Bishop Wilton Poor Land

Also within

East Riding of Yorkshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Geology & landscape

Geological Period: Triassic

Birds & fish recorded

Birds

Description

Area, 2.1 hectares 5.2 ac Description Bishop Wilton Poorland consists of a small, low lying hayfield situated on Lacustrine Claysover lying Triassic Mercia Mudstones approximately seven kilometres north north east of Pocklington. The meadow is important as one of the best examples of unimproved, species rich, damp neutral grassland in North Humberside and is maintained by traditional management for hay. Such meadows which were formerly widespread are now restricted in distribution due to modern agricultural practices, particularly reseeding and the use of artificial fertilisers. The grassland sward consists of a varied mixture of grasses and herbs with no single species being especially dominant. Grasses such as meadow foxtail Alopecurus pratensis, red fescue Festuca rubra, sweet vernal grass Anthoxanthum odoratum, Yorkshire fog Holcus lanatus and yellow oat grass Trisetum flavescens are all common, as are herbs such as great burnet Sanguisorba officinalis, meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria, ribwort plantain Plantago lanceolata, meadow vetchling Lathyrus pratensis, common knapweed Centaurea nigra, common sorrel Rumex acetosa, pignut Conopodium majus, cuckoo-flower Cardamine pratensis, cowslip Primula veris, yellow rattle Rhinanthus minor and red clover Trifolium pratense. Of more restricted distribution within the meadow are species such as devil's bit scabious Succisa pratensis, wood anemone Anemone nemorosa, ragged-robin Silene flos-cuculi and, of particular note, meadow barley Hordeum secalinum, pepper saxifrage Silaum silaus and saw wort Serratula tinctoria. The latter group of species all have a restricted distribution in the British Isles and are uncommon in Humberside. The abundance of the uncommon adder's tongue Ophioglossum vulgatum within the meadow is a particularly notable feature.

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.