Brean Down

File:BreanDown2.jpg

File:Cliffs on the south side of Brean Down (geograph 2570989).jpg

The Mendip Hills, of which Brean Down forms the most westerly part, are the most southerly Carboniferous Limestone upland in Britain. These rock strata were laid down during the early Carboniferous period, about 320–350 million years ago.{{sfn|Faulkner|1989|pp=93–106}} Subsequently, much of northwestern Europe underwent continental collision throughout the late Paleozoic era, culminating in the final phases of the Variscan orogeny near the end of the Carboniferous period, 300 million years ago. This tectonic activity produced a complex suite of mountain and hill ranges across what is now southern Ireland, south-western England, Brittany, and elsewhere in western Europe.{{cite web|url=http://www.jncc.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=4175&block=102 |title=GCR block – Variscan Structures of South-West England |publisher=Joint Nature Conservation Committee |access-date=5 March 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080526062827/http://www.jncc.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=4175&block=102 |archive-date=26 May 2008 }} As a result of the Variscan mountain-building, the Mendip area now comprises at least four anticlinal fold structures, with an east-west trend, each with a core of older Devonian sandstone and Silurian volcanic rocks.{{sfn|Kellaway|Welch|1948|pp=7, 10–11, 16 & 34–38}}{{sfn|Haslett|2010|pp=25–28}} West of the main Mendip plateau the Carboniferous Limestone continues in Bleadon Hill and Brean Down, and on the islands of Steep Holm and Flat Holm.{{sfn|Coysh|Mason|Waite|1977|p=67}}

Brean Down is just over {{convert|2|km|mi|frac=4|spell=in}} long and runs in an east-west direction near the mouth of the River Axe opposite Uphill Cliff. The flat area on the top of the peninsula may represent a raised beach laid down when the sea level was much higher than it is today, as the highest point of the promontory is approximately {{convert|97|m}} above sea level.{{cite web|last=Prudden |first=Hugh |title=Somerset Geology – a good rock guide |url=http://people.bath.ac.uk/exxbgs/Somerset_Good_Rock_Guide.pdf |publisher=Bath Geological Society |access-date=6 February 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304105348/http://people.bath.ac.uk/exxbgs/Somerset_Good_Rock_Guide.pdf |archive-date= 4 March 2016 }} The cliffs on the north and south faces are rich in fossils that include corals, seashells and crinoids, which supports the theory of the marine deposition of the rocks.{{sfn|Haslett|2010|pp=128–132}} 13 separate layers have been identified in the 'sand cliff' on the south side, the lowest five dating to the millennia of the last glaciation.{{sfn|Atthill|1976|pp=52–53}}

File:Brean Down - Brean Down Fort (geograph 2782110).jpg]]

Human occupation dates back to the Beaker culture of the late Bronze Age.{{sfn|Goldberg|2009|pp=43–46}} There is also evidence of an Iron Age hill fort and prehistoric barrows and field systems.{{sfn|Adkins|1992|pp=27–29}}{{sfn|Quinn|2008|pp=21–22}} There is evidence of a shrine dating from pre-Roman times,{{sfn|ApSimon|1958|pp=106–109}}{{sfn|ApSimon|1965|pp=195–258}} which was re-established as a Romano-Celtic Temple in the mid-4th century. According to at least one source, it is extremely likely this was succeeded by a small late-4th-century Christian oratory.{{sfn|Aston|Burrow|1991}}{{sfn|Atthill|1976|pp=72–73}} Several Roman finds including gold coins of Augustus, Nero, and Drusus, two silver denarii of Vespasian and a Roman carnelian ring were found at the site during quarrying.{{cite web|title=Hillfort, Brean Down |url=http://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/10115 |work=Somerset Historic Environment Record |publisher=South West Heritage Trust |access-date=7 July 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003093514/http://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/10115 |archive-date= 3 October 2016 }}

Brean Down Fort was built on the headland between 1864 and 1871 on the recommendations of the 1859 Royal Commission. It was the most southerly of a chain of defences across the Bristol Channel, protecting the access to Bristol and Cardiff. Four acres of land at the end of Brean Down were requisitioned in 1862,{{cite web|url=http://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/10128 |title=Victorian artillery battery, Brean Down |work=Somerset Historic Environment Record |publisher=South West Heritage Trust |access-date=6 May 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003094341/http://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/10128 |archive-date= 3 October 2016 }} with construction beginning in 1864 and completed in 1871.

In the 1860s plans were laid for a deep-water harbour on the northern shore of Brean Down.{{cite news|last=Newton |first=Chris |title=Exploring the Secrets of Brean Down, Western extremeties of the Mendips on the River Axe Estuary |url=http://www.somerset-life.co.uk/out-about/places/exploring_the_secrets_of_brean_down_western_extremeties_of_the_mendips_on_the_river_axe_estuary_1_1632501 |access-date=2 March 2014 |newspaper=Somerset Life |date=27 January 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402152327/http://www.somerset-life.co.uk/out-about/places/exploring_the_secrets_of_brean_down_western_extremeties_of_the_mendips_on_the_river_axe_estuary_1_1632501 |archive-date= 2 April 2015 }} It was intended that this harbour would replace Bristol as a port on embarkation for transatlantic crossings and the export of minerals and agricultural produce from the Mendip Hills and the rest of Somerset.{{cite news|title=Brean Down|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000264/18621006/024/0004|access-date=7 July 2014|work=Western Daily Press|date=6 October 1862| publisher = British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription }}

The foundation stones of the pier were laid, but the project was later abandoned after a large storm destroyed the foundations.{{sfn|Dunning|2003|p=116}} In 1897, following wireless transmissions from Lavernock Point in Wales and Flat Holm,{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/sites/flatholm/pages/marconi.shtml |title=Marconi: Radio Pioneer |access-date=12 April 2008 |work=BBC South East Wales |archive-date=22 July 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120722102254/http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/sites/flatholm/pages/marconi.shtml |url-status=dead }} Guglielmo Marconi moved his equipment to Brean Down and set a new distance record of {{convert|14|km|nmi|frac=2|abbr=off}} for wireless transmission over open sea.{{cite web |title=Marconi at Brean Down (near Bristol) |url=http://g4usb.net/IMD/station-histories/brean-down-gb6md/ |publisher=International Marconi Day |access-date=6 February 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219151408/http://g4usb.net/IMD/station-histories/brean-down-gb6md/# |archive-date=19 February 2014 |df=dmy-all }}{{sfn|Garratt|1994|p=86}} In 1912 Brean Down was leased by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds as a bird sanctuary, acquiring the shooting rights to stop others shooting on the promontory.{{cite news|title=Brean Down|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000532/19120914/077/0004|access-date=7 July 2014|work=Gloucester Journal|date=14 September 1912| publisher = British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription }}

File:Wild goats on Brean Down, Somerset, England arp.jpg

On the outbreak of World War II, the fort was rearmed with two 6-inch (15-centimetre) ex-naval guns, and machine gun posts were built on the Down. Birnbeck Pier was taken over by the Admiralty in 1941 as an outpost of the Department of Miscellaneous Weapons Development (DMWD). It was commissioned as HMS Birnbeck, and was used for secret weapons development and storage with testing.{{sfn|van der Bijl|2000|pp=119–123}} The "Bouncing bomb" was tested at the Brean Down Fort on the opposite side of Weston Bay.{{cite web|title=Birnbeck Pier |work=The Heritage Trail |url=http://www.theheritagetrail.co.uk/piers/birnbeck%20pier.htm |access-date=18 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100218145015/http://www.theheritagetrail.co.uk/piers/birnbeck%20pier.htm |archive-date=18 February 2010 |df=dmy }}{{cite web|url=http://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/12491 |title=Experimental weapon rails, Brean Down |work=Somerset Historic Environment Record |publisher=South West Heritage Trust |access-date=6 May 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003100206/http://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/12491 |archive-date= 3 October 2016 }}{{sfn|Evans|2004|pp=5–11}}

In 1954 the former Axbridge Rural District Council gave {{convert|59.685|ha|acre|frac=64}} of the down to the National Trust to celebrate the Festival of Britain.{{cite web|title=Acquisitions Up to December 2011 |url=http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobheadername1=Content-Disposition&blobheadername2=MDT-Type&blobheadername3=Content-Type&blobheadervalue1=inline%3B+filename%3D297%252F965%252Fnt_acquisitions_dec2011-2%252C2.pdf&blobheadervalue2=abinary%3B+charset%3DUTF-8&blobheadervalue3=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1349117284549&ssbinary=true |publisher=National Trust |access-date=6 February 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714144751/http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobheadername1=Content-Disposition&blobheadername2=MDT-Type&blobheadername3=Content-Type&blobheadervalue1=inline%3B%2Bfilename%3D297%2F965%2Fnt_acquisitions_dec2011-2%2C2.pdf&blobheadervalue2=abinary%3B%2Bcharset%3DUTF-8&blobheadervalue3=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1349117284549&ssbinary=true |archive-date=14 July 2014 }} The Major Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Weston-Super Mare gave {{convert|1.494|ha|acre|frac=64}} in 1963, and a further {{convert|1.371|ha|acre|frac=64}} at Brean Down Cove was acquired from M.D. and M Matthews in 2000. After restoring the fort, which covers {{convert|1.606|ha|acre|frac=64}}, Sedgemoor District Council gave this to the trust as well in 2002.

Various proposals have been put forward to construct a Severn Barrage for tidal electricity production from Brean Down to Lavernock Point in south Wales.{{cite web|url=http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/wdp/news/drawing-board/article-249673-detail/article.html|title=Back to the drawing board|last=Brooke|first=Gerry|date=4 August 2008|work=Western Daily Press|publisher=This is Bristol|access-date=12 December 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120919172510/http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/wdp/news/drawing-board/article-249673-detail/article.html|archive-date=19 September 2012|df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|last=Hutchinson|first=Clare|title='Real cost' of Severn Barrage £34bn|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/real-cost-severn-barrage-34bn-1892046|access-date=18 September 2012|newspaper=WalesOnline|date=19 October 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313113616/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/real-cost-severn-barrage-34bn-1892046|archive-date=13 March 2014|df=dmy-all}} The proposals, which go back over 100 years, have never been successful so far, however Peter Hain and others are still working on further proposals and trying to persuade the government to fund either the barrage or tidal lagoons.{{cite news|last=Evans |first=Bethan |title=Barrage bid to be looked at — again |url=http://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/news/barrage_bid_to_be_looked_at_again_1_1507465 |access-date=12 July 2014 |newspaper=The Weston & Somerset Mercury |date=9 September 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130801050420/http://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/news/barrage_bid_to_be_looked_at_again_1_1507465 |archive-date= 1 August 2013 }}

Image:Helianthemumapenninum.JPG) on the south cliff of Brean Down]]

In addition to the geological interest of the site, the range of plants growing on Brean Down has led to it being designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.{{cite web|url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1003155.pdf |title=Brean Down |access-date=2 March 2014 |work=English Nature |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104205859/http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1003155.pdf |archive-date= 4 November 2012 }} The nationally rare white rock-rose (Helianthemum appenninum) is a common species at the site, occurring in abundance on the upper reaches of the grassy south-facing slopes.{{sfn|Twist|2001}} Some of the broomrapes growing here, which were originally thought to be oxtongue broomrape (Orobanche artemisiae-campestriae), are now no longer believed to be this species, but atypical specimens of ivy broomrape (Orobanche hederae).{{sfn|Green|Green|Crouch|1997}} Other plants on the southern slopes include the Somerset hair grass, wild thyme, horseshoe vetch and birds-foot-trefoil. The northern side is dominated by bracken, bramble, privet, hawthorn, cowslips and bell heather.

The birds seen on Brean Down include peregrine falcon, jackdaw, kestrel, collared and stock doves, common whitethroat, common linnet, stonechat, dunnock, rock pipit and – in 2007 – Britain's first and only Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross was discovered in a garden nearby.{{cite web |url=http://www.tristandc.com/newsof1stbritishmolly.php |title=1st Sighting of a Molly in Britain – A Mega Event for Twitchers |publisher=Tristan da Cunha |access-date=6 February 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120914144706/http://www.tristandc.com/newsof1stbritishmolly.php |archive-date=14 September 2012 |df=dmy-all }} There are also several species of butterfly, including chalkhill blue, dark green fritillary, meadow brown, marbled white, small heath, and common blue.{{cite web |title=Brean Down Butterflies |url=http://www.breandownfort.co.uk/butterfly/ |publisher=Brean Down Fort |access-date=2 March 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217133825/http://www.breandownfort.co.uk/butterfly/# |archive-date=17 December 2013 |df=dmy-all }}

• List of National Trust properties in Somerset

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• {{cite book |last=Dunning |first=Robert |title=A History of Somerset |year=2003 |publisher=Somerset Books |location=Tiverton |isbn=0-86183-476-3}}
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• {{cite journal|last1=Faulkner|first1=T.J.|title=The early Carboniferous (Courceyan) Middle Hope volcanics of Weston-super-Mare: development and demise of an offshore volcanic high|journal=Proceedings of the Geologists' Association|date=1989|volume=100|issue=1|pages=93–106|doi=10.1016/S0016-7878(89)80068-9}}
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• {{cite book|last=Goldberg|first=Paul|title=Practical and Theoretical Geoarchaeology|year=2009|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4443-1225-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jyW14Ykil70C&q=Geology+Brean+Down&pg=PA43}}
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• {{cite book|last=Haslett|first=Simon K.|title=Somerset Landscapes: Geology and Landforms|year=2010|publisher=Blackbarn Books|location=Usk|isbn=978-1-4564-1631-7}}
• {{cite book |year=1948 |last1= Kellaway |first1= G. A. |last2=Welch |first2=F. B. A. |title=Bristol and Gloucester District |series=British Regional Geology |location=London |publisher=HMSO for Natural Environment Research Council, Institute of Geological Sciences, Geographical Survey and Museum |edition=Second |isbn=0-11-880064-7}}
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• {{cite book|last1=Twist|first1=Colin|title=Rare Plants in Great Britain – a site guide|publisher=Colin Twist|year=2001}}
• {{cite book | last=van der Bijl | first=Nicholas |year=2000 | title=Brean Down Fort: Its History and the Defences of the Bristol Channel|location= Cossington|publisher=Hawk Editions | isbn=978-0-9529081-7-3}}

{{Commons category|Brean Down}}

• [https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/brean-down Brean Down information at the National Trust]
• [http://www.breandownfort.co.uk Brean Down Visitor Information]

{{SSSIs Somerset biological}}

{{SSSIs Somerset geological}}

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{{Good article}}

Category:Bristol Channel

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Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset

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