Thorpe Hay Meadow

Also within

Surrey County

Condition (Natural England)

Geology & landscape

Landscape processes: Fluvial

Description

Area, 6.4 hectares 15.8 acres Description Thorpe Hay Meadow is a small, five sided meadow lying on the alluvial gravels of the Thames Flood Plain, surrounded by ditches and high hedges. Much of the surrounding land has been used for gravel extraction. The site is thought to be the last remaining example of a Thames valley hay meadow in Surrey. It contains a range of lime loving calcicole plants which are characteristic of this type of meadow. The grassland is dominated by rough stalked meadow grass Poa trivialis, crested dog’s tail grass Cynosurus cristatus and lesser knapweed Centaurea nigra. yellow rattle Rhinanthus minor, meadow fescue grass Schedonorus pratensis, meadow barley Hordeum secalinum, smooth hawk’s beard Crepis capillaris and common reed Phragmites australis are locally abundant, the last species being unusual in such dry situations. Other frequent species include meadow brome Bromus commutatus, a grass only recorded from one other Surrey location in recent years, meadow foxtail grass Alopecurus pratensis, Yorkshire fog grass Holcus lanatus, pepper saxifrage Silaum silaus and meadow sweet Filipendula ulmaria. Associated calcicole species include meadow cranesbill Geranium pratense, clustered bell flower Campanula glomerata, cowslip Primula veris, hoary plantain Plantago media, salad burnet Poterium sanguisorba and lady’s bedstraw Galium verum. The meadow is surrounded by old hedgerows with a variety of species such as ash Fraxinus excelsior, hawthorn Crataegus monogyna, field maple Acer campestre, spindle Euonymus europaeus, dogwood Cornus sanguinea and buckthorn Rhamnus cathartica. A drainage ditch along two sides of the site supports five species of willow including purple willow Salix purpurea and almond willow Salix triandra. Common comfrey Symphytum officinale, ragged-robin Silene flos-cuculi, cyperus sedge Carex pseudocyperus and the uncommon aquatic liverwort Riccia fluitans also occur along this ditch.

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.