Dendles Wood
Encyclopedia
Dendles Wood is an area of protected oak
-beech
woodland located on the southern edge of Dartmoor
, in the English county of Devon
. Forming part of the Dartmoor Special Area of Conservation
, the wood is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest
, and 30 hectares of it has been designated a National Nature Reserve
. It is one of five woodlands within Dartmoor that have been protected as National Nature Reserves. Dendles Wood and the adjacent Hawns Wood are sometimes known collectively as Hawns and Dendles. The wood supports a variety of flora and fauna, representative of upland oakwoods. In particular, it has a rich variety of moss and lichen, and several breeding bird species.
of Broadall Lake and Ford Brook with the River Yealm
. It is about 3 km north of the village of Cornwood
. This village is the nearest stopping point for travel to the wood by car or by bus. In total, Dendles Wood covers 50.4 hectares (124.5 acre). The River Yealm
runs through the middle of the wood. A path leads through the adjacent Hawns Wood onto open moorland.
The wood is located at an altitude of between 160 metres (525 ft) and 280 metres (919 ft).
The parent rock
is granite
, with some slate
in the southern parts of the wood.
. However, there are also a number of Beech trees, located to the east and south-west of the wood and growing in number. Beech is a genus
that is not thought to be a native to any other part of Dartmoor. There are also a few species of shrub
found throughout the wood, namely the Common Hazel
, European Holly and Rowan
.
As with Dartmoor's other upland oakwoods, the cool, moist and well-lit environment has enabled a rich variety of mosses and lichens to grow. Natural England has established a monitoring system for the latter, due to the presence of two particularly rare species: Graphina ruiziana, of which there is a greater quantity than any other South West location, and Cetrelia cetrarioides, which is found in other Dartmoor woodlands as well. The more common species in the wood are Parmelia laevigatum and Usnea florida. In terms of moss, Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus
and Thuidium tamariscinum are both present. Other varieties, such as Isothecium myosuroides
, Dicranum scoparium
, Polytrichum formosum and Plagiothecium undulatum, can be found on rocks.
. As they were first discovered in the area in 2002, after the designation of the Dartmoor Special Area of Conservation, the bats are not a 'qualifying feature' of the SAC, but Natural England has suggested that this is likely to change following the site's next review.
Several breeding bird species, typical in upland oakwoods, can be seen in Dendles Wood. Species include the Common Buzzard
, Wood Warbler
, Redstart
and Pied Flycatcher, as well as the White-throated Dipper
and Grey Wagtail
that nest alongside the woodland rivers. A nestbox scheme for the Pied Flycatcher operates in Dendles and a few other Dartmoor woodlands.
Butterflies found in the woods include the Silver-washed Fritillary
and Green Hairstreak
species. Red Deer
and Fallow Deer
are both frequent visitors to the area.
were active, oak coppice was used to produce charcoal
for smelting
. At the end of the nineteenth century, with the decline in the mining industry, the demand for coppice products ceased and Dendles Wood was no longer used for this purpose.
Instead, Hawns and Dendles, which was part of the Blachford Estate, became a popular tourist location, opened to the public on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. At the turn of the century, the United Devon Association described it as 'one of the most charming sylvan spots in the whole of Devonshire'.
During the 1930s, Dendles Wood was also passed through as part of the Dartmoor Hunt, when starting at Wisdome Mill or Cornwood Common.
In October 1965, the Nature Conservancy purchased 29 hectares (73 acres) of the wood from the Economic Forestry Group, to create the Dendles Wood National Nature Reserve. Since this point, access to the Dendles Wood reserve has been restricted; permits for access are granted by the Natural England
Site Manager. Restrictions also apply to livestock, which are not permitted within the wood; heavy grazing in the past has adversely affected the shrub layer. In 1986, the wood was notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, which was later expanded with part of the Hawns Wood and High House Moor SSSI.
described Dendles Wood as follows:
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
-beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
woodland located on the southern edge of Dartmoor
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an area of moorland in south Devon, England. Protected by National Park status, it covers .The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops known as tors, providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The...
, in the English county of Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. Forming part of the Dartmoor Special Area of Conservation
Special Area of Conservation
A Special Area of Conservation is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive , also known as the Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora...
, the wood is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
, and 30 hectares of it has been designated a National Nature Reserve
National Nature Reserve
For details of National nature reserves in the United Kingdom see:*National Nature Reserves in England*National Nature Reserves in Northern Ireland*National Nature Reserves in Scotland*National Nature Reserves in Wales...
. It is one of five woodlands within Dartmoor that have been protected as National Nature Reserves. Dendles Wood and the adjacent Hawns Wood are sometimes known collectively as Hawns and Dendles. The wood supports a variety of flora and fauna, representative of upland oakwoods. In particular, it has a rich variety of moss and lichen, and several breeding bird species.
Geography
Dendles Wood is situated on the southern edge of Dartmoor, covering the slopes of the valley around the confluenceConfluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
of Broadall Lake and Ford Brook with the River Yealm
River Yealm
Yealm is a river in Dartmoor in Devon in south-west England. It rises 1,411 feet above sea level on the Stall Moor mires of south Dartmoor and makes a 12 mile journey to the sea, passing through Cornwood, Lee Mill and Yealmpton, before reaching the estuary mouth just below Newton Ferrers and Noss...
. It is about 3 km north of the village of Cornwood
Cornwood
Cornwood is a village and civil parish in the South Hams in Devon, England. It has a population of 988.- Religion :The Church of St Michael's is Cornwood's parish church....
. This village is the nearest stopping point for travel to the wood by car or by bus. In total, Dendles Wood covers 50.4 hectares (124.5 acre). The River Yealm
River Yealm
Yealm is a river in Dartmoor in Devon in south-west England. It rises 1,411 feet above sea level on the Stall Moor mires of south Dartmoor and makes a 12 mile journey to the sea, passing through Cornwood, Lee Mill and Yealmpton, before reaching the estuary mouth just below Newton Ferrers and Noss...
runs through the middle of the wood. A path leads through the adjacent Hawns Wood onto open moorland.
The wood is located at an altitude of between 160 metres (525 ft) and 280 metres (919 ft).
The parent rock
Parent rock
Parent rock refers to the original rock from which something else was formed. It is mainly used in the context of soil formation where the parent rock will have a large influence on the nature of the resulting soil. The term is also used in the context of metamorphic rocks where again the parent...
is granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
, with some slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
in the southern parts of the wood.
Flora
Dendles Wood is a representative example of upland oakwood, consisting predominantly of Pedunculate OakPedunculate Oak
Quercus robur is commonly known as the Pedunculate Oak or English oak. It is native to most of Europe, and to Anatolia to the Caucasus, and also to parts of North Africa.-Taxonomy:Q...
. However, there are also a number of Beech trees, located to the east and south-west of the wood and growing in number. Beech is a genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
that is not thought to be a native to any other part of Dartmoor. There are also a few species of shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
found throughout the wood, namely the Common Hazel
Common Hazel
Corylus avellana, the Common Hazel, is a species of hazel native to Europe and western Asia, from the British Isles south to Iberia, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus, north to central Scandinavia, and east to the central Ural Mountains, the Caucasus, and northwestern Iran. It is an important component of...
, European Holly and Rowan
Sorbus aucuparia
Sorbus aucuparia , is a species of the genus Sorbus, native to most of Europe except for the far south, and northern Asia...
.
As with Dartmoor's other upland oakwoods, the cool, moist and well-lit environment has enabled a rich variety of mosses and lichens to grow. Natural England has established a monitoring system for the latter, due to the presence of two particularly rare species: Graphina ruiziana, of which there is a greater quantity than any other South West location, and Cetrelia cetrarioides, which is found in other Dartmoor woodlands as well. The more common species in the wood are Parmelia laevigatum and Usnea florida. In terms of moss, Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus
Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus
Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus is a species of moss known as springy turf-moss in the United Kingdom, and square goose-neck moss in the United States. It is widespread in Eurasia and North America, and has been introduced to the Southern Hemisphere. It has broad ecological tolerances, and is usually...
and Thuidium tamariscinum are both present. Other varieties, such as Isothecium myosuroides
Isothecium myosuroides
Isothecium myosuroides, commonly known as tree moss, is a true moss that grows abundantly on both rocks and trees. It is native to Eastern North America....
, Dicranum scoparium
Dicranum scoparium
Dicranum scoparium, the Broom moss, is a species of dicranid moss, native to North America, including the Great Lakes region. It usually forms tufts or mats on soil in dry to moist forested areas...
, Polytrichum formosum and Plagiothecium undulatum, can be found on rocks.
Fauna
Dendles Wood is home to a breeding colony of Barbastelles, one of Britain's rarest species of batBat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
. As they were first discovered in the area in 2002, after the designation of the Dartmoor Special Area of Conservation, the bats are not a 'qualifying feature' of the SAC, but Natural England has suggested that this is likely to change following the site's next review.
Several breeding bird species, typical in upland oakwoods, can be seen in Dendles Wood. Species include the Common Buzzard
Common Buzzard
The Common Buzzard is a medium to large bird of prey, whose range covers most of Europe and extends into Asia. It is usually resident all year, except in the coldest parts of its range, and in the case of one subspecies.-Description:...
, Wood Warbler
Wood Warbler
The Wood Warbler is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe, and just into the extreme west of Asia in the southern Ural Mountains...
, Redstart
Common Redstart
The Common Redstart , or often simply Redstart, is a small passerine bird in the redstart genus Phoenicurus...
and Pied Flycatcher, as well as the White-throated Dipper
White-throated Dipper
The White-throated Dipper , also known as the European Dipper or just Dipper is an aquatic passerine bird found in Europe, Middle East, Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. The species is divided into several subspecies, based primarily on colour differences, particularly of the pectoral band...
and Grey Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
The Grey Wagtail is a small member of the wagtail family, Motacillidae. The species looks similar to the Yellow Wagtail but has the yellow on its underside restricted to the throat and vent. Breeding males have a black throat...
that nest alongside the woodland rivers. A nestbox scheme for the Pied Flycatcher operates in Dendles and a few other Dartmoor woodlands.
Butterflies found in the woods include the Silver-washed Fritillary
Silver-washed Fritillary
Argynnis paphia is a common and variable butterfly found over much of the Palaearctic ecozone – Algeria, Europe, temperate Asia and Japan.-Subspecies:*A. p. butleri Krulikovsky, 1909 Northern Europe, Central Europe...
and Green Hairstreak
Green Hairstreak
The Green Hairstreak, Callophrys rubi, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.Callophrys rubi is found in Europe, North Africa, Russia, Asia Minor, Siberia, Amurland , Baluchistan and Chitral....
species. Red Deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
and Fallow Deer
Fallow Deer
The Fallow Deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. This common species is native to western Eurasia, but has been introduced widely elsewhere. It often includes the rarer Persian Fallow Deer as a subspecies , while others treat it as an entirely different species The Fallow...
are both frequent visitors to the area.
History
Dendles Wood is an ancient woodland. According to the title deeds of Blachford Manor, the wood was formerly known as 'Daniels', probably in reference to a former landowner; 'Dendles' is almost certainly a corruption of this name. For much of its history since the medieval period, the wood has been used for coppice. In particular, when mines on DartmoorDartmoor tin-mining
The Dartmoor tin mining industry is thought to have originated in pre-Roman times, and continued right through to the 20th century. From the 12th century onwards tin mining was regulated by a Stannary Parliament which had its own laws....
were active, oak coppice was used to produce charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
for smelting
Smelting
Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use is to produce a metal from its ore. This includes iron extraction from iron ore, and copper extraction and other base metals from their ores...
. At the end of the nineteenth century, with the decline in the mining industry, the demand for coppice products ceased and Dendles Wood was no longer used for this purpose.
Instead, Hawns and Dendles, which was part of the Blachford Estate, became a popular tourist location, opened to the public on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. At the turn of the century, the United Devon Association described it as 'one of the most charming sylvan spots in the whole of Devonshire'.
During the 1930s, Dendles Wood was also passed through as part of the Dartmoor Hunt, when starting at Wisdome Mill or Cornwood Common.
In October 1965, the Nature Conservancy purchased 29 hectares (73 acres) of the wood from the Economic Forestry Group, to create the Dendles Wood National Nature Reserve. Since this point, access to the Dendles Wood reserve has been restricted; permits for access are granted by the Natural England
Natural England
Natural England is the non-departmental public body of the UK government responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, freshwater and marine environments, geology and soils, are protected and improved...
Site Manager. Restrictions also apply to livestock, which are not permitted within the wood; heavy grazing in the past has adversely affected the shrub layer. In 1986, the wood was notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, which was later expanded with part of the Hawns Wood and High House Moor SSSI.
Literary descriptions
In her 1909 novel The Three Brothers, Dartmoor author Eden PhillpottsEden Phillpotts
Eden Phillpotts was an English author, poet and dramatist. He was born in India, educated in Plymouth, Devon, and worked as an insurance officer for 10 years before studying for the stage and eventually becoming a writer....
described Dendles Wood as follows:
In the glen beneath spread Dendles Wood, with fringes of larch and pine hiding the River Yealm and spreading a verdant medley of deep summer green in the lap of the grey hills.
External links
- Dendles Wood at Natural EnglandNatural EnglandNatural England is the non-departmental public body of the UK government responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, freshwater and marine environments, geology and soils, are protected and improved...