Coppett's Wood and Scrublands
Encyclopedia
Coppett's Wood and Scrublands is a Local Nature Reserve
, Borough Grade I, between Muswell Hill
and Friern Barnet
in the London Borough of Barnet
.
The main trees are oak
and hornbeam
, and ground flora include bluebell
and garlic mustard
. Breeding birds include woodpeckers, tawny owls
and sparrowhawks. A small pond has a clump of yellow iris
, and common frogs
and smooth newts
. Scrublands is a mixture of scrub, grassland and tall herbs.
Coppett's Wood was once part of a vast forest known as Finchley Wood
. By the sixteenth century it had shrunk in size and became known as a common, and in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries it was used for pursuits such as bare-knuckle boxing, horse racing and pigeon shooting. It also had a reputation as a haunt of highwaymen. In the nineteenth century a sewage works was built on the site. It was closed in 1963, but still has its legacy in the rich variety of plants in the Scrublands. In the Second World War it was used for military training, and several tank traps still remain.
Access to the site is from Colney Hatch Lane and North Circular Road.
Local Nature Reserve
Local nature reserve or LNR is a designation for nature reserves in the United Kingdom. The designation has its origin in the recommendations of the Wild Life Conservation Special Committee which established the framework for nature conservation in the United Kingdom and suggested a national suite...
, Borough Grade I, between Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill is a suburb of north London, mostly in the London Borough of Haringey. It is situated about north of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. Muswell Hill is in the N10 postal district and mostly in the Hornsey and Wood Green parliamentary constituency.- History :The...
and Friern Barnet
Friern Barnet
Friern Barnet is a place in the London Borough of Barnet. It is a suburban development situated north of Charing Cross. The centre of Friern Barnet is formed by the busy intersection of Colney Hatch Lane , Woodhouse Road and Friern Barnet Road .-History:Friern Barnet was an...
in the London Borough of Barnet
London Borough of Barnet
The London Borough of Barnet is a London borough in North London and forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 331,500 and covers . It borders Hertfordshire to the north and five other London boroughs: Harrow and Brent to the west, Camden and Haringey to the south-east and Enfield to the...
.
The main trees are oak
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...
and hornbeam
Hornbeam
Hornbeams are relatively small hardwood trees in the genus Carpinus . Though some botanists grouped them with the hazels and hop-hornbeams in a segregate family, Corylaceae, modern botanists place the hornbeams in the birch subfamily Coryloideae...
, and ground flora include bluebell
Bluebell
-Plants:* genus Hyacinthoides** Common Bluebell ** Spanish Bluebell * genus Mertensia** Virginia Bluebell * Scottish Bluebell...
and garlic mustard
Garlic Mustard
Garlic mustard is a biennial flowering plant in the Mustard family, Brassicaceae. It is native to Europe, western and central Asia, and northwestern Africa, from Morocco, Iberia and the British Isles, north to northern Scandinavia, and east to northern India and western China...
. Breeding birds include woodpeckers, tawny owls
Tawny Owl
The Tawny Owl or Brown Owl is a stocky, medium-sized owl commonly found in woodlands across much of Eurasia. Its underparts are pale with dark streaks, and the upperparts are either brown or grey. Several of the eleven recognised subspecies have both variants...
and sparrowhawks. A small pond has a clump of yellow iris
Iris pseudacorus
Iris pseudacorus is a species of Iris, native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa. Common names include yellow iris and yellow flag...
, and common frogs
Common Frog
The Common Frog, Rana temporaria also known as the European Common Frog or European Common Brown Frog is found throughout much of Europe as far north as well north of the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia and as far east as the Urals, except for most of Iberia, southern Italy, and the southern Balkans...
and smooth newts
Smooth Newt
The Smooth Newt, also known as the Common Newt, Lissotriton vulgaris is the most common newt species of the Lissotriton genus of amphibians. L...
. Scrublands is a mixture of scrub, grassland and tall herbs.
Coppett's Wood was once part of a vast forest known as Finchley Wood
Finchley Common
Finchley Common was an area of land in Middlesex, and until 1816 the boundary between the parishes of Finchley, Friern Barnet and Hornsey.- History :...
. By the sixteenth century it had shrunk in size and became known as a common, and in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries it was used for pursuits such as bare-knuckle boxing, horse racing and pigeon shooting. It also had a reputation as a haunt of highwaymen. In the nineteenth century a sewage works was built on the site. It was closed in 1963, but still has its legacy in the rich variety of plants in the Scrublands. In the Second World War it was used for military training, and several tank traps still remain.
Access to the site is from Colney Hatch Lane and North Circular Road.
External links
- Coppett's Wood and Scrublands Local Nature Reserve, London Wildweb
- Coppett's Wood and Scrublands Local Nature Reserve, London Gardens Online
- Coppetts Wood and Glebelands LNR website This also covers the neighbouring Glebelands Local Nature ReserveGlebelands Local Nature ReserveGlebelands is a Local Nature Reserve, Borough Grade I, in Colney Hatch in the London Borough of Barnet.It is a mostly wooded fragment of the former Finchley Common, with areas of tall scrub and grassland. There are numerous small ponds, mostly seasonal. The main trees are hawthorn, oak, ash and...
. - Coppetts Wood on the VisitWoods website