Sand Point and Middle Hope

{{Infobox SSSI

|image=200px

|name=Middle Hope

|aos=Avon

|interest=Biological

|gridref={{gbmappingsmall|ST325662}}

|coordinates = {{coord|51.3898|-2.969|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}}

|displaymap=Somerset

|area={{convert|84.1|ha}}

|notifydate={{Start date|1952}}

|enref=1002814

}}

Sand Point in Somerset, England, is the peninsula stretching out from Middle Hope, an {{convert|84.1|ha|adj=on}} biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest. It lies to the north of the village of Kewstoke, and the stretch of coastline called Sand Bay north of the town of Weston-super-Mare. On a clear day it commands views over Flat Holm, of the Bristol Channel, South Wales, Clevedon, the Second Severn Crossing and the Severn Bridge.

Some sources treat Sand Point as the lower limit of the Severn Estuary and its boundary with the Bristol Channel, although definitions of these areas vary and are often ambiguous.{{cite web |title=Across the waters Implementation of the UK Marine and Coastal Access Act and devolved marine legislation: cross-border case studies | date=December 2009 |url=https://wcl.org.uk/docs/2009/Joint_Links_AcrosstheWaters_SevernEstuary_BristolChannel_Dec09.pdf | quote="There is no defined boundary between the Severn Estuary and the Bristol Channel. The Welsh 'Mor Hafren' or 'The Severn Sea' includes the relatively enclosed waters to the line of the proposed barrage extending from Brean Down via Steep Holm and Flat Holm to Lavernock Point."}} The Living Levels Partnership use a definition that draws a line between Sand Point and Lavernock Point in South Wales.{{cite web |title=The Severn Estuary |url=https://www.livinglevels.org.uk/severn-estuary |website=Living Levels}}

Middle Hope is a sequence of carboniferous limestone with unusual geological features including a Pleistocene-aged fossil cliff and as a result has been designated as a regionally important geological site. The underlying geology and soil types support scarce plants such as the smallflower buttercup, honewort, Cheddar pink and Somerset hair grass. Human use of the sites is shown by a bowl barrow and disc barrow from late Neolithic or Bronze Age and the site of a likely motte-and-bailey castle. Woodspring Priory, a former Augustinian priory which was founded in the early 13th century, sits just inland of the rocky promontory. The priory and surrounding land is owned by the National Trust and is a popular place for walking.

Geology

File:Sand Point and Middle Hope 14.JPG

At Middle Hope a sequence of carboniferous limestone is exposed, which includes thick volcanic tuffs and lavas, demonstrating Tournaisian carbonate sections.{{cite web|last1=Prudden|first1=Hugh|title=Somerset Geology — A Good Rock Guide|url=http://people.bath.ac.uk/exxbgs/Somerset_Good_Rock_Guide.pdf|website=University of Bath|publisher=Bath Geological Society|access-date=8 March 2015}} The site contains a Pleistocene-aged fossil cliff and shore platform.{{cite web|url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1002814.pdf|title=Middle Hope|work=SSSI citation sheet|publisher=English Nature|access-date=31 October 2008}}{{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}}{{cite web|title=North Somerset Landscape Character Assessment|url=https://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/Environment/Planning_policy_and-research/Documents/Supplementary%20planning%20documents/North%20Somerset%20landscape%20character%20assessment%20supplementary%20planning%20document%20(pdf).pdf|publisher=North Somerset Council|access-date=8 March 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715102335/https://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/Environment/Planning_policy_and-research/Documents/Supplementary%20planning%20documents/North%20Somerset%20landscape%20character%20assessment%20supplementary%20planning%20document%20(pdf).pdf|archive-date=15 July 2014|df=dmy-all}} These features have led to the designation of Middle Hope as a regionally important geological site (RIGS).

The raised beach of wave-cut platforms has been created by changes in sea level of the Bristol Channel since the Quaternary period.{{cite web|title=Severn Estuary|url=http://www.severn-boating.co.uk/estuary.htm|publisher=Severn Boating|access-date=15 December 2013}}{{cite web|title=North Somerset Landscape Character Assessment|url=https://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/Environment/Planning_policy_and-research/Documents/Supplementary%20planning%20documents/North%20Somerset%20landscape%20character%20assessment%20supplementary%20planning%20document%20(pdf).pdf|publisher=North Somerset Council|access-date=14 July 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715102335/https://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/Environment/Planning_policy_and-research/Documents/Supplementary%20planning%20documents/North%20Somerset%20landscape%20character%20assessment%20supplementary%20planning%20document%20(pdf).pdf|archive-date=15 July 2014|df=dmy-all}}{{cite web|title=Somerset|url=http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/geodiversity/englands/counties/area_ID30.aspx|publisher=Natural England|access-date=14 July 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329003609/http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/geodiversity/englands/counties/area_ID30.aspx|archive-date=29 March 2014|df=dmy-all}} The arrangement of volcanic and sedimentary rocks, including the Black Rock Limestone, illustrates the events of 350 million years ago.{{cite web|title=Middle Hope, Kewstoke, Somerset|url=http://avonrigsoutcrop.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/rigs-of-month-march-middle-hope.html|publisher=Avon RIGS Group|access-date=14 July 2014}}{{cite web|title=OGU fieldtrip to Middle Hope|url=http://www.bris.ac.uk/chemistry/research/ogu/news/2013/23.html|publisher=University of Bristol|access-date=8 March 2015}} The strata have been tilted and compressed during the variscan orogeny.{{cite web|title=RIGS of the Month — March Middle Hope, Kewstoke, Somerset|url=http://avonrigsoutcrop.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/rigs-of-month-march-middle-hope.html|publisher=Avon RIGS group|access-date=8 March 2015}}

Flora

Among scarce plants found on Sand Point are smallflower buttercup,{{cite book|last1=Green|first1=Ian P.|last2=Higgins|first2=Rupert J.|last3=Kitchen|first3=Mark A R.|last4=Kitchen|first4=C.|editor-last=Myles|editor-first=Sarah L.|title=The Flora of the Bristol Region|date=2000|publisher=Pisces Publications|isbn=978-1874357186|page=66}} and honewort.{{cite book|last1=Green|first1=Ian P.|last2=Higgins|first2=Rupert J.|last3=Kitchen|first3=Mark A R.|last4=Kitchen|first4=C.|editor-last=Myles|editor-first=Sarah L.|title=The Flora of the Bristol Region|date=2000|publisher=Pisces Publications|isbn=978-1874357186|page=161}} The range of soils at the site support various flora and fauna. The calcareous grassland is dominated by Festuca species and Dactylis glomerata, while the scrub towards the west of the site is dominated by hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) and blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), while that to the east consists of common gorse (Ulex europaeus) and bramble (Rubus fruticosus agg). Less common plants include the cheddar pink (Dianthus gratianopolitanus) and Somerset hair grass (Koeleria vallesiana).{{cite web|title=2012 Newsletter Issue No.13|url=http://www.somersetrareplantsgroup.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/2012-Newsletter-13-PDF.pdf|publisher=Somerset Rare Plants Group|access-date=10 May 2018}}

History

File:Sand Point and Middle Hope 17.JPG and site of the bowl barrow and disc barrow]]

Evidence of early human occupation is provided by a bowl barrow and disc barrow from the late Neolithic or Bronze Age that have been identified on the higher ground. The bowl barrow is {{convert|10|m}} in diameter and approximately {{convert|0.5|m}} high. Slightly west of the bowl barrow is a disc barrow surrounded by a bank and ditch which enclose an area about {{convert|8|m}} across. These are situated at the highest point where the Ordnance Survey have constructed a triangulation station.{{NHLE|desc=Bowl barrow and disc barrow 600 m NNW of Sandpoint Farm|num=1008115|access-date=8 March 2015}}

A motte-and-bailey castle may have been constructed after the Norman Conquest.{{NHLE|desc=Motte and bailey castle 650 m NNW of Sandpoint Farm|num=1008114|access-date=16 September 2014}} The site is known as Castle Mound or Castle Batch and can be seen as a {{convert|2|m}} high mound which is approximately {{convert|30|m}} in diameter and marked by a ditch on the landward eastern edge.{{PastScape|mname=|mnumber=192646|access-date=8 March 2015}} The mound was damaged by the construction of a building during World War II. The medieval date for the construction is in doubt with some sources suggesting that the mound may have been a watchtower constructed in the 16th century.{{cite web|title=Castle Mound ( Castle Batch), Sand Point and Middle Hope|url=http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archsearch/record.jsf?titleId=1786937|publisher=Archaeology Data Service|access-date=8 March 2015}}{{cite web|title=Sand Point & Middlehope, Somerset|url=http://www.walk4life.info/sites/default/files/walkdocs/walkdoc-5289.pdf|publisher=National Trust|access-date=14 July 2014}}{{cite web|title=Sand Point and Middle Hope|url=http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/article-1356396397972/|publisher=National Trust|access-date=14 July 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215230033/http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/article-1356396397972/|archive-date=15 December 2013|df=dmy-all}} The walls of the sheep fold were built by prisoners from the Napoleonic Wars. Hope Cove on the northern coast had a reputation for smuggling as it was "well away from the men of HM Customs and Excise".{{cite book|last1=Body|first1=Geoff|last2=Gallop|first2=Roy|title=Any Muddy Bottom: A History of Somerset's Waterborne Trade|date=2015|publisher=History Press|isbn=978-0750961639|page=85}}

Woodspring Priory was an Augustinian priory.{{NHLE|desc=Woodspring Priory and associated fishponds and field system|num=1012722|access-date=15 July 2014}} It was founded by William de Courtney, in the early 13th century, and dedicated to Thomas Becket.{{cite web|title=Local History|url=http://kewstokevillage.com/?page_id=52|publisher=Kewstoke Village|access-date=16 July 2014}} The small community built a church and monastic lodgings during the next hundred years. They were Victorine Canons who were influenced by the Cistercians emphasis on manual labour and self-sufficiency. As a result, the clerks who had taken holy orders worked on the farm, as well as providing clergy for surrounding churches.{{cite book|last=Greenwood|first=Charles|title=Famous Houses of the West Country|year=1977|publisher=Kingsmead Press|location=Bath|isbn=978-0901571878|pages=109–111}} Despite endowments of land the priory was not wealthy until the 15th century when further building work, including the current priory church, infirmary and barn was undertaken. It was dissolved in 1536 and then owned by local noblemen and leased to local farmers.{{cite book|last=Dickens|first=Arthur Geoffrey|author-link=Arthur Geoffrey Dickens|title=The English Reformation|edition=2nd|location=London|publisher=B. T. Batsford|year=1989|isbn=978-0271028682}} In 1969 the priory was taken over by the Landmark Trust who spent 20 years on restoration work, and since the 1990s have rented out the farmhouse as holiday accommodation.{{cite web|title=Woodspring Priory — Restoration|url=http://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/our-landmarks/properties/woodspring-priory-13260/#tabs=2|publisher=Landmark Trust|access-date=15 July 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718155544/http://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/our-landmarks/properties/woodspring-priory-13260/#tabs=2|archive-date=18 July 2014|df=dmy-all}} The surviving buildings include the priory church, which was a 15th-century replacement for the earlier 13th century structure, infirmary, barn and 16th century prior's lodging which was converted into a farmhouse. The whole site was arranged around a central cloister from which only the east wall and west wall of the chapter house remain, the sacristy, refectory, chapter house, lady chapel and parlour having been demolished.{{NHLE|desc=East Cloister Wall|num=1302945|access-date=15 July 2014}}{{NHLE|desc=West Wall of Chapter House Range|num=1320653|access-date=15 July 2014}}{{NHLE|desc=Infirmary|num=1156326|access-date=15 July 2014}}

Because of the biological and geological interest the site was designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1952. In 1968 the priory and adjoining land of Middle Hope was purchased by the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty as part of Project Neptune.{{cite book|last1=Tomalin|first1=David John|last2=Crook|first2=Christopher|title=Woodspring Priory|date=2007|publisher=The Landmark Trust}}{{cite web|last1=Longman|first1=Tim|title=Archaeological Watching Brief at Woodspring Priory|url=http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-918-1/dissemination/pdf/bristola1-68934_1.pdf|website=Archaeology Data Services|publisher=Bristol and Region Archaeological Services|date=16 March 2010|access-date=15 July 2014}}

During World War II weapons were tested at Sand Point, in association with the base at Birnbeck Pier which was commissioned as "HMS Birnbeck" by the Admiralty as part of the Department of Miscellaneous Weapons Development (DMWD) for research into new weapons.{{cite book|last1=Johnson|first1=Ted|title=Weston Super Mare & The Aeroplane|date=2013|publisher=Amberley Publishing|isbn=978-1445632148|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TJOIAwAAQBAJ&q=Admiralty+st+thomas+head&pg=PA1988-IA88}} To support this buildings were constructed at St Thomas Head, east of Middle Hope. Some of these have since been removed and the site is now used by QinetiQ as an explosives and shock test facility.{{PastScape|desc=St Thomas Head Weapons Testing Site|num=1460835|access-date=31 August 2015}}

References

External links

[https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/brean-down/features/sand-point-and-middle-hope National Trust information on Sand Point and Middle Hope]

Category:North Somerset

Category:National Trust properties in Somerset

Category:Bristol Channel

Category:Headlands of Somerset

Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in North Somerset

Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1952

Category:Geology of Somerset