“This 25 hectare chalk downland nature reserve offers spectacular views across the Test Valley to Danebury Hill Fort and Stockbridge Down. Thanks to various conservation efforts and a growing awareness of nature under threat, Andover is nowadays home to a few local nature reserves as well as the Broughton Down Nature Reserve, managed by the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, which is eight miles away (as the crow flies): A full analysis of the volume, rather than the snippets included here, would give a more comprehensive picture of the two-hundred year trend in biodiversity at Andover but given the examples highlighted and what we already know about the challenges for wildlife elsewhere in Britain, a story of decline would not be surprising. V, 1796 (Tab 355)Īnnesley’s catalogue continues for some twenty pages and lists more than four hundred plant species. Anemone nemorosa aka ‘Wood anemone’ from James Sowerby’s ‘English Botany’ Vol. This plant is still common in Britain and as it spreads at a very slow pace (around six foot per century) it is a good indicator of the age of ancient woodland. VI, 1796 (Tab 387)īerberis vulgaris, also known as the common barberry, was found by Annesley “among other bushes or the wooded part of Perham Down near Andover in abundance & apparently quite wild.” The plant is described as less common than it once was and the Barberry Carpet moth, which is entirely dependent upon this plant species, is now threatened.Īnemone nemorosa or wood anemone was, rather appropriately, recorded at woods near Andover. Ranunculus flammula aka ‘Lesser spearwort’ from James Sowerby’s ‘English Botany’ Vol. According to the Plant Atlas this particular species appears to be stable within its core areas but had retreated into southwest England by the 1930s and is now rare and decreasing in Ireland. Moving through the list we find many other species described as ‘in abundance’ near Andover, particularly those belonging to the genus Ranunculus, better known as the buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots, including Ranunculus parviflorus. Adonis autumnalis aka Pheasant’s eye or red chamomile, from James Sowerby’s ‘English Botany’ Vol. The very first entry in Annesley’s catalogue is Adonis autumnalis, also known as ‘pheasant’s eye’ or ‘red chamomile’, which Annesley described as “not uncommon in cornfields and turnip fields at Weyhill & near Andover.” It is rather apt then, given today’s theme of biodiversity loss, that this beautiful plant is now classed as an endangered species on the UK Red List and has been marked as a UK BAP priority species. Where no particular locality is given, the habitat must be considered as being near Andover.” was a good botanist and accurate observer, and his habitats may be depended on. Jones, who added the following note: “This list was drawn up by the Honorable and Revd William Annesley AM Mr A. MS5/27: ‘Plants of Hampshire’ by the Revd William Annesley AM, c.1830Īnnesley’s list appears to have been transcribed or edited later by someone named J. The catalogue was compiled by the Honorable and Revd William Annesley AM, who resided at Ramridge near Andover, where he died on 1 st November, 1830. Many reasons have been given for the disappearance of wildlife from our lives: urban encroachment on natural landscapes pesticide use overfishing climate change and the sheer scale and intensity of agriculture (according to some estimates more than half of all land in Britain is now dedicated to raising livestock and the production of crops).ĭelving into the archives at the University of Southampton’s Special Collections, we find a manuscript volume containing a catalogue of plants growing wild near Andover, and other parts of the county of Hampshire. The Living Planet Index, which is maintained by the WWF and the Royal Zoological Society, has recorded dramatic declines for some species throughout the globe over recent decades and, closer to home, the State of Nature reports have shown us the challenges facing wildlife in Britain. Biodiversity is emerging as a hot topic with much recent media focus on the scale of biodiversity loss and the urgency of wildlife conservation programmes.
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