Gorse Hill Nature Reserve Landscape History
The site experienced major landscape changes after the Second World War, with the removal of field boundaries and small woodlands and the creation of very large open fields. Historically, however this area was an area of mixed woodland, pasture and arable farming with extensive commons and rough grazing.
In the medieval period most of the site formed part of the manor of Uplitherland (recorded in the Domes day Survey 1086), which was owned successively by a number of different families until, in the early 16th Century, it passed to a branch of the Hesketh family. The lands were held by that family until 1718, when – because of financial difficulties – the Heskeths sold their Ormskirk and Aughton estates to John Plumbe of Wavertree, a wealthy Liverpool lawyer.
The manor house of Uplitherland was Uplitherland Hall, situated on Gaw Hill Lane and now much altered and partly demolished. The 1848 tithe map of Aughton, which shows field names, shows that every field in a large block of land (which coincides almost precisely with the nature reserve site) bore the name ‘Litherland’. The continuation of this estate within Gorse Hill Nature Reserve is of considerable historical interest.
The western side of the reserve is bounded by Aughton Cliffs Brook and the eastern side by a shallower valley whose watercourse has now largely vanished. These valleys contained wet woodland with common grazing land in between consisting of rough grassland with gorse, broom, heather and bracken.
Through the medieval period until the 1600’s creation of new agricultural land reduced the woodland and common land until only narrow strips of woodland existed along the stream valleys.
By 1600 the common land had been reduced to a relatively small triangular area in the centre, approached by funnel shaped access tracks. Even this area had vanished by 1718 when the gradual enclosure of common lands in Aughton was largely complete. However, its physical presence is still marked by the distinctive field boundaries that form the heart of today’s Gorse Hill Nature Reserve.
 Part of the Uplitherland Estate boundary |
The northern and eastern boundaries are very ancient historical features in their own right. They still show considerable height differences with the surrounding land being 1-2 metres lower. This coincides with what would have been an even larger earth bank on the inside of the present ditches. We have since replanted the hedges along this ancient boundary, though the higher earth bank had long before been ploughed away.
There is also evidence of small scale quarrying of sandstone across the site that was abandoned well before the beginning of the 19th Century. There was also evidence for a number of ponds that had been filled in over time.
Native hedging restores the ancient boundary |
The restoration of field boundaries and field ponds formed part of the early development of the nature reserve. Replanting of mixed native woodland along the stream valley and other areas, Native hedging restores the ancient together with conversion of arable fields
boundary to traditional wildflower hay meadows completed the phase one work.
By Jonathan Atkins.