Burgess Field Nature Park Explained

Official Name:Burgess Field Nature Park
Static Image Name:Burgess Field Nature Park entrance 1.jpg
Static Image Caption:The southern entrance of the nature reserve
Coordinates:51.7743°N -1.2783°W
Os Grid Reference:SP 49725 07491
Label Position:left
Civil Parish:unparished
Shire County:Oxfordshire
Region:South East England
Country:England
Constituency Westminster:Oxford West and Abingdon
Post Town:Oxford
Postcode District:OX2 0NL
Postcode Area:OX
Dial Code:01865
Website:friendsofburgessfield.co.uk
Pushpin Map:United Kingdom Oxford

Burgess Field Nature Park (also known as Burgess Field) is a nature reserve next to Port Meadow, Oxford, in Oxfordshire, England, managed by Oxford City Council.[1] [2]

Overview

The site is between Port Meadow to the west and the railway line to the east, just north of the Aristotle Lane entrance to Port Meadow and the Trap Ground Allotments.[3] [4] The reserve is on a reclaimed landfill site and is approximately 30ha in area. There are open grass areas, some woodland, and a path around the edge of the site, as well as some paths crossing the site. Wildlife includes birds such as cuckoo,[5] short-eared owl[6] and jack snipe.

The site was used for landfill until the 1980s and is thus higher than Port Meadow, which regularly floods. The area was landscaped, with trees and hedge planting in the 1990s. The name may derive from the burgesses who endowed Godstow Nunnery with land.

John Thompson

The site includes a memorial stone to John Thompson (1941–2015), the city of Oxford's landscape architect,[7] who inspired the nature reserve and planted over 10,000 trees in Oxford.[8]

Friends of Burgess Field

There is a Friends of Burgess Field organization, formed in 2018.[9] Volunteers help to maintain the site.[10]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Countryside and nature reserves – Burgess Field Nature Park . . UK . 6 January 2020 .
  2. Web site: Burgess Field Nature Park, North Oxford . Oxford Conservation Volunteers . Nature Reserves . UK . 6 January 2020 .
  3. Web site: Allotments – Trap Grounds, Aristotle Lane . . UK . 7 January 2020 .
  4. Web site: Location . Trap Ground Allotment Association . 7 January 2020 .
  5. Web site: Burgess Field . The Oxford Guide . 6 January 2020 .
  6. Web site: Planning Application 02/00821/OUT . Oxford City Council . 9 January 2003 . 22 March 2020 . 71.
  7. News: John Thompson obituary . . UK . John . Stein . 2 February 2016 . 6 January 2020 .
  8. Web site: Oxford people stones: John Thompson, Burgess Field . History on the streets of Oxford . UK . 6 January 2020 .
  9. Web site: History . Friends of Burgess . UK . 6 January 2020 .
  10. Web site: Nature Conservation day at Burgess Field . Community Action Groups . Oxfordshire, UK . 6 January 2020 .