List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire

The following is a list of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom. In England the body responsible for designating SSSIs is Natural England, which chooses a site because of its fauna, flora, geological or physiographical features.[1] As of 2006, there are 134 sites designated in this Area of Search, of which the vast majority, 108, have been designated due to their biological interest, with just 21 due to their geological interest (and 5 for both).[2]

Silbury Hill, one of the many SSSIs in Wiltshire designated for their grassland plant communities.

Natural England took over the role of designating and managing SSSIs from English Nature in October 2006 when it was formed from the amalgamation of English Nature, parts of the Countryside Agency and the Rural Development Service. Natural England, like its predecessor, uses the 1974–1996 county system[3] and as such the same approach is followed here, rather than adopting the current local government or ceremonial county boundaries. The data in the table is taken from English Nature's website in the form of citation sheets for each SSSI.[4]

For other counties, see List of SSSIs by Area of Search.

Sites

edit
Site name Reason for designation Area[A] Grid reference[B] Year in which notified Map[C]
Biological interest Geological interest Hectares Acres
Acres Farm Meadow  Y 4.2 10.4 SU024927 1989 Map
River Avon System  Y 507.8 1,254.8 SU073583 1996 Map
Baverstock Juniper Bank  Y 2.6 6.4 SU035336 1971 Map
Bencroft Hill Meadows  Y 5.1 12.6 SU962732 1988 Map
Bentley Wood  Y 665.0 1,643.0 SU250295 1985 Map
Bincknoll Dip Woods  Y 5.7 14.0 SU111796 1971 Map
Blackmoor Copse  Y 31.3 77.2 SU234292 1971 Map
Botley Down  Y 12.7 31.4 SU292598 1989 Map
Bowerchalke Downs  Y 128.6 317.7 SU004218 1971 Map
Box Mine  Y 56.6 139.8 ST838690 1991 Map
Bracknell Croft  Y 4.8 11.8 SU180330 1971 Map
Bradley Woods  Y 48.7 120.3 ST789410 1986 Map
Bratton Downs  Y  Y 395.8 978.0 ST925522 1971 Map
Brickworth Down and Dean Hill  Y 118.6 293.9 SU246259 1951 Map
Brimsdown Hill  Y 193.7 478.6 ST821391 1951 Map
Britford Water Meadows  Y 18.2 45.0 SU166274 1975 Map
Burcombe Down  Y 47.1 116.4 SU064295 1971 Map
Burderop Wood  Y 48.5 119.8 SU165810 1971 Map
Calstone and Cherhill Downs  Y 128.6 317.9 SU047692 1971 Map
Camp Down  Y 7.3 18.2 SU120338 1965 Map
Charnage Down Chalk Pit  Y 3.7 9.1 ST837329 1971 Map
Chickengrove Bottom  Y 9.8 24.3 SU040216 1975 Map
Chilmark Quarries  Y  Y 9.7 23.9 ST974312 1977 Map
Chilton Foliat Meadows  Y 54.6 134.9 SU315703 1971 Map
Clattinger Farm  Y 60.3 149.0 SU012933 1971 Map
Clearbury Down  Y 31.3 77.3 SU152240 1971 Map
Cley Hill  Y 26.6 65.7 ST838449 1975 Map
Cloatley Manor Farm Meadows  Y 12.1 29.9 ST981910 1997 Map
Clout's Wood  Y 11.8 29.1 SU137796 1951 Map
Coate Water  Y 51.1 126.4 SU188820 1971 Map
Cockey Down  Y 15.2 37.6 SU170317 1971 Map
Colerne Park and Monk's Wood  Y 53.7 132.6 ST838725 1951 Map
The Coombes, Hinton Parva  Y 15.9 39.2 SU228826 1989 Map
Corsham Railway Cutting  Y 6.6 16.4 ST862695 1971 Map
Cotswold Water Park  Y 135.0 337 SU100960 1994 Map
Cranborne Chase  Y 451.4 1,115.4 ST970180 1975 Map
Dank's Down and Truckle Hill  Y 13.1 32.4 ST834758 1990 Map
Dead Maid Quarry  Y 0.4 1.1 ST803324 1951 Map
Dinton Quarry  Y 0.3 0.7 SU006308 1990 Map
Dinton Railway Cutting  Y 0.3 0.7 SU008309 1990 Map
Distillery Farm Meadows  Y 18.7 46.2 SU032898 1988 Map
East Harnham Meadows  Y 17.3 42.7 SU151289 1995 Map
Ebsbury Down  Y 53.4 132.0 SU054352 1975 Map
Emmett Hill Meadows  Y 5.1 12.6 SU009901 1987 Map
Figsbury Ring  Y 11.2 27.7 SU188338 1975 Map
Fonthill Grottoes  Y 0.7 1.7 ST935315 1994 Map
Fyfield Down  Y  Y 325.3 803.8 SU136709 1951 Map
Gallows Hill  Y 27.8 68.7 ST952244 1965 Map
Goldborough Farm Meadows  Y 10.3 25.5 SU086800 Map
Great Cheverell Hill  Y 33.2 82.1 ST966520 1971 Map
Great Quarry, Swindon  Y 1.0 2.5 SU151836 1951 Map
Great Yews  Y 29.3 72.3 SU120231 1951 Map
Gripwood Quarry  Y 2.9 7.0 ST822603 1951 Map
Gutch Common  Y 35.1 86.8 ST896259 1951 Map
Ham Hill  Y 1.5 3.8 SU333617 1971 Map
Hang Wood  Y 20.3 50.2 ST861319 1986 Map
Harries Ground, Rodbourne  Y 6.9 17.0 ST930823 2003 Map
Haydon Meadow  Y 6.4 15.8 SU120890 1999 Map
Heath Hill Farm  Y 20.7 51.2 ST757336 1997 Map
Homington and Coombe Bissett Downs  Y 25.0 61.8 SU104245 1971 Map
Honeybrook Farm  Y 42.4 104.8 ST841730 1992 Map
Inwood, Warleigh  Y 56.9 140.5 ST800633 1988 Map
Jones's Mill  Y 11.6 28.7 SU168613 1975 Map
Kellaways – West Tytherton, River Avon  Y 4.1 10.1 ST945750 1998 Map
River Kennet  Y 112.7 278.5 SU203692 1995 Map
Kennet and Lambourn Floodplain  Y 22.9 56.9 SU316705 1996 Map
King's Play Hill  Y 29.5 72.9 SU006658 1971 Map
Knapp and Barnett's Downs  Y 71.4 176.4 SU030266 1971 Map
Knighton Downs and Wood  Y 203.7 503.5 SU048237 1971 Map
Lady Down Quarry  Y 0.2 0.6 ST961307 1990 Map
Landford Bog  Y 11.6 28.7 SU259185 1987 Map
Landford Heath  Y 11.8 29.0 SU265178 1994 Map
Langley Wood and Homan's Copse  Y 219.3 541.9 SU230206 1985 Map
Little Grubbins Meadow  Y 3.0 7.3 ST831773 1975 Map
Long Knoll  Y 34.2 84.5 ST794376 1971 Map
Loosehanger Copse and Meadows  Y 56.3 139.0 SU215195 1992 Map
Lower Coombe and Ferne Brook Meadows  Y 11.3 28.0 ST916236 2002 Map
Lower Woodford Water Meadows  Y 23.9 58.9 SU124347 1971 Map
Midford Valley Woods  Y 24.6 60.8 ST769611 1975 Map
Morgan's Hill  Y 12.6 31.1 SU028672 1951 Map
The New Forest  Y  Y 28,947.4 71,529.0 SU298081 1959 Map
North Meadow, Cricklade  Y 24.6 109.7 SU094946 1971 Map
Odstock Down  Y 12.1 29.9 SU139250 1975 Map
Okus Quarry  Y 0.3 0.6 SU147836 1951 Map
Old Town Railway Cutting, Swindon  Y 1.8 4.4 SU153832 1975 Map
Out Woods  Y 14.3 35.4 ST833763 1975 Map
Parsonage Down  Y 188.6 466.1 SU050412 1971 Map
Pewsey Downs  Y 305.3 754.4 SU113636 1951 Map
Picket and Clanger Wood  Y 66.4 164.1 ST975543 1989 Map
Piggledene  Y  Y 4.7 11.6 SU141689 1965 Map
Pike Corner  Y 15.2 37.6 SU036934 1986 Map
Pincombe Down  Y 23.8 58.8 ST966217 1971 Map
Porton Down  Y 1,561.8 3,859.4 SU240365 1977 Map
Porton Meadows  Y 17.6 43.6 SU185362 1988 Map
Prescombe Down  Y 76.2 188.3 ST985255 1951 Map
Rack Hill  Y 10.6 26.1 ST842762 1975 Map
Ravensroost Wood  Y 43.7 107.9 SU022882 1989 Map
Restrop Farm and Brockhurst Wood  Y 56.5 139.6 SU073866 1992 Map
Rotherley Downs  Y 120.1 296.6 ST946196 1989 Map
Roundway Down and Covert  Y 86.0 212.5 SU000646 1971 Map
Salisbury Plain  Y 19,689.9 48,655.7 SU070500 1975 Map
Savernake Forest  Y 904.7 2,235.6 SU215665 1971 Map
Scratchbury and Cotley Hills  Y 53.5 132.2 ST915437 1951 Map
Seend Cleeve Quarry  Y 3.0 7.4 ST933609 1987 Map
Seend Ironstone Quarry and Road Cutting  Y 1.2 2.9 ST937610 1965 Map
Silbury Hill  Y 2.3 5.6 SU100685 1965 Map
Spye Park  Y 90.3 223.1 ST952674 1951 Map
Stanton St. Quintin Quarry and Motorway Cutting  Y 2.2 5.4 ST918796 1971 Map
Starveall and Stony Down  Y 22.5 55.7 ST991400 1971 Map
Steeple Ashton  Y 26.5 65.6 ST914558 1998 Map
Steeple Langford Down  Y 21.8 53.7 SU036387 1971 Map
Stert Brook Exposure  Y 0.4 1.0 SU017583 1989 Map
Stockton Wood and Down  Y 61.5 151.8 ST958366 1951 Map
Stoke Common Meadows  Y 10.2 25.1 SU064904 1994 Map
Stratford Toney Down  Y 23.1 57.2 SU095246 1987 Map
Sutton Lane Meadows  Y 3.4 8.5 ST946777 1988 Map
Teffont Evias Quarry / Lane Cutting  Y 3.6 8.9 ST990310 1989 Map
Throope Down  Y 34.4 97.4 SU084246 1971 Map
River Till  Y 32.1 79.2 SU051452 2000 Map
Tytherington Down  Y 5.9 14.6 ST912385 1975 Map
Upper Chicksgrove Quarry  Y 5.6 13.8 ST962296 1971 Map
Upper Waterhay Meadow  Y 2.8 6.8 SU068937 1971 Map
Upton Cow Down  Y 16.4 40.5 ST875491 1989 Map
West Harnham Chalk Pit  Y 2.8 6.9 SU128287 1971 Map
West Yatton Down  Y 14.4 36.0 ST852760 1971 Map
Westbury Ironstone Quarry  Y 0.6 1.4 ST853508 1965 Map
Whiteparish Common  Y 64.5 159.4 SU255233 1965 Map
Whitesheet Hill  Y 136.1 336.3 ST804346 1965 Map
Win Green Down  Y 26.0 64.3 ST927209 1971 Map
Winklebury Hill  Y 63.0 155.5 ST952216 1971 Map
Winsley Mines  Y 1.5 3.7 ST795607 1989 Map
Wootton Bassett Mud Spring  Y 0.8 2.0 SU078815 1997 Map
Wylye and Church Dean Downs  Y 80.9 200.0 SU002361 1951 Map
Yarnbury Castle  Y 9.1 22.5 SU037403 1951 Map

Notes

edit
A Data rounded to one decimal place.
B Grid reference is based on the British national grid reference system, also known as OSGB36, and is the system used by the Ordnance Survey.[5]
C Link to maps using the MAGIC map service provided by Defra.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Notification of SSSIs". Natural England. Archived from the original on 15 May 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2007.
  2. ^ "SSSIs in Wiltshire". Natural England. Retrieved 3 March 2007.
  3. ^ "County search of SSSIs". Natural England. Archived from the original on 19 August 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2007.
  4. ^ English Nature citation sheets for each SSSI. Retrieved on 2007-03-03. (PDF files).
  5. ^ "Guide to National Grid". Ordnance Survey. Archived from the original on 27 October 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2007.