Down Farm

Also within

Dorset County Dorset Scenic Area

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Ancient woodland, Lowland meadow and pasture

Geology & landscape

Rock Type: Alluvium, Chalk

Landscape processes: Fluvial

Description

Down Farm Description Down Farm SSSI is of special interest for its nationally important species rich lowland meadow grassland and a rich assemblage of grassland fungi. Down Farm is situated on the chalk ridge that extends from the village of Maiden Newton north-west towards Chedington on the Dorset Somerset border. The site lies to the north of the small market town of Beaminster and at its highest point is 235m. Down Farm sits just below a ridge which is composed of Upper Chalk but on the flatter and gently sloping land superficial deposits of clay-with-flints occur which give rise to both neutral and mixed acid soils. More varied superficial deposits including sand, alluvium and clay head occur and may explain the somewhat unusual vegetation with local and varied soil moisture profiles. The hay meadows at Down Farm are a remnant of previously extensive tracts of unimproved grassland once found across the common grazing land at the nearby Beaminster Down. Mature, flower rich hedges now surround the meadows. Species-rich lowland meadow grassland The two meadows support an outstanding example of species rich lowland meadow grassland. The grassland sward comprises abundant sweet vernal grass Anthoxanthum odoratum and red fescue Festuca rubra with locally abundant crested dog’s-tail Cynosurus cristatus and common bent Agrostis capillaris, along with frequent to occasional meadow fescue Schedonorus pratensis, meadow foxtail Alopecurus pratensis, downy oat grass Avenula pubescens and field wood rush Luzula campestris. Quaking grass Briza media and heath grass Danthonia decumbens are occasional, whilst glaucous sedge Carex flacca and spring-sedge Carex caryophyllea are locally frequent. The meadows support characteristic herbs found in lowland neutral grasslands: common bird’s foot trefoil Lotus corniculatus, common knapweed Centaurea nigra and cat’s ear Hypochaeris radicata are abundant. Other frequent to locally abundant herbs include red clover Trifolium pratense, common sorrel Rumex acetosa, pignut Conopodium majus, oxeye daisy Leucanthemum vulgare and rough hawkbit Leontodon hispidus, along with occasional lesser stitchwort Stellaria graminea, tufted vetch Vicia cracca, meadow vetchling Lathyrus pratensis, bugle Ajuga reptans, selfheal Prunella vulgaris, yellow rattle Rhinanthus minor and burnet-saxifrage Pimpinella saxifraga. Where soils indicate some seasonal dampness and are more acidic, a small stand of atypical vegetation supports lousewort Pedicularis sylvatica. In addition, the plant communities at the bases of some of the surrounding hedgerows show elements indicative of an ancient woodland ground flora, such as bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta and yellow archangel Lamiastrum galeobdolon. A feature in both meadows is a significant population of green-winged orchid Anacamptis morio with counts of over 10,000 flowering spikes. Other orchid species are well represented, with smaller numbers of common Dactylorhiza fuchsii and heath spotted-orchids Dactylorhiza maculata and common twayblade Neottia ovata. Assemblage of grassland fungi Down Farm supports a nationally important assemblage of grassland fungi. At the time of notification 22 species of waxcaps Hygrocybe s.l.1. species had been recorded with regular counts of 20 species recorded during single visit surveys, which in itself is an exceptional number. The most abundant waxcap, and our largest species, is the deep-red crimson waxcap Hygrocybe punicea which appears here in most years in spectacular numbers during autumn into early winter. Two species listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the global IUCN Red List of Threatened Species have been recorded: citrine waxcap Hygrocybe citrinovirens, a lemon-capped, white-gilled species, and dingy waxcap Hygrocybe ingrata. Other waxcaps indicative of important, high quality grassland fungi sites which occur frequently in both meadows include pink waxcap Porpolomopsis calyptriformis (=Hygrocybe calyptriformis), along with yellow foot waxcap Cuphophyllus flavipes (=Cuphophyllus flavipes), fibrous waxcap H. intermedia and splendid waxcap H. splendidissima. The assemblage also includes species from other groups of grassland fungi, including clubs, corals and spindles (Clavariaceae) and pinkgills Entoloma s.l. species. At least seven species of Clavariaceae have been recorded; one species, white spindles Clavaria fragilis (=Clavaria fragilis agg.), is locally frequent along with smaller numbers of fruiting bodies of smoky spindles Clavaria fumosa, apricot club Clavulinopsis luteoalba and the coral fungus Ramariopsis subtilis (=Clavulinopsis subtilis). Of particular note is the skinny club Clavaria incarnata, a ‘Nationally Scarce (2)’ species. At least 13 Entoloma s.l. species occur at Down Farm, notably the mealy pinkgill Entoloma prunuloides, a species characteristic of old grassland fungi sites, and other species infrequently recorded in Dorset such as E. infula and E. mougeotii. 1. Sensu lato, meaning ‘in a broad sense’, used here to indicate that the genus includes taxa previously assigned to it. 2. Nationally Scarce species have been recorded from 16-100 10km x 10km grid squares in great Britain.

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