LCA 5: Incised Ironstone Plateau

Location and key characteristics

The Incised Ironstone Plateau forms the north-western part of the district and county, adjoining Warwickshire to the north and west and Banbury to the south-east. Its flatter high ground distinguishes it from the more undulating Ironstone Hills and Valleys (LCA 4) to the south, and from the broader Upper Cherwell Basin (LCA 1) to the east.

A unified upland area, divided by the Sor Brook and its tributaries to create a landscape of open, exposed plateaus, divided by scenic valleys.
Flatter areas are characterised by open arable farming with large areas of rough upland pasture. The steep valley sides are associated with pastoral farming, rough grazing and scrub.
Settlements retain a historic, rural character, with a strong vernacular of ironstone walls and thatch or slate roofs.
Major transport routes run roughly north-west to south-east along the ridges. Narrow local roads are sometimes sunken in the valleys.
Extensive views across the valleys, including to the Cotswolds National Landscape, which contrast with enclosed views in valley bottoms.
A rural landscape, remote from urban development with high levels of tranquillity and dark night skies.

LCA 5 - View the map full screen in a new tab

Long views over rolling rural landscape

Ironstone vernacular in small villages

Ridge and furrow strip lynchets at Shenington

Sheep grazing with Cotswolds hills in the background

Description

Natural (landform, water, semi-natural land cover)

The Incised Ironstone Plateau is a relatively high area of level or gently rolling land, between 100 and 200 metres AOD. It lies on a layer of Marlstone Rock Bed overlying the Middle and Lower Lais clays.
The main watercourse is the Sor Brook, which forms the county boundary with Warwickshire and flows south past Horley and Drayton. Tributaries of the Sor Brook have cut down through the Marlstone to create a series of roughly parallel, steep-sided valleys, typically 30-40 metres deep, underlain by Charmouth Mudstone. There is gradual transition to the gentler slope of the Cherwell Valley on which Banbury is located.
There are very few extensive areas of woodland, although a number of small-scale priority habitat deciduous woodlands are scattered across the landscape. Woodlands are most frequently associated with parkland at Wroxton and Hanwell, or with poor quality soils, especially in association with watercourses and the brows of hills.

Cultural/social (land use, settlement, infrastructure, historic character)

Areas of level and gently sloping plateau land are under arable cultivation with winter cereals and short-term sheep grazing. Grassland features across the most exposed areas. Pastoral farming predominates across steeper slopes and features larger areas of rough grazing and scrub.
Plateau fields are generally large, reflecting 20^th century amalgamation of earlier enclosures, and lacking strong enclosure. This is particularly true north of Horton.
Hedges are low, closely trimmed, and gappy, or have been reinforced by post and wire fences as stockproof barriers. Hedgerow trees are common across the area. Some of the valley slopes are divided into a patchwork of small fields, typically planned enclosures from the 19^th century, which have some stronger hedgerows in addition to tree cover alongside watercourses. Fields on the higher ground around Mollington, east of the valley of Hanwell Brook, also have stronger hedgerow boundaries.
Quarrying for Homtoo Stone has impacted the landscape, although the ironstone workings ceased operating during the 1960s. Disused workings can be seen around Shenington where the level of the land is several metres below surrounding fields.
Soil fertility and water supply influenced the development of the historic agricultural settlements. Most are typically positioned in valley-side locations (such as Hornton, Horley and Wroxton), although a few are on hill brows (for example Shenington). The settlements remain relatively small and nucleated; the plateau farmland is only sparsely settled.
There is a strong consistency in the vernacular architecture of this area which features the warm-coloured Homtoo Stone ironstone with thatch or stone slate roofing. The villages are all covered by Conservation Areas, and contain a number of listed buildings.
Estates and parklands are found at Hanwell and Wroxton. Wroxton Abbey is a Grade II* Registered Park and Garden, now in use as the Fairleigh Dickinson University. The parkland character around Wroxton is still apparent, including a Grade II* obelisk in the grounds.
Historic main roads radiate out west and north from Banbury – the A422, A423 and B4100. Close to Banbury the roads are generally hedge- or tree-lined, limiting views of the edge of Banbury and providing a rural setting to the town. The roads then run straight along the tops of the ridges, where they are lined with wide grass verges with occasional patches of heath vegetation. In previous areas of quarrying, the roads are raised above the level of the adjacent fields. Roads are sunken where they cross steep valley slopes. The modern M40 follows the valley of the Hanwell Brook in the north-east.
A network of public rights of way cross the landscape, providing recreational access. These include the promoted routes the Battlefields Trail, D’Arcy Dalton Way and Macmillan Way.

Perceptual (views, tranquillity, associations)

The large-scale fields and low hedges result in an open upland landscape with long views over the plateau farmland and down the valleys. This area contains both exposed large-scale arable landscapes and intimate small-scale valleys under pasture. Views from upland locations often encompass both types.
Village location and topography generally means that many villages are not visible over long distances. Some glimpsed views to church towers are possible across the valleys.
Despite limited woodland in the wider landscape, trees and hedgerows are often important features in street scenes and in views of villages in their landscape setting, especially in the estate villages of Hanwell and Wroxton. A few isolated hedgerow oaks and a number of willows along watercourses are important vertical visual elements in this very open landscape.
A highly tranquil landscape with a strong rural character. Settlement outside the villages is limited to small farmsteads. Incongruous features include the busy M40, a solar farm and electricity pylon routes in the west. Although the eastern edge of the area is adjacent to Banbury, there is very limited sense of the urban area due to hedgerows and trees along the roads. The roads remain unlit, adding to the rural approach to Banbury.

County landscape typology

In the Oxfordshire Wildlife and Landscape Study (see the map at the top of the page) the land equating to this character area was typified as a largely consistent pattern of Farmland Plateau split by Wooded Pasture Valleys & Slopes. There are smaller areas of Farmland Slopes & Valley Sides above the River Cherwell east of Hanwell and Upstanding Village Farmlands on the valley side and crest east of the M40.

Valued qualities

A distinctive landscape with a coherent and consistent character, through the undulating landscape, rural character and strong ironstone vernacular in historic villages. The character extends south and east, as well as west into the Cotswolds National Landscape (AONB).
The Ironstone Plateau provides a landscape context and setting to the Cotswolds National Landscape (AONB), which extends into a small part of the character area on its western boundary above the Edge Hill escarpment.
Large areas of open, exposed grassland allow for long views across the plateau and contribute to the wider agricultural character of the landscape.
The Sor Brook and its tributaries are distinctive landscape feature which gives the area a sense of place. Vegetation surrounding the watercourse provides variation in an otherwise open, rural landscape.
There are strong rural qualities and historic vernacular character associated with villages and estates. There are high concentrations of Listed Buildings in most of the villages, all have a designated Conservation Area. This reflects the traditional character of the area and provides a sense of time-depth.
Further evidence of a historic landscape is found in the distinctive strip-lynchets at Shenington, where the slopes were terraced to maximise the cultivation area.
The estate and parkland landscapes at Hanwell and Wroxton are distinctive features in the landscape. Wroxton Abbey contains part of the thirteenth-century Augustinian monastic house. Its surrounding gardens and parklands are Grade II* Registered and contribute to the local landscape history.
A human scale is provided by hedgerows, shelterbelts, plantations and trees, often characterising largely undeveloped, elevated skylines.
A highly tranquil landscape, with strong feelings of remoteness away from transport infrastructure and the urban edge of Banbury. The presence of such areas even quite close to Banbury is additionally valued for the sense of escape to the countryside that it provides for urban residents.

Forces for change

Many hedgerows are gappy, or reinforced by post and wire or post and rail fencing. This detracts from traditional, rural character.
Implementation of development allocations on the edge of Banbury will see increased residential development west of the B4100, north of Drayton.
Pressure for increased renewable energy developments, particularly PV solar developments, which can be a jarring element in views across valleys and reduce the rural character. Net zero targets are likely result in pressure for larger scale solar development and potentially for wind turbines on plateau locations.
Recreational pressure in the landscape, resulting in heavy usage of public rights of way, and conversion of agricultural buildings to holiday lets, including the addition of cabins and pods. These are not in keeping with the strong ironstone vernacular of the area.
The landscape is susceptible to the impacts of climate change, including higher average temperatures and drier summers, wetter winters, more frequent winter storms and flooding leading to:
- Loss of woodland /trees due to wind-throw and of dieback in drought prone locations.
- Spread of non-native and invasive species such as giant hogweed.
- Changes in cropping and land use as a response to climate change impacting the character of the farmland.
- Drought conditions leading to crop failures, and reduced productivity changing the character of the farmed landscape.

Landscape strategy and guidelines

Retain the pastoral character along watercourses by strengthening the smaller-scale field pattern and conserving and enhancing wetlands and riparian vegetation and the ecological value they provide. Retain the role of the Sor Brook and its tributaries as distinctive landscape features contributing to a sense of place.

Maintain tree cover that contributes to character of watercourses as well as the otherwise open character of farmland, contributing to views.
Manage grazing marsh habitats to enhance their biodiversity value and appearance; ensure best practice management through suitable grazing regimes and avoiding agrochemical and fertiliser inputs; manage recreational routes to avoid/minimise disturbance; and manage scrub vegetation appropriately to maintain the open character.
Conserve and enhance wetland habitats, including riparian vegetation, to enhance their contribution to landscape character and their nature conservation and biodiversity value.
Encourage adjacent land uses which strengthen role as ecological corridors and enhance landscape character.

Protect and enhance the agricultural character of the landscape, including the mixed arable and pasture character.

Seek opportunities to enhance connectivity with other habitats nearby by creating green corridors and networks.
Manage arable land to enhance its biodiversity value and connectivity, by maintaining and expanding the area of land available for uncultivated arable field margins; seek to maximise the diversity of margins to provide a range of habitats and to assist in the movement of species through the landscape and include species and cultivars that are able to tolerate and flower under hotter, drier summers.
Where appropriate, revert areas of arable land to pasture grazing.

Preserve the tranquillity and strong rural character of locations remote from transport infrastructure and urban edges.

Avoid development that would intrude on locations currently remote from urbanising influences, either through its size, scale or character, or its impact on levels of activity (such as traffic generation).
Maintain the open rural character of the landscape, which forms gaps between settlements and affords long distance views outwards towards the ironstone uplands.
Maintain the valued recreational use of the landscape and consider opportunities to introduce additional public rights of way connectivity to the north to enhance appreciation of views and landscape character.
Consider impact of development on views from the Cotswolds National Landscape (AONB).
Consider the location of any new solar developments carefully, to minimise the visual impact and retain the strong rural character of the landscape.
Retain the rural character of the tree-lined roads on the approach to Banbury, including the A422 and Broughton Road. Resist the addition of roadside lighting unless necessarily for safety.

Retain the traditional character of the area’s villages.

Maintain the distinctive sparse settlement pattern and minimise the impact of any new development on local character and on views from other areas. Use careful design, in terms of siting, scale, style, layout and materials to stay in keeping with the historic form of each particular village. Preserve the openness of areas/features which are important to the landscape setting of settlements.
Where trees play a significant role in defining a village edge avoid development that extends the form of the village beyond that boundary.
Use new planting to soften the edges of new development, integrating it where possible with existing vegetation. Consider the biodiversity value of new planting as well as the landscape value.
Where Conservation Areas or Listed Buildings retain a strong relationship with open land avoid development that would weaken this link. New development should respect the views to, and setting of, important landmark buildings such as churches.

Woodland cover should continue to provide ecological value and a sense of enclosure within an otherwise open landscape.

Retain and enhance woodland copses and riparian woodland along watercourses.
Encourage the appropriate management of woodland, including to reduce the impacts of pests and diseases and to increase its age structure and structural heterogeneity. Consider the promotion of natural colonisation adjacent to existing woodland, allowing locally native species to develop resilience to the pressures of climate change through natural processes.
Explore opportunities to expand and connect existing woodland and tree cover through natural regeneration or small-scale planting, particularly around settlements. This will strengthen landscape character and bring benefits for biodiversity.
The Oxfordshire Treescape Project considers that sites with multiple benefits for woodland opportunities are on the hill sides, adjacent to the M40 and along the watercourses.
Seek to prevent further loss or decline in the quality of remaining boundary hedgerows and encourage their restoration/reinstatement, whilst maintaining characteristic long-distance views north and south; when establishing new hedges, aim to diversify the range of species and select species and provenances adapted to a wider range of climatic conditions.
Use trees and woodland to integrate development into the landscape.