Fulbourn Fen

Fulbourn Fen
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Moat of the former Zouches Castle
LocationCambridgeshire
Grid referenceTL 530 561[1]
InterestBiological
Area27.3 hectares[1]
Notification1986[1]
Location mapMagic Map

Fulbourn Fen is a 27.3-hectare (67-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Fulbourn, Cambridgeshire.[1][2] It is privately owned and managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.[3]

There are ancient meadows on calcareous loam and peat which have never been intensively farmed, so they have a rich diversity of flora and fauna. Herbs in drier areas include cowslip and salad burnet, while wetter areas have tall fen vegetation.[3][4]

There is access by a track from Stonebridge Lane.[3]

There are eight separately named woods in Fulbourn Fen:[5]

  1. The Cringles - north & north-east
  2. Moat Wood - north-west
  3. Thackets Wood - west
  4. Ansett's Wood - south-west
  5. Old Orchard - south
  6. Hancock's Wood - central
  7. Widow's Wood - south-east
  8. Old Orchard - south

and five separate meadows:

  1. Ox Meadow - west
  2. Moat Meadow - north-west - the site of the remains of Zouches Manor
  3. Long Fen Pasture - central
  4. East Fen Pasture - east
  5. Four Acre - south-east

Zouches Manor

Main article: Zouches Manor

Fulbourn Fen contains the moated remains of a Saxon manor known as Zouches Manor and then Dunmowes Manor. It was one of the Five Manors of Fulbourn and was built by Alan la Zouche, Earl of Brittany (the same family that held Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire).[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Designated Sites View: Fulbourn Fen". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  2. ^ "Map of Fulbourn Fen". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "Fulbourn Fen". Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  4. ^ "Fulbourn Fen citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  5. ^ "A Walking Guide to the Fulbourn Area" (PDF). Fulbourn Village Library. 2013.
  6. ^ ""Fulbourn conservation area" - South Cambridgeshire District Council (2007)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
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52°10′52″N 0°14′10″E / 52.181°N 0.236°E / 52.181; 0.236