:Benty Grange
{{short description|Site of Special Scientific Interest in Derbyshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox SSSI
| name = Benty Grange
| image = Benty Grange - geograph.org.uk - 311410.jpg
| image_caption = Benty Grange Farm
| image_size =
| aos = Derbyshire
| interest =
| gridref =
| coordinates = {{Wikidatacoord|Q48817692|display=inline,title}}
| displaymap =
| area = {{cvt|21.1|ha|km2 sqmi|sigfig=2}}
| notifydate = 19 June 2012
| enref = 1013767
}}
Benty Grange is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the parish of Monyash in Derbyshire, England. {{cvt|21.1|ha|acre}} in size and with at least four grass species and ten other plant species, it is considered of national importance as one of the largest areas of unimproved species-rich neutral lowland grassland in the Peak District National Park.{{sfn|Natural England Benty Grange|2012}} The area was confirmed as a Site of Special Scientific Interest on 8 March 2013, following notification of the designation on 19 June 2012.
Benty Grange is also the site of a large Anglo-Saxon barrow which on 23 October 1970 was listed as a scheduled monument. It was excavated on 3 May 1848 by the English antiquarian Thomas Bateman, who discovered a richly furnished burial which included the boar crested Benty Grange helmet, and fragments of the Benty Grange hanging bowl. The list entry for the barrow notes that other than this excavation, it is "undisturbed and retains significant archaeological remains."{{sfn|Historic England Benty Grange}}
Description
Benty Grange is a {{cvt|21.1|ha|acre}} area of grassland in Monyash parish in Derbyshire, England. It covers eight plots of land tended by two owners, David Woolley and Mark Allen, and partially surrounds the Benty Grange farmhouse.{{sfn|Natural England Benty Grange SSSI}}{{sfn|Natural England Benty Grange confirmation|2013|pp=1, 5}} Grasses in the area include Cynosurus cristatus, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Agrostis capillaris, and Festuca rubra; some other plants are Centaurea nigra, Ranunculus acris, Ranunculus bulbosus, Plantago lanceolata, Trifolium pratense, Leucanthemum vulgare, Lotus corniculatus, Hypochaeris radicata, Rumex acetosa, and Conopodium majus.{{sfn|Natural England Benty Grange|2012}}
Notification of the designation as a Site of Special Scientific Interest was made on 19 June 2012.{{sfn|Natural England Benty Grange|2012}}{{sfn|Natural England Benty Grange SSSI}}{{sfn|Natural England Benty Grange confirmation|2013|p=1}} It was confirmed on 8 March 2013,{{sfn|Natural England Benty Grange SSSI}} over the objections of Woolley and five other parties in his support.{{sfn|Natural England Benty Grange confirmation|2013|p=8}}
Benty Grange also contains an Anglo-Saxon barrow which was designated a scheduled monument on 23 October 1970.{{sfn|Historic England Benty Grange}} The barrow has three elements: a central mound approximately {{cvt|.6|m|ft|0}} high and {{cvt|15|m|ft}} in diameter, a surrounding fosse about {{cvt|.3|m|ft|0}} deep and {{cvt|1|m|ft}} wide, and penannular outer banks around {{cvt|.2|m|ft}} high and {{cvt|3|m|ft|0}} wide.{{sfn|Historic England Benty Grange}} Taken together, the entire barrow is approximately {{cvt|23|by|22|m|ft}}.{{sfn|Historic England Benty Grange}} It was excavated on 3 May 1848 by English antiquarian Thomas Bateman,{{sfn|Bateman|1861|p=28}} who discovered the Benty Grange helmet and the Benty Grange hanging bowl among the remains of a richly furnished burial.{{sfn|Bruce-Mitford|1974|pp=223–229}} Historic England notes in the list entry for the barrow, however, that other for than Bateman's excavation the barrow is "undisturbed and retains significant archaeological remains", and that further investigation would return new information.{{sfn|Historic England Benty Grange}}
File:Benty grange helm crop.png|alt=Colour photograph of the Benty Grange helmet|Benty Grange helmet
File:2024.12.10 - Benty Grange hanging bowl Sheffield escutcheon (cropped).jpg|Benty Grange hanging bowl
References
{{reflist|30em}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book |last=Bateman |first=Thomas |author-link=Thomas Bateman (antiquary) |title=Ten Years' Digging in Celtic and Saxon Grave Hills, in the counties of Derby, Stafford, and York, from 1848 to 1858; with notices of some former discoveries, hitherto unpublished, and remarks on the crania and pottery from the mounds |date=1861 |publisher=John Russell Smith |location=London |pages=28–33 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oopBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA28 }}
- {{cite web |ref={{harvid|Natural England Benty Grange|2012}} |last= |first= |title=Benty Grange |date=19 June 2012 |website=Designated Sites |publisher=Natural England |url=https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/2000750.pdf |access-date=10 February 2018 }}
- {{cite web |ref={{harvid|Natural England Benty Grange confirmation|2013}} |title=Benty Grange Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) – confirmation of notification |date=6 March 2013 |website=National England |url=http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/Images/nebpu3402_tcm6-35337.pdf |access-date=10 February 2018 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140605150507/http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/Images/nebpu3402_tcm6-35337.pdf |archive-date=5 June 2014 }}
- {{cite web |ref={{harvid|Natural England Benty Grange SSSI}} |title=Benty Grange SSSI |date= |website=Designated Sites |publisher=Natural England |url=https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteDetail.aspx?SiteCode=S2000750&SiteName=Benty%20Grange&countyCode=&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |access-date=10 February 2018 }}
- {{cite book |last=Bruce-Mitford |first=Rupert |author-link=Rupert Bruce-Mitford |title=Aspects of Anglo-Saxon Archaeology: Sutton Hoo and Other Discoveries |date=1974 |publisher=Victor Gollancz Limited |location=London |isbn=0-575-01704-X |url=https://archive.org/details/aspectsofanglosa0000bruc |url-access=registration }}
- {{cite web |last=Fair |first=James |title=How Natural England lost its bite |date=27 September 2018 |website=The ENDS Report |url=https://www.endsreport.com/article/1528171/natural-england-lost-its-bite |access-date=4 March 2021 }} {{closed access}}
- {{NHLE |ref={{harvid|Historic England Benty Grange}} |desc=Benty Grange hlaew, Monyash |date= |num=1013767 |accessdate=10 February 2018 }}
Category:Anglo-Saxon sites in England