NHER 49114 (Designed Landscape record) - Lower Wood, ancient medieval woodland

This is one of Norfolk’s few remaining ancient woodlands, and bluebell and ransoms make colourful displays in spring. 37 hectares of ancient coppice and woodland. The wood is made up of oak, ash, hornbeam and hazel. Wood spurge, hairy St John’s wort, bluebell, wood anemone, ransoms, woodruff, early purple orchid, herb Paris and twayblade. White admiral butterflies.
Information from (S1).
M. Dennis (NLA), 7 November 2006.

March 2012. Norfolk NMP.
Assessment of the available historic maps for this area as part of the NMP mapping, in particular Faden’s map of 1797 (S2) and the 1842 Ashwellthorpe Tithe map (S3) indicated that this area of ‘ancient’ woodland as defined on the map has expanded and contracted a number of times and a significant part of eastern section of the area defined as ‘ancient woodland’ does not appear to have been woodland in 1797 (S2). Within this area a series of parallel dykes or drains can be seen on the aerial photographs taken in 1962, where an area of woodland has recently been cleared (S3). These have not been mapped as they appear to continue the line of post medieval drains and boundaries to the immediate northeast of the woodland. An earthwork ditch recorded to the immediate south of the wood (NHER 54674) from the aerial photographs may have once formed the boundary between the woodland and Ashwell Thorpe Common, see record for details.
S. Horlock (NMP), 05 March 2012.