Go to map Back to search

Lexden Gathering Ground

Nearest town: Colchester

Site type: woodland

Access: Public

Church name:

Diocese:

County: Essex

Country: England

Grid ref: TL966256

Lost yew site: No

Date visited: 9/10/2022

Recorded by: Kevin Surridge-Dines

Protection & responsibility: Nature Reserve

Yews recorded at this site: Notable

Notes: This was formerly a 'gathering ground' for water from constantly flowing springs and was used as a water source from the turn of the century until the mid-1970s. It is owned by Anglian Water, who operate the covered reservoir and treatment works nearby and managed by Essex Wildlife Trust. In the 1960s parts of the site were planted with scots pine, beech and oak. Between the woodlands lies a valley with semi-natural woodland of birch and ash on the steep slopes and a partially wooded marsh at the bottom, with a meadow beyond it. In the early twentieth century, the gathering grounds were described in a lengthy article in the Essex Naturalist, which included a fold-out plan of the grounds (Mackworth Wood 1912). The Essex Field Club visited the site around the same time and also described the springs in detail (Cole 1912).