Normanby Meadow

Also within

Lincolnshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Fast flowing river and stream

Geology & landscape

Landscape processes: Fluvial, Glacial

Description

Description Normanby Meadow is an important area of unimproved neutral grassland in northwest Lincolnshire, supporting an example of a nationally rare grassland type which has a restricted distribution in the East Midlands. The relevant National Vegetation Classification community is Alopecurus pratensis – Sanguisorba officinalis. General description Located adjacent to the River Ancholme, the site lies on seasonally inundated clay soils overlying chalky till deposits within the Trent Vale to the north of the City of Lincoln. This traditionally managed area of hay meadow supports a flower rich grassland community typically associated with flood plain situations and which has been greatly reduced in extent across much of England. At Normanby Meadow this plant community is characterised by an impressive and varied abundance of herbs including great burnet Sanguisorba officinalis, common sorrel Rumex acetosa, common bistort Persicaria bistorta, meadow buttercup Ranunculus acris, lesser stitchwort Stellaria graminea, hairy sedge Carex hirta, tormentil Potentilla erecta, lady’s bedstraw Galium verum, ragged-robin Silene flos-cuculi, common knapweed Centaurea nigra, common bird’s foot trefoil Lotus corniculatus and oxeye daisy Leucanthemum vulgare. Of particular note is the occurrence of a range of plants characteristic of unimproved meadows but now scarce in the county, such as pepper saxifrage Silaum silaus, dropwort Filipendula vulgaris, devil’s bit scabious Succisa pratensis and saw wort Serratula tinctoria. A diverse range of grasses is also a feature of the grassland sward within the meadow. red fescue Festuca rubra, Yorkshire fog Holcus lanatus, creeping bent Agrostis stolonifera, sweet vernal grass Anthoxanthum odoratum, meadow foxtail Alopecurus pratensis and crested dog’s tail Cynosurus cristatus all feature strongly, together with quaking grass Briza media, tufted hair grass Deschampsia cespitosa, perennial ryegrass Lolium perenne, yellow oat grass Trisetum flavescens and meadow barley Hordeum secalinum in varying amounts. Other information, This is a new site and lies within the North Lincolnshire Coversands and Clay Vales Natural Area.

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