Lowland Settled Farmlands

From the Naze Tower to Walton Hall (© Essex CC)

Heybridge Basin, Essex 2011 with many 18th C. elements and modestly sized brick buildings (© Simon Odell)

Lowland Settled Farmlands + Views southward towards Yare valley with alder carr woodland on fringes of marshland. Norfolk. (© L Marsden / A Yardy)

Arable upland to north of River Yare near Strumpshaw, Norfolk. (© L Marsden / A Yardy)

Arable land to north of river Yare with Alder carr woodland on valley sides in distance. (© L Marsden / A Yardy)

Whitegate Lodge field nr Hatfield, Herts, (2000) (© HCC Landscape)

Coppice Wood from White Horse Lane, nr St Albans, Hertfordshire (2000) (© HCC Landscape)

Summary

Overall description:

This is a settled agricultural landscape, often with a recurring estate character, associated with fertile rolling lowlands, often around the coastal fringe.

Location:

Occurs in northeast Norfolk, along the southern coastal fringe of Essex and in the central parts of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.

Physical environment

Landform:

Low-lying, gently rolling topography associated with deposits of glacial sand and gravel, often associated with river valleys and adjoining areas of gently rolling ground.

Natural / water features:

Well drained by a network of small streams and rivers.

Vegetation and land use

Ecological character:

A landscape of productive, free draining soils with little surviving semi-natural habitat. Some patches of ancient woodland survive in areas with wetter gleyed soils.

Primary land use :

Predominately arable land use, with occasional damp meadows on lower ground in river valleys. Some mineral extraction (eg. for brick making in Marston vale) and recreational land uses (e.g. golf courses).

Tree cover:

Widespread groups of trees and small plantations, with occasional ancient woodlands.

Cultural pattern

Historic features:

Extensive network of hedged and occasionally sunken lanes. There are also numerous small parklands. Brickwork kilns and chimneys are also a distinctive feature in Beds.

Enclosure pattern:

Field forms are generally medium sized and sinuous, but rectilinear patterns are also common in places, reflecting more planned, surveyor enclosures.

Settlement pattern:

Rural settlement is dense and clustered with a mixture of riverside towns, small nucleated villages/hamlets and many individual farms. There are limited urban fringe influences in this landscape.

To be completed at a later date.

Historic development :

A landscape with a mixed historical evolution, including both late enclosures from common field and heath in Norfolk and early co-axial field types in Essex & Hertfordshire.

Perceptions

Tranquility:

Much of this landscape has a deeply rural character with a high degree of tranquillity. However, in areas of mineral extraction, tranquillity is often significantly reduced.

Views:

A generally more enclosed landscape, with a complex mosaic of wooded and tree lined vistas, in places giving rise to an intimate character.