Higher & Lower Holmes House - Keighley

Site Description

Holme House Woods are regionally important examples of valley or clough woodland and are recorded as Ancient Woodland on the Nature Conservancy Council's (now English Nature) inventory for West Yorkshire. The Woods are divided in to three parts; Higher Holme House Woods, which is owned by the Woodland Trust and Lower Holme House Woods which is divided in to two by North Beck. Woodland to the south of the beck is owned by the Woodland Trust and to the north is privately owned. This management plan deals only with the Woodland Trust site.

Acquisition

The site was acquired by The Woodland Trust on the 28th March 1991 from the Trustees of the Chatsworth Settlement, Bolton Abbey, Skipton, North Yorkshire. Contributions were received for its purchase by Bradford Metropolitan District Council and Barclays Bank.

Situation /Landscape

The woodlands are situated on north facing slopes in the bottom of a steep sided valley, to the south of the village of Laycock, and east of the small hamlet of Goose Eye. This attractive valley extends from Keighley to Newsholme Dean and is characterised by woodland / tree cover along its lower slopes and a patchwork of small grass field on the higher land. The large stream called North Beck forms the northern boundary to both Higher and Lower Holme House Woods. The woods are clearly visible form the Laycock and the surrounding area, including long distant views from adjacent hillsides to the east of Keighley. Just to the north of the Higher Holme |House Wood is Wood Mill which was once a Worsted Spinning Mill dating back to the early 19th century.

Geology

The underlying geology is millstone grit overlain by boulder clay and alluvial drift in the valley bottom. The varied composition of these deposits has given rise to a diverse range of communities with acid and base rich communities present.

Recreation

Higher Holme House Woods is accessible from the public footpath by a narrow footbridge. No circular footpath exists in the wood and visitor numbers are low. An informal path runs from the bridge, alongside the river, across private land to join the footpaths at the western end of Lower Holme House Woods. From there an infrequently used circular path runs around the wood. Sleeper bridges and some steps are present within the wood. The ground is very wet underfoot and strong footwear is needed throughout the year.

History

Little history of the site is currently available although the steep slopes and wet ground conditions would make this area unsuitable for agricultural use except rough grazing. Lower Holme House Wood was designated as a Site of Special Interest for its rich ground flora. The woodland boundaries appear to have been unchanged in the last 150 years with the 1844 William Hopkinsons ‘Tithes’ map indicating the wooded area to be as to day (2000). The 1852 and 1908 ordnance survey maps confirmed that the wood has suffered no recent changes with the exception that both Upper and Lower Holme House Woods were mixed broadleaves and conifers. No conifers are present on the site today. A high percentage of trees appear to be approximately 60-80 years of age. One possible scenario is that the wood was felled in the 1920’s with the exception of some boundary trees and the odd beech. Natural regeneration, or possibly planting, of sycamore may account for the high percentage of sycamore now within the woodland. Higher Holme House Wood and the field side of Lower Holme House Wood have little ground flora. This could be as a result of cattle grazing within the woodland, a fact that has been reported in recent years with cattle getting through broken down sections of the wall.

Fauna

Species list available for Holme House Woods from the surveys undertaken up to the 30th April 1997. Birds seen include sparrowhawk, great spotted woodpecker and dipper.

Flora

The main canopy of the woodland comprises of sycamore, beech, ash with lesser amounts of oak and birch. The shrub layer is sparse but includes holly, hawthorn and hazel. The herb layer supports Holcus mollis, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, Pteridium aquilinum, Rubus fruticosa and Oxalis acetosella (Typical of NVC types W10e) In a survey undertaken in 1993 by English Nature the woods were found to have 89 vascular woodland plants, although this survey may have included the northern bank of the woodland which is outside WT ownership .The site has been designated as a Site of Scientific Interest.

Past management

Limited records are available of recent management but it would appear that the woods were mixed plantations with the conifers removed in the last 80 years. Since the Trust acquired the woods it has undertaking tree safety work and control of natural beech regeneration.

Boundaries

North Beck forms the northern boundary. Dry stonewalls run along the other boundaries with the exception of western boundary of Higher Holme House Wood which has an indistinct boundary from