Breckland Birder

Breckland Birder
Red Deer in Breckland, Norfolk Photo by Paul Newport

Monday 5 October 2015

Hethel Old Thorn, Norfolk 3 October 2015

Today was another long day at work, however, I had a good afternoon break and decided to visit Hethel, in particular, the churchyard and nearby 'Old Thorn'
The churchyard at Hethel is quite small but very pretty with well-wooded area both around this location and in the immediate surrounds.
A check of the churchyard produced a couple of Chiffchaffs, a singing Goldcrest, 1 Song Thrush, Blackbird, Wren, Dunnock, and the ever-present Robin.  Also seen today, as with other recent locations, was good numbers of Hornets.
Hethel Old Thorn 03/10/15
Hethel Old Thorn
This beautiful Hawthorn is at 0.025 hectares, Britains smallest nature reserve.  It was given to the Norfolk Wildlife Trust in 1960 by by the late Mr F.W. Myhill.
Hethel Old Thorn is aged between 700 and 1000 years old, it was said to be the meeting place for peasants during the revolt against King John some 700 years ago., therefore, it must have been a substantial Hawthorn at that time.
In 1841 the Hawthorn was measured, its trunk had a circumference of 12 feet 1 inch and the crown spread was 31 yards (90+ feet).  Since that time the Hawthorn has split in two, however, it remains very much alive and is full of fruit as seen in my picture.

No comments:

Post a Comment