Mappp.co - North Brewham Meadows

Also within

Somerset County Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs Scenic Area

Condition (Natural England)

Favourable (2)

Unit	Feature	Condition	Area (ha)	Assessed
ST734362	—	Favourable	5.35	2010-05-24
ST742379	—	Favourable	3.65	2010-05-24

Description

Area, 8.9 ha. 21.9 ac. Description These traditionally managed species rich meadows support a neutral grassland community with a restricted national distribution. The fields are poorly drained and seasonally waterlogged. Surface water gleys of the Wickham 2 and Denchworth soil associations have developed on the underlying Oxford Clay and Kellaway Beds strata. North Brewham Meadows support a neutral grassland community of the nationally rare common knapweed crested dog's tail type. red fescue Festuca rubra is the dominant grass. Other species include crested dog's tail Cynosurus cristatus, sweet vernal grass Anthoxanthum odoratum and smooth meadow grass Poa pratensis. Oval sedge Carex leporina, carnation sedge Carex panicea and sharp-flowered rush Juncus acutiflorus are common in the wetter areas. Herbs include a number of species with a local distribution in eastern Somerset, such as meadow thistle Cirsium dissectum, dyer's greenweed Genista tinctoria, saw wort Serratula tinctoria, devil's bit scabious Succisa pratensis, pepper saxifrage Silaum silaus and heath spotted orchid Dactylorhiza maculata. Breeding butterflies typical of unimproved neutral grassland include small copper Lycaena phlaeas, meadow brown Maniola jurtina, grayling Hipparchia semele and ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus.

Species mentioned

Show the 17 species mentioned in the description, with red-list status

English name search for this in other sites	Latin name search with Google	IUCN / Red List	Type	Family
ringlet	Aphantopus hyperantus	LC	butterfly	nymphalidae
grayling	Hipparchia semele	EN	butterfly	nymphalidae
small copper	Lycaena phlaeas	LC	butterfly	lycaenidae
meadow brown	Maniola jurtina	LC	butterfly	nymphalidae
sweet vernal grass	Anthoxanthum odoratum	LC	grass	poaceae
crested dog's tail	Cynosurus cristatus	LC	grass	poaceae
red fescue	Festuca rubra	LC	grass	poaceae
smooth meadow grass	Poa pratensis	LC	grass	poaceae
meadow thistle	Cirsium dissectum	EN	herb	asteraceae
heath spotted orchid	Dactylorhiza maculata	LC	herb	orchidaceae
dyer's greenweed	Genista tinctoria	LC	herb	fabaceae
saw wort	Serratula tinctoria	VU	herb	asteraceae
pepper saxifrage	Silaum silaus	EN	herb	saxifragaceae
devils-bit scabious	Succisa pratensis	VU	herb	caprifoliaceae
sharp-flowered rush	Juncus acutiflorus	LC	rush	juncaceae
oval sedge	Carex leporina	LC	sedge	cyperaceae
carnation sedge	Carex panicea	NT	sedge	cyperaceae

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.

Species	Status	Via host-plant
Reddish buff Acosmetia caliginosa	Critically Endangered	Serratula tinctoria
Mouse moth Amphipyra tragopoginis	Vulnerable	Serratula tinctoria
Marsh fritillary Euphydryas aurinia	Vulnerable	Succisa pratensis
Grayling Hipparchia semele	Vulnerable	Festuca rubra
Lead belle Scotopteryx mucronata	Vulnerable	Genista tinctoria
Small heath Coenonympha pamphilus	Near Threatened	Cynosurus cristatus, Festuca spp., Poa spp.
Silver barred Deltote bankiana	Near Threatened	Poa pratensis

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.