Chawridge Bourne

Chawridge Bourne is a 9.4-hectare (23-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Berkshire, England^[1][2] Part of the site is a 5-hectare (12-acre) nature reserve called Chawridge Bank, which is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.^[3]

Chawridge Bourne

Site of Special Scientific Interest
Location within Berkshire
Location	Berkshire
Grid reference	SU 894 736[1]
Coordinates	51°27′18″N 00°42′54″W
Interest	Biological
Area	9.4 hectares (23 acres)[1]
Notification	1983[1]
Location map	Magic Map

Etymology

The name Chawridge is first attested in a charter of 942, which includes the Old English phrase "on ceawan hrycges hagan" ("to the enclosure of Ceawa's ridge"),^[4] where Ceawa is a personal name attested only here and in the place-names East and West Challow.^{[5]: 4 [6]} As well as, appearing in Chawridge Bourne, the name also appears in the neighbouring sites of Chawridge Manor Farm, Charriage Lane, Chawridge Mead, and Chawridge Gorse.^[4]

Ecology

This linear site is named after the stream called Chawridge Bourne, which runs through it. Half of it is unimproved grassland, which is managed by sheep grazing. There are also areas of scrub and broadleaved woodland. On the east side there is an ancient parish boundary hedge which has diverse tree flora.^[7]

Fauna

The site has the following animals^[7][8]

Mammals

• Micromys minutus

Birds

• Alauda
• Great spotted woodpecker
• Eurasian blackcap
• Lesser whitethroat

Invertebrates

• Polyommatus icarus
• Erynnis tages
• Pyrgus malvae

Flora

The site has the following flora:^[7][9]

Trees

• Crataegus monogyna
• Prunus spinosa
• Fraxinus
• Maple
• Quercus robur
• Malus sylvestris
• Sorbus torminalis

Plants

• Arrhenatherum elatius
• Holcus lanatus
• Dactylis glomerata
• Deschampsia cespitosa
• Festuca rubra
• Achillea ptarmica
• Genista tinctoria
• Hordeum secalinum
• Ophioglossum vulgatum
• Primula veris
• Silaum silaus
• Senecio erucifolius
• Carex pallescens
• Potentilla anglica
• Succisa pratensis
• Ranunculus auricomus
• Phyllitis scolopendrium
• Polystichum setiferum
• Centaurea nigra
• Leontodon taraxacoides

References

1. "Designated Sites View: Chawridge Bourne". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
2. "Map of Chawridge Bourne". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
3. "Chawridge Bank". Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
4. Margaret Gelling, The Place-Names of Berkshire, English Place-Name Society, 49–51, 3 vols (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1973–76), I 37.
5. Richard Coates, 'On Some Controversy Surrounding Gewissae / Gewissei, Cerdic and Ceawlin', Nomina, 13 (1989–90), 1–11.
6. John Insley, 'Britons and Anglo-Saxons', in Kulturelle Integration und Personennamen im Mittelalter, ed. by Wolfgang Haubrichs, Christa Jochum-Godglück (Berlin: de Gruyter, 2019), §4.
7. "Chawridge Bourne citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
8. Opening Times. "Chawridge Bank | Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust". Bbowt.org.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
9. "Condition of SSSI Units for Site Chawridge Bourne SSSI". Natural england. Retrieved 15 March 2017.