Sherrardspark Wood

Also within

Hertfordshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Bracken scrub, Coppiced woodland, Fast flowing river and stream

Geology & landscape

Rock Type: Chalk

Birds & fish recorded

Birds

Description

Area, 74.9 ha. 185.l ac. Description Sherrardspark Wood is situated on high ground between the Lea and Mimram river valleys; on the gravel and sand Reading Beds which cap the clay and chalk of the London Basin. The acid soils support an extensive ancient semi natural sessile oak / hornbeam Quercus petraea / Carpinus betulus woodland. A significant part of this wood is dominated by mature sessile oak high forest, a habitat now rare throughout lowland England. Smaller areas of birch Betula sp. and mixed deciduous woodland are included in the site, together with a small coniferous plantation adding to habitat diversity. The sessile oak high forest contains large areas of mature stand with trees above 30m high and up to 250 years old. Some areas support an understorey of previously coppiced hornbeam, with occasional standards of this species also present. Elsewhereboth silver and downy birch Betula pendula and Betula pubescens make up the canopy with pedunculate oak Quercus robur, ash Fraxinus excelsior, wild cherry Prunus avium and field maple Acer campestre scattered throughout the woodland. The shrub layer is dominated by honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum and holly Ilex aquifolium with some rowan Sorbus aucuparia and sweet chestnut Castanea sativa, the latter under taller oaks. Typically for woodland of this type on acid soils the ground flora is sparse and dominated by bramble Rubus fruticosus and bracken Pteridium aquilinum. Towards the north chalk comes to the surface, reflected in woodland once dominated by wych elm Ulmus glabra and now being invaded by sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus. A diverse flora persists here comprising dog’s mercury Mercurialis perennis, yellow archangel Lamiastrum galeobdolon, wood anemone Anemone nemorosa and broad buckler fern Dryopteris dilatata. Two uncommon helleborines are known from the wood, violet and broad leaved helleborine Epipactis purpurata and Epipactis helleborine. moschatel Adoxa moschatellina, another local Hertfordshire species, is also present. Inmore acidic conditions a small mixed plantation supports a considerable amount of heather Calluna vulgaris. Additional habitats are provided by swallow holes fed by woodland streams and which hold seasonal water. A disused railway cutting bisects the wood and exposes calcareous soils. Colonisation by spindle Euonymus europaeus, dogwood Cornus sanguinea and guelder rose Viburnum opulus is underway. A typical woodland ride flora is developing forming an important habitat for invertebrates which does not occur elsewhere in the wood.

Species mentioned

Insects to look out for

These moths, butterflies and beetles are known to feed on plants recorded at this site, and carry a notable UK conservation status — but a host-plant being present doesn't mean the insect has actually been recorded here. Treat this as "worth watching for," not a confirmed sighting.

Host-plant data: Cook et al. (2025), Traits data for the butterflies and macro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland, 2024, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology / Butterfly Conservation; and Padovani et al. (2020), Database of Insects and their Food Plants (DBIF), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (both Open Government Licence). Contains data supplied by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

Plant communities