Noar Hill

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife TrustHills of HampshireNature Conservation Review sitesSites of Special Scientific Interest in HampshireSpecial Areas of Conservation in England

Noar Hill is a 63-hectare (160-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Selborne in Hampshire. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2, and part of East Hampshire Hangers Special Area of Conservation. An area of 20 hectares (49 acres) is a nature reserve managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.It forms one of the westerly outposts of the chalk hills called the South Downs, and rises to a maximum height of about 210 metres above sea-level. The western and northern flanks slope fairly gently, but the eastern and southern flanks in places reach a gradient exceeding 60%. Gilbert White, in his Natural History of Selborne, says of Noar Hill: At each end of the village [Selborne], which runs from south-east to north-west, arises a small rivulet: that at the north-west end frequently fails: but the other is a fine perennial spring little influenced by drought or wet seasons, called Well-head. This breaks out of some high grounds adjoining to Nore Hill, a noble chalk promontory, remarkable for sending forth two streams into two different seas. The one to the south becomes a branch of the Arun, running to Arundel, and so falling into the British channel: the other to the north. The western flanks and much of the summit are given over to arable fields. A smaller part of the summit, 20 hectares (about 49 acres) known as High Common, is covered with downland grasses and scrub. The northern, eastern and southern flanks are covered by deciduous woodland dominated by beech. Such beechwoods on steep hills in East Hampshire are termed "hangers". High Common is the site of mediaeval chalk-workings – chalk was dug out and spread on nearby fields as fertilizer. The excavations have left an irregular network of pits and hollows of varying size, depth, and steepness. Because the ground is so uneven, High Common remained unploughed for centuries and was only used for grazing. It retains the ancient chalk downland flora which elsewhere has largely been lost.

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Noar Hill
B3006, East Hampshire Selborne

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude	Longitude
N 51.08 °	E -0.941 °

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Address

High Common

B3006
GU34 3DB East Hampshire, Selborne
England, United Kingdom
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Nearby Places

Empshott

Empshott is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Hawkley, in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It lies 3.5 miles (5.5 km) southwest of Bordon, its nearest town. The nearest railway station is 2.7 miles (4.4 km) southeast of the village, at Liss. In 1931 the parish had a population of 171.

Selborne Hill

Selborne Hill is one of the highest points in the county of Hampshire, England. It is one of the East Hampshire Hangers, a line of prominent hills on the eastern scarp slope of the Hampshire Downs, and reaches 211 metres (692 ft) above sea level. Its prominence of 53 metres qualifies it as one of the county's Tumps. Selborne Hill lies above the village of Selborne on the edge of the Hampshire Downs, its crown playing host to Selborne Common, an area of woodland and relict wood-pasture. Its summit and steep escarpment are covered by woods, with Selborne Hanger to the northeast dropping abruptly to the fields above Selborne. The Zig-Zag Path runs down the spur towards the east. This is the area where the world famous naturalist and pioneer of birdwatching, Rev. Gilbert White, wrote his celebrated Natural History of Selborne.

Selborne

Selborne is a village in Hampshire, England, 3.9 miles (6.3 km) south of Alton, and just within the northern boundary of the South Downs National Park. The village receives visitors because of its links with the naturalist Revd. Gilbert White, a pioneer of birdwatching.

Plestor House, Selborne

Plestor House is a house in the centre of Selborne, Hampshire, England. The house is named for its location — adjacent to the village's plestor. Architecturally, the house has grown over the centuries. The oldest section, that facing the village green (known as The Plestor — from the Saxon words pleg stow, meaning play space), dates from the third quarter of the 17th century. The roof incorporates fire-blackened timbers which have been dated by dendrochronology to the early 14th century, and it is thought that they come from the house which previously stood on the site. A recent excavation of the cellar unearthed Tudor bricks, which were also fire-damaged and may therefore point to the fate of the house's predecessor. The second section of the house dates from 1783, according to a stone set into the upper storey. The mortar lines between the local malmstones of this section are studded with pieces of iron, a local characteristic known as galletting. The most recent addition came at the turn of the 20th century. It effectively filled in the square formed by the L-shape of the two older wings. Attached to the house is an ancient building which was the first site of the village school. The school was originally endowed in 1728, under the will of the grandfather of Gilbert White, the early naturalist. The north-east corner of the house appears in one of the plates in the first edition of Gilbert White's famous book, The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne (1789). The house is now listed Grade II as being of architectural significance.

St Mary's Church, Selborne

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Upper Greensand Hangers: Empshott to Hawkley

Upper Greensand Hangers: Empshott to Hawkley is a 37.7-hectare (93-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Petersfield in Hampshire. It is part of the East Hampshire Hangers Special Area of Conservation.This site comprises a number of woods along steep rocky slopes in the Upper Greensand. These conditions produce unusual lime-rich woodlands and specialised mosses and liverworts on the rocks. The dominant tree is ash, which has often been coppiced. The ground flora is diverse, including plants such as dog's mercury and yellow archangel.

Selborne Common

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Hawkley

Hawkley is a village, ecclesiastical parish and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 3.5 miles (5.7 km) north of Petersfield, to the west of the A3 road. The nearest railway station is 2.2 miles (3.5 km) to the southeast in the village of Liss. Hawkley is situated in an area of outstanding natural beauty, sitting on the Hangers Way. Hawkley Warren, an important site for Red Helleborine, borders the village. The village's St Peter and St Paul Church (with its Rhenish helm on its tower), and Hawkley Hurst house, were both designed by celebrated architect Samuel Sanders Teulon. The church is a listed building and there are 17 other listed buildings in the parish.

Goleigh Hill

Goleigh Hill is one of the highest points in the county of Hampshire, England. It is part of the Hampshire Downs and reaches a height of 220 metres (720 ft) above sea level. Goleigh Hill rises about 2.5 kilometres west of the village of Empshott in Hampshire and is one of the East Hampshire Hangers. The top of the hill is open. Wooded areas on its flanks included Goleigh and Lye Woods to the west and Abbot's Copse to the east. Goleigh Farm lies on the northwestern slope of the hill with Goleigh Manor in the valley below it. There is a trig point at the summit.

Coombe Wood and The Lythe

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Priors Dean

Priors Dean is a hamlet in the Hampshire Downs about 3 miles (5 km) west of Liss and about 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Petersfield, Hampshire, England. It is a deserted medieval village first mentioned in the 1100s. Since 1932 it and Colemore have been in a single civil parish of Colemore and Priors Dean. The nearest railway station is at Liss.

Newton Valence

Newton Valence is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 4.4 miles (7.1 km) south of Alton, just off the A32 road. The nearest railway station is Liss, 4.5 miles (7.3 km) southeast of the village, although the station at Alton is a similar distance to the north. The village sits high in the westernmost chalk hills of the South Downs: maximum elevation 191 metres (627 feet) above sea level. Much of the surrounding landscape is within the East Hampshire Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Farming is the most obvious economic activity. Arable farming (mainly wheat, maize and oil-seed rape) and sheep-grazing predominate.