Hucking Estate - Hollingbourne
Site Description
Hucking Estate is centred on the hamlet of Hucking, some 5 miles north east of Maidstone, Kent. The estate has a plateau location in the North Downs and the whole estate lies within the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The estate is 232.3 hectares in size which at the time of acquisition consisted of some 159.5 hectares of grade III arable land and 72.8 hectares of mature broadleaved woodland. 67 hectares of the mature woodland is classified as Ancient Semi Natural Woodland (ASNW).
Since the purchase, approx.75 ha of the arable land has been planted with native broadleaved woodland, with this planting taking place in two phases, the first over the winter of 1998/1999 and the second in the winter period 1999/2000. In addition approximately 1.6 km of new hedges was planted in 1998/1999 along known historical boundaries within the farmed areas and along certain road edge boundaries.
The estate has an extensive road frontage in the form of narrow single track roads which often have acute right angled corners. This makes access by larger machines difficult by road so access has been facilitated for farm machinery by the provision of double 12 foot gates in various points throughout the site. There is a small informal car park just to the east of Hucking village (capacity 6 cars) and additional parking is available at the car park of the Hook and Hatchet pub. A bridleway runs south from Hucking church alongside and through the main woodland block to link with the byway or Drove Road which skirts the eastern fringe of the estate. Two ways marked trails have been established on the site using finger boards, these boards also guide visitors to the two blocks dedicated to the Woodland Creation Scheme (compartments 3 & 7). Two long distance footpaths run parallel with the southern boundary of the site. The North Downs Way which runs for 153 miles from Farnham in Surrey to Dover in Kent, is close to the southern boundary at the top of the Downs slope, whilst the Pilgrims Way which links Winchester in Hampshire with Canterbury in Kent, is a half mile further south at the foot of the Downs slope.
At the time of purchase the existing mature woodland on site was predominantly of coppice origin (approx 78%) with the main species found being ash, Sweet chestnut, sycamore and hornbeam. Standards scattered throughout the coppice provide the main mature specimens which are mainly Pedunculate oak with a small amount of Sessile oak. There are also some fine mature beech (many suffering from wind damage), which are approximately 200 years old, with the occasional mature ash, yew, Wild cherry and lime. Other woodland species also present include birch (dominant in some compartments), hazel, Field maple, whitebeam and Goat willow. The main shrub species within the woodland are hawthorn, elder and hazel with Midland hawthorn, blackthorn, Guelder rose and dogwood. Ground vegetation is dominated by bluebell, Dog's mercury and Wood anemone with areas of bramble and bracken and species such as Red campion, foxglove, Lords and Ladies, Early purple orchid, primrose, Rosebay willowherb and Yellow archangel. Within the mature woodland, several previously dark narrow rides were opened up in 1999 to a 15 metre width, allowing light to reach the woodland floor and encourage a wide range of floral species to develop on the ride edges. This in turn benefits butterfly species on the estate which often use the floral species as a food plant or some where to alight and sun them. This 'wide ride' system also acts as a 'migration corridor' permitting butterflies to reach parts of the woodland where previously they would not have travelled due to the dense shading.
The new woodland planting is predominantly located adjacent to the mature woodland although smaller blocks have been planted to replace those removed by previous landowners. The positioning of the new planting blocks is designed to link together several small isolated areas of woodland into a much larger wooded area, and to provide a "buffer" for the existing ancient woodland areas. This will give added protection to the existing ancient woodland ensuring that as far as possible, the conditions within this habitat are kept as stable as possible to aid the survival of the species associated with ancient woodland. The new planting consists of native broadleaved species reflecting those found naturally in the ancient woodland on the site. These include Pedunculate oak, ash, hornbeam, Small-leaved lime, hazel, hawthorn whitebeam, dogwood, Guelder rose and spindle. In places where the chalk is close to the surface some yew has been included in the planting mix. The planting was carried out in sinuous lines with open spaces being retained within the planting as rides and open glades, with shrubs predominately bordering these features. The planting blocks are protected from browsing damage either by use of rabbit fencing or by use of tree shelters / spirals. A number of hedges totalling 1.4 kilometres have been planted on the site, with species used predominately being hawthorn, blackthorn, and Field maple, protection being supplied by use of spiral and some hedges being secondarily protected by use of box fencing.
The remaining land not under woodland or new planting is being managed for farming purposes and is currently managed under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS). This farm land was previously under arable crops at the time of purchase by the WT. Approximately two-thirds of this was sown with a grassland mix in 1999, and in areas where the chalk lies near the surface, this seed mix has been supplemented with the inclusion of wild flowers. The permanent pasture grassland areas will be managed as per CSS Agreement by a combination of grazing and cutting for hay. The remaining farming land will be managed under arable cropping with the maintenance of 6 metre "conservation headlands" to benefit hedgerow habitats and species.
The estate lies on the dip slope of the North Downs on gently undulating ground with a dry valley running north towards Bicknor. The estate has moderately high exposure to the southwest and, to a lesser degree, the north. The majority of the soils belong to the 'Batcombe' Association and comprise plateau drift with clay and flints over chalk. These soils are moderately permeable with the clay subsoil occasionally or seasonally waterlogged. The southern part of the estate adjoining the scarp slope has more shallow calcareous soils derived from chalk lines in the dry valley.
The site has various designations pertaining to it. These are AONB (North Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), TPO (Tree Preservation Order - Maidstone Borough Council), SLA (Special Landscape Area) and SNCI (Site of Nature Conservation Interest).
The site contains numbers sites of archaeological interest including an ancient Drove Road, deneholes, marl pits and potential iron-ore workings. An archaeological report has been compiled by Dr. Nicola Bannister (1998), which lists all of the features found, maps their location and suggests future measures to enable them to be preserved.
Management on site has been generously aided by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), the Forestry Commission through the Woodland Grant Scheme (WGS) and DEFRA (under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme).
At present the number of visitors to the site is low, although this is steadily increasing. Further promotion of visitor access is being aided by the way marked trail, the creation of the small informal car park and through production of a site leaflet for visitors.
