basic needs of life.  Controlled burning was used to rejuvenate the vegetation and provide a short-lived pulse of nutrients to encourage the grass.  The few resources were generally heavily exploited, and when agriculture hit a depression and work was harder to come by, over-exploited.  This had been going on for hundreds, if not thousands of years, but was worsened by the enclosure of more and more land into private ownership, driving the villagers to try to extract more from their last few acres of available land.

It is this continuous over-use that has impoverished the thin pebbly soils and allowed the specially adapted flora and fauna to flourish, without any competition from more vigorous species, giving us the unique habitat we see today.

Since the turn of the 20^th century people’s lives have simply improved, so that they no longer needed the meagre resources that the heaths supplied.  And that can only be a good thing.  But for the heathland habitat it is a disaster.  Trees very quickly start to invade, bracken spreads un-controlled and grass starts to build up fertile and nutrient-enriched soil, quickly shading and out-competing the dwarf shrubs.  Without continuous management the heaths would soon cease to exist.  Powerful modern ploughs can even cope with the pebbly soils and, with constant chemical inputs, turn heathland into ordinary pasture and arable land.

Today pasturing animals solely fed on the sparse grasses and soft herbs of the heath can only be done at very low stocking rates, to avoid what we would now consider cruelty.  Bracken can no longer be used for anything much as we now know about its carcinogenic properties.   We still sell firewood derived from the scrub and small trees and gorse taken from the heath, but this would hardly cover our management costs.  The heaths cost time and effort to maintain: mowing, grazing and burning to mimic the old usages, but we also have new cares and considerations, such as no new areas for digging or soil removal in case we damage the archaeology.

So all those people out there who think the heaths are some kind of perpetual, natural system that was there before anyone managed them and will continue if we do nothing – you couldn’t be more wrong.  We constantly get told that the heaths shouldn’t be grazed as it hasn’t happened within living memory.  But living memory is only for the last two or three generations, not the hundreds of generations that have created these unique landscapes.  And we now have to use fences to contain the stock as we cannot exploit the village children to herd and control the animals as our ancestors would (though I’m sure they would much prefer it to being in school on a nice sunny day).

The past is another country, and sometimes we struggle to understand how our ancestors lived, but this bit of the past can remain to remind us.  So please help us to maintain these habitats into the future, so our children and grandchildren can experience the special birds, reptiles, insects, flowers and everything else that needs these special places to survive.  Don’t let a few more vulnerable species die out of this world through our inaction.

Nicky Hewitt

Hedge-banks, berries, and birds

Hedgebanks and the Year of the Devon Hedge

In contrast to hedgerows in other parts of Britain, the Devon hedge consists of an earth bank, faced with stone or turf, which usually has bushy shrubs growing along the top.  For the true Devonian, such structures are known as hedges even when there are no shrubs.  They are characteristically very old, and rich in wildlife, as well as being visually attractive.

The construction of hedge-banks was highly skilled, locally using 'pobbles' as facing, with an infilling of soil.  

Erosion of a hedgebank in Stony Lane reveals the characteristic
construction, with the largest 'pobbles' at the bottom.

Devon has more hedges remaining than any other county in the UK - reflecting not just its large size, but also its pastoral landscape and favourable management and agricultural systems adopted by local farmers.  Devon County Council estimates that there are 33,000 miles of hedges still in the county, which - incredibly - includes about 20% of all the species-rich hedges left in the UK.  In many areas, Devon hedgebanks are a main refuge for a wide range of plants and are essential wildlife corridors for animals, so their successful conservation is critical for wildlife.  The Western Morning News recently ran a very interesting story, for example, pointing out the significance of Devon hedges and copses as highways and larders for bats.

A great deal of really excellent information on Devon hedges is available here and here on the Devon County Council website, including a very good overview and history.

2014 has been declared in the County as the Year of the Devon Hedge, and there is a programme of events and trainings continuing right through till the end of the year - see here for information.

The banks and verges of lanes are increasingly essential for the survival of wild flowers excluded from fields by modern farming practices.  Countryside historian Oliver Rackham describes these verges as:

"... old grassland of a peculiar and often rather unstable kind, traditionally grazed and fertilised by the dung of passing beasts and by washings from the road surface.  They are not usually among the richest kinds of grassland, but they are important especially in those regions where old grassland of any kind is now rare.  In much of England, many ... verges are now the chief home of general grassland plants...  Few species are confined to verges, but many are commoner there than in other habitats."

The damp shady environment of hedges and banks also create their "own microclimate for plants, especially ferns, and eco-linked insects and small mammals.

Local verge-cutting routines in Devon are increasingly contributing to the conservation of wild plant species, but nationally there is concern about management of roadsides.  The wild flower charity Plantlife is running a campaign to encourage local councils to manage roadsides better for nature conservation. For more details, see here.

Many hedges are legally protected from damage or destruction (see government environmental guidance here).  However, with changing styles and sizes of wheeled traffic, together with altered weather patterns, banks and verges are at increasing risk of erosion unless they are maintained.  Exposure of the underlying construction of banks leads to degradation of the soil, and to stones and soil being washed out, further compromising the integrity of the bank.

Erosion of a bank in Stony Lane causing degradation 
of the structure.

Further examples of erosion in Stony Lane (above) 
and Dog Lane (below)

For those of us habituated to our lanes being so scoured, it is perhaps difficult to really understand the changes that have come in recent years.  For a step back in time, it is worth visiting the little-used lane that runs between White Cross Road at Higher Greendale, and Sanctuary Lane.  This passes Winkleigh Farm, which is of very ancient origin.  Here the carriageway is narrow, but the verges are wide with a rich diversity of plant-life.  It is hard to imagine that, within one lifetime, all the lanes around the village were like this.

Lane and ford near Winkleigh Farm - a step back in time.

Hedgerow harvest

On a brighter note, this year has been excellent for many characteristic hedgerow berrying plants.  Excellent guides to autumn berries, both edible and definitely not, are available here from the Wild Food School in Cornwall, and from the British Trust for Ornithology.

Blackberries

Rose-hips

Sloes (fruit of the black-thorn)

Immature ivy berries

Wild privet

Black bryony: the berries of this vine-like plant are superficially 
similar to rose hips, but are highly poisonous.  They are seen 
here together - the rose hips are the three at the bottom right.

At ground level, the berries of Lords-and-Ladies (or Cuckoo pint) 
are also highly toxic to humans.

These white berries in an otherwise native hedge in Stony Lane 
are the garden plant Snowberry.

Birds

Robins are very voluble at the moment - did you know that they are the only birds to sing in the autumn?  In fact, they sing throughout almost the whole year.  The renowned ornithologist, David Lack, tells us that the robin has a spring song that starts near the end of December and continues to about the middle of June.  Its autumn song - which is poorer and less innovative in its range of notes and phrases - is first heard in late July from some of the young birds, with adults starting about a fortnight later. It continues in this feeble form until the spring song starts again. Thus the robin sings throughout the year, except for a gap in the summer, though even this is often closed by a late adult or early juvenile.  The main purpose of its song is to define territory and warn off rivals, even at this time of year, long before the breeding season.  Robins are very territorial, and known to fight to the death over boundary disputes.

[Information from David Lack's book, Life of the Robin]

Another bird of note at the moment is the willow-warbler, still singing despite normally being only a summer visitor.  In fact both this and the black-cap warbler are known sometimes to over-winter in this area, due to the warmer climate.

In recent weeks, swallows have been gathering on telephone wires for migration, but there are still some about, possibly juveniles using the warm weather to build up and store insect food as fat for fuel for their long journey. 

On warm days, blackbirds can often be heard 'rehearsing' their spring songs, in which they adopt an almost inaudible mumble of the real thing.  But the beautiful tones cannot be disguised, despite their attempts to hide it!