Hanningfield Reservoir

Hanningfield Reservoir
Site of Special Scientific Interest

Area of Search	Essex
Grid reference	TQ 730980
Interest	Biological
Area	402.9 hectares
Notification	1985
Location map	Magic Map

Hanningfield Reservoir

Location	Essex
Coordinates	51°39′30″N 0°30′15″E / 51.65833°N 0.50417°E / 51.65833; 0.50417Coordinates: 51°39′30″N 0°30′15″E / 51.65833°N 0.50417°E / 51.65833; 0.50417
Type	reservoir
Basin countries	United Kingdom

Max. width	3.25 km
Average depth	7.62 m (25.0 ft)
Max. depth	16.76 m (55.0 ft)
Shore length¹	6 mi (9.7 km)
Surface elevation	55 m
¹ Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Hanningfield Reservoir is a 402.9 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Billericay and Chelmsford in Essex. It is owned by Essex and Suffolk Water and run by them in conjunction with the Essex Wildlife Trust. The reservoir is covered by a Bird Sanctuary Order.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Description

The reservoir is the 11th largest reservoir in England with an area of 3.5 square kilometres (880 acres). The reservoir was formed by W. & C. French in 1957^[4] at a cost of about £6m, by flooding an area of South Hanningfield covering the ancient hamlet of Peasdown. Giffords Farm and Fremnells Manor were also flooded. Contrary to popular belief, no buildings survive under the water, however an earth removal machine was left 'in situ' and concreted over prior to filling. The reservoir was built in an area formerly known as Sandon Valley, and large parts of the reservoir and surrounding countryside have been developed as a nature reserve. There are many footpaths in the woodland around the water where wildlife can be seen, and hides have been erected, with views of the visiting and resident birds. The public can use the reservoir for seasonal fly fishing both from the bank and from boats, providing a fishing permit is bought in advance. The water is regularly stocked with rainbow trout; the heaviest fish ever caught, in 1998, weighed 24 lb 1oz (10.9 kg).^[4]

There are two cafés at each end of the reservoir: the newer, opened in 2007, is next to the fishing lodge with a deck overlooking the water, and the other is at the Essex Wildlife Trust visitors' centre.^[5]

Wildlife

The reservoir has a nationally important population of gadwalls, and it also has significant numbers of pochards, teal, tufted ducks and pintails. The chalk sludge lagoon has several unusual plants, including golden dock and marsh dock, and there is a rare moss Brachythecium mildeanum at the foot of the southern dam.^[1]

References

1 2 "Hanningfield Reservoir citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
↑ "Map of Hanningfield Reservoir". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
↑ "Hanningfield Reservoir Visitor Centre". Essex Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
1 2 "Hanningfield Facts". Essex & Suffolk Water. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008.
↑
- "Hanningfield Reservoir". Essex Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hanningfield Reservoir.

Hanningfield Reservoir photographs

Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Essex

Biological	Abberton Reservoir Ashdon Meadows Basildon Meadows Belcher's and Broadfield Woods Benfleet and Southend Marshes Blackwater Estuary Blake's Wood & Lingwood Common Bovingdon Hall Woods Bullock Wood Canvey Wick Cattawade Marshes Chalkney Wood Colne Estuary The Coppice, Kelvedon Hatch Cornmill Stream and Old River Lea Crouch and Roach Estuaries Curtismill Green Danbury Common Debden Water Dengie Elsenham Woods Epping Forest Foulness Garnetts Wood and Barnston Lays Garrold's Meadow Glemsford Pits Grays Thurrock Chalk Pit Great Wood and Dodd's Grove Hainault Forest Hales and Shadwell Woods Hamford Water Hangman's Wood and Deneholes Hanningfield Reservoir Harlow Woods Hatfield Forest High Wood, Dunmow Hockley Woods Holehaven Creek Holland Haven Marshes Hunsdon Mead Inner Thames Marshes Little Hallingbury Marsh Mill Meadows Mucking Flats and Marshes Norsey Wood Nunn Wood Pitsea Marsh Quendon Wood Riddles Wood Roding Valley Meadows Roman River Sandbeach Meadows Stour and Copperas Woods, Ramsey Stour Estuary Thorndon Park Thrift Wood, Woodham Ferrers Thundersley Great Common Tiptree Heath Turnford and Cheshunt Pits Upper Colne Marshes Vange and Fobbing Marshes Waltham Abbey Weeleyhall Wood West Thurrock Lagoon and Marshes West Wood, Little Sampford Woodham Walter Common

Geological	Ardleigh Gravel Pit Clacton Cliffs and Foreshore The Cliff, Burnham-on-Crouch Colne Estuary Dengie Globe Pit Goldsands Road Pit Hall's Quarry Harwich Foreshore Holland-on-Sea Cliff Lion Pit Little Oakley Channel Deposit Lofts Farm Pit Maldon Cutting Marks Tey Brickpit The Naze Newney Green Pit Purfleet Chalk Pits Purfleet Road, Aveley River Ter St Osyth Pit Stour Estuary Wivenhoe Gravel Pit

Essex Wildlife Trust

Basildon	Langdon Nature Reserve

Braintree	Brookes Nature Reserve

Brentwood	Thorndon Countryside Centre Warley Place

Castle Point	Little Haven Pound Wood Tile Wood

Chelmsford	Crowsheath Wood Danbury Ridge Hanningfield Reservoir Little Waltham Meadows Newland Grove Phyllis Currie Sandylay and Moat Woods Shotgate Thickets Thrift Wood Woodham Fen

Colchester	Abberton Reservoir Abbotts Hall Farm Fingringhoe Wick Iron Latch Lexden Gathering Grounds Ray Island Roman River Valley Sergeants Orchard Tiptree Heath Westhouse Wood

Epping Forest	Gernon Bushes Roding Valley Meadows

Harlow	Hunsdon Mead

Havering	Bedfords Park Cranham Marsh Ingrebourne Valley

Maldon	Blue House Farm Bradwell Shell Bank Chigborough Lakes Maldon Wick Oxley Meadow Shut Heath Wood Stow Maries Halt Tollesbury Wick

Rochford	Lion Creek and Lower Raypits

Southend-on-Sea	Belfairs Gunners Park and Shoebury Ranges Two Tree Island

Tendring	Cockaynes Wood Colne Point Copperas Wood Great Holland Pits Howlands Marsh John Weston Nature Reserve The Naze Oakfield Wood Skippers Island Wrabness

Thurrock	Grove House Wood Linford Wood Chafford Gorges Nature Park Fobbing Marsh Horndon Meadow Stanford Warren Thurrock Thameside Nature Park

Uttlesford	Aubrey Buxton Rushy Mead Sawbridgeworth Marsh Shadwell Wood Weeleyhall Wood West Wood

Billericay

Open spaces	Lake Meadows Norsey Wood Mill Meadows Queen's Park Country Park Sun Corner Hanningfield Reservoir South Green

Schools in Billericay	Mayflower High School Billericay School St John's School

Sport in Billericay	Billericay Rugby Football Club Essex Spartans Billericay Town F.C.

Radio in Billericay	Phoenix FM

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/28/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.