Wither Wood - Denby Dale

Site Description

The Woodland Trust purchased the land from a private owner on the 30th December 1993. Local fundraising contributed £10,000 towards its purchase. The wood is located on the northern boundary of Denby Dale, a West Yorkshire town midway between Huddersfield and Barnsley. The main access lies a short distance up Leak Hall Lane, which leads directly from the A636 Leeds to Denby Dale road, and is within 6 miles of M1 junction 38.

Mostly surrounded by pasture and arable fields Wither Wood also fronts directly onto the northwest edge of Denby Dale. The town nestles in the wooded valley of the River Dearne, an area containing a number of ancient woodland sites. The wood is sited on the gently sloping south facing valley side. The site is dissected by three wide shallow streams with gently sloping banks, which pass through the length of the wood. This ancient woodland site incorporates an intimate mosaic of habitats

Wither Wood is readily accessible to the residents of Denby Dale and consequently very well used. It is popular with runners, walkers, dog walkers and children. Gilthwaites First School lies fewer than 100 meters to the northeast. The main access is provided from the south east corner of the wood via Leak Hall Lane with a squeeze stile and field gate. This also provides the Trust’s management access. A further two, stone squeeze stile entrances into the wood are located at its eastern and south-western tips, they link the internal circular route to the extensive local network of public footpaths. No rights of way officially pass through Wither Wood but a local walk “The Denby Dale Village Trail”, which utilises sections of the Trust’s permissive path, has been directed through the wood. It follows the woods main track joining the wood’s southeast and southwest entrances where it connects with the opposite ends of Dark Lane. Rights of way immediately outside the wood, skirt its eastern boundary joining Thorp Lane to Leak Hall Lane, then turn west to follow the course of Dark Lane to emerge on Cumberworth Road.

There has been a history of community activities including races round the wood, children’s play-schemes and guided walks. The site also played a key role in the Wild Woods Festival. Many of these activities have come about through the strong support of the Denby Dale Conservation Group. They have in conjunction with the BTCV and as part of the Denby Dale Parish Countryside Management Project, provided a highly successful local community involvement programme which has assisted greatly with the management of this wood. Amongst other things like publishing visitor leaflets they have provided residents opportunities to undertake practical tasks within the wood. Such conservation works have included the installation of most of the sites furniture and includes; access and path improvements, numerous bridge installations (for which labour and materials were provided free to the Trust) as well as vegetation maintenance. In 1995 a hedge-laying and dry-stone walling project took place to improve boundary condition. The supporters also played a key role in the woods acquisition when they launched an appeal to buy the wood, and raised £10,000 through managing information stands at local shows and fairs and awakening active support throughout the community.

Woodland is known to have occupied this site for at least 400 years, and is therefore considered as ancient, but it is believed to date back hundreds if not thousands of years more. It is suggested it takes its name from the dark ages, ‘Wither’ being the Old Norse word for wood. It contains many plant species indicative of its ancient origins. Historically the wood may have become known as ‘Withy’ (meaning willow) wood and this name is still used by some locals. The wood’s ownership has been traced back to 1596 and over the years it has also been referred to as ‘Springwood’ a name harking back to the coppicing that was conducted here in medieval times. Some stored coppice remains on site dating back to the post war period.

Prior to the Trust’s acquisition in 1993 the site was owned by five sisters who inherited it from their late father. During his ownership part of the wood was run with pigs as recently as the 1940’s and even now the foundations of a pigsty remain in compartment 1d. There has historically been a clay working industry in the area and surface clay mining has taken place in and around the wood. Fireclay was known to have been extracted as recently as the 1950’s and 60’s after which remedial planting work took place, many of these characteristic 2m diameter hollows can still be seen today scattered throughout the birch and heath-land areas of compartments 1d and 1b. The Norton sisters of Bagden Hall, like their father, were known to be philanthropic owners and the site has enjoyed a history of free public access providing for local residents. However it is also recalled by locals how an imaginary boundary between Denby Dale and Lower Cumberworth fell within the wood and became a meeting place for rival gangs.

This ancient woodland site incorporates an intimate mosaic of very different habitats within a relatively small area. The canopy itself is quite complex where ancient, oak woodland interspersed with larch can be found alongside wet woodland areas of young birch regeneration and a heather heath land glade. Mature stands of Corsican pine neighbour a juvenile birch plantation, which is otherwise surrounded by mature broadleaves, mainly oak, sycamore and beech. This characteristically varied and well-structured woodland provides a wealth of habitat diversity for flora and fauna. Where the shrub layer is sparse the under storey is composed of carpets of bluebells with pockets of bramble, particularly under birch stands. A bramble/bracken mix dominates in other areas towards the southwest and is interspersed with very old holly trees over 80 years old (pre p1920), which grow in groups to dominate the shrub layer with occasional hazel and rowan. Ground flora appears absent altogether under the Corsican pine, which is covered with a thin layer of needle-cast. Where the land was cleared of conifers in World War 1 the ground flora is quite rich and incorporates ancient woodland indicator species, which as well as bluebell include; lesser celandine, wood anemone, wood sorrel, yellow archangel and greater stitchwort and dogs mercury. Other areas of quite different ground flora communities exist in the heather heath-land and the wet woodland areas. Throughout the wood a plentiful supply of mature standing and fallen deadwood is found, adding greatly to the woods habitat diversity. With regard to wildlife the wood is most notable for its bird population, tits and finches are prolific throughout the wood but particularly seem to favour the juvenile birch and mature beech along the eastern boundary, where neighbouring residents probably feed them. Specifically the more unusual species include spotted woodpeckers, tree creepers, bullfinches and long tailed tits. There also seems to be a large population of grey squirrels, and some rabbits.

This ancient woodland site has a history of disturbance with areas given over to the running of pigs and surface mining of fireclay practiced as recently as the 1960’s. Conifers in the centre of the wood are thought to be the remnants of a plantation established after large scale felling post First World War. Where these conifers have been removed ground flora has recovered. Since acquisition the Denby Dale Conservation Group has conducted much of the management activity, with their good work still intact and in good condition, including steps, path edging along banks, bridges, benches and vegetation clearance around the heather glade. Boundary works have included hedge laying and dry stonewalling. The Trust has installed welcome signage, fencing and entrance gates in 1993 with ongoing management has been mainly concerned with tree safety works and footpath maintenance, initiated on an annual basis from 1994. Two small scale conifer felling operations were undertaken in compartment 1a between in 2003 and 2007. The trees were left to create deadwood habitats. Approximately 50 trees felled or ring barked in total. In 2006 a small number of birch trees (10%) were felled in compartment 1d.

A dry stonewall in various states of repair extends around most of the site and where it neighbours pastureland to the west and whilst not stock proof itself a sturdy fencing has been erected alongside by neighbouring landowners. A right of way along the eastern boundary, backing onto houses it’s sunk and wall forming a boundary to the wood. Horse paddocks bordering the site to the south have been made stock proof by the neighbour who has at some point long ago topped the crumbling dry stone wall with barbed wire. Arable land lies to the north and the boundary here consists of numerous sections of laid hedge, crumbling dry stone wall, and post and wire fence. If either of these land-uses changed to sheep grazing major boundary repairs would have to be undertaken. Improvements to some sections of dry stonewall have been conducted on the Trust’s behalf by the conservation group. There have been no records of grazing damage in the wood.