Ventongimps Moor

Ventongimps Moor

Site of Special Scientific Interest
Location within Cornwall Show map of Cornwall Ventongimps Moor (England) Show map of England
Location	Cornwall
Grid reference	SW781510
Coordinates	50.3181°N 5.1181°W / 50.3181; -5.1181
Interest	Biological
Area	8.2 hectares (0.082 km^2; 0.032 sq mi)
Notification	1951 (1951)
Natural England website

Ventongimps Moor is a moorland nature reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), noted for its biological characteristics, in mid Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The site, important for the occurrence of the plant Dorset heath, was the first reserve to be purchased by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust.

History

The moor was mentioned in 1311, being called "Funtenvaes", meaning well or spring.^[1]

Ventongimps Moor was the first nature reserve to be bought by the newly founded Cornwall Wildlife Trust in 1966. The site was spotted by a Trust volunteer, Dr Frank Smith, and purchased because it was under threat from intensive agriculture activities.^[2][3]

A Second World War bomber was discovered on the site in 1977 and subsequently removed for restoration, leaving behind a new pond on the moor.^[1]

Geography

The 8.2-hectare (20-acre) SSSI, notified in 1951, is located within Perranzabuloe civil parish, near the hamlet of Ventongimps, 5 miles (8.0 km) north-west of the city of Truro.^[4][5]

The nature reserve is currently owned and managed by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust.^[1]

Wildlife and ecology

The moor's predominant habitat is wet dwarf shrub heath, although others include bogland, marshland, mixed deciduous woodland and open water. The Cornwall Wildlife Trust utilises periodic burning and partial removal of scrub to manage the site.^[6]

Of particular interest to the site are two Red Data Book plants, Dorset Heath (Erica ciliaris) and Cornish eyebright (Euphrasia vigursii). Other flora found on the site include Cornish Moneywort (Sibthorpia europaea), the hybrid heath 'Dawn' (Erica x watsonii),^[7] Hay-scented Buckler Fern (Dryopteris aemula), Wavy-leaved St John's Wort (Hypericum undulatum), Yellow Bartsia (Parentucellia viscosa) and Yellow Centaury (Cicendia filiformis).^[6]

The nationally rare Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura pumilio) is one of the 13 species of dragonfly and damselfly that the ponds on the moor supports. The site also supports 99 recorded species of Lepidoptera.^[1][6]

References

1. "Ventongimps Moor Nature Reserve". Cornwall Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
2. "Trust members celebrate five decades of protecting wildlife and habitats". this is Cornwall. 23 January 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
3. "A 'golden' year for Cornwall Wildlife Trust". Cornwall Wildlife Trust. 20 January 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
4. "Ventongimps Moor map". Natural England. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
5. Ordnance Survey: Explorer Map 104 Redruth & St Agnes ISBN 978-0-319-23705-2
6. "Ventongimps Moor" (PDF). Natural England. 1984. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
7. "Erica × watsonii 'Dawn'". The Plant Finder's Encyclopedia. Plant Press. Retrieved 29 January 2012.

External links

• BBC Doomsday Project - Ventongimps