Heritage Resources are added when made available to the Parish Council. For further research the Essex Records Office is recommended

Castle Hedingham Parish Records: Births, Marriages and Deaths 

 Castle Hedingham War Memorials

Environmental Projects: Please follow the link if you wish to read Castle Hedingham Parish Council's Environmental Policy

Rewilding Project, New ParkWilder Villages logo

Our rewilding project at the Pump House land, New Park, started in spring 2023. To take part in monitoring plant and animal species observed,  try the iNaturalist App at https://uk.inaturalist.org/. This is part of a 5 year project on Braintree District Council owned land, and carried out with the support of the Essex Wildlife Trust Wilder Towns, Wilder Villages team.  We are delighted to welcome De Vere Primary School who are regularly visiting the site to record what they find.

June 2024 Report from on-site review by Cllr Dover

  • Conservation of grassland sites is a long term process and we cannot expect instant results.
  • We will continue recording and responding to what we find on site and encourage residents to share their findings with us.
  • Nutrient levels are still incredibly high which explains the dominant grasses. Oversowing flowers or other seeds of any kind would be a waste of time until this is reduced.
  • We will continue to cut and remove once a year, this will gradually bring the nutrient levels down.
  • Addition of logs on the boundary to stop damage to the site from parking and create perches/basking spots for insects, birds and reptiles. 

Site walk 13th June 2024, 11am. Weather mild, light breeze, bright but cloud cover.

FLORA

The site is very much dominated by sedges and grasses. The main four noted were:

  • False oat grass (Arrhenatherum elatius)
  • Timothy (Phleum pratense)
  • Yorkshire fog (Holcus lanatus)
  • Cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata)

Indeed looking at the site from the road, really all you would see in passing is the grass. But once you stop and walk through it you notice other plants too.

In the shorter edges are smaller flowering plants such as

  • Speedwell (Veronica sp)
  • Buttercup (Ranunculus sp probably Ranunculus acris forgot to check)
  • Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis)
  • Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata)

Standing in clumps throughout the site above the grasses were-

  • Stinging Nettles (Urtica dioica)
  • Common Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare)
  • Curly Leaf Dock (Rumex crispus)
  • Common Mallow (Malva sylvestris) .

FAUNA

  • Several Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) butterflies
  • A wasp, in the Sphecidae family (It wouldn't land long enough to be sure..!)
  • Lots of Ladybirds, several different species including unfortunately a probable Harlequin Ladybird, Also found some ladybird eggs on a thistle.
  • Thousands of Dock Aphid (Aphis rumicis) unsurprisingly on dock plants and being shepherded by Black Ants (Lasius niger)
  • Nettle Weevil (Phyllobius pomaceus) On a nettle.
  • Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus) On a dock...!
  • Hoverfly (Not sure as again wouldn't sit still but probably Syrphus ribesii)