Friends of Fineshade
The Sheep Field
This open space in front of Top Lodge has great significance for those who live and work at Fineshade. For those who visit, it contributes to the special landscape of this part of Rockingham Forest and provides an introduction to the tranquility that lies ahead.
Some history
Clearly the meadows were once an essential part of the farm at Top Lodge. The old farmhouse and farmyard would have looked out across the field and the valley towards Wakerley and Laxton. Then in the 1860s the railway came and, for 100 years, steam trains passed regularly along the south-western boundary of the field. The railway passed over an embankment, through a cutting and under the bridge that still provides access to Top Lodge from the main road . When the railway was closed as part of the Beeching cuts in the 1960s, trees began to reclaim the edge of the field so that today it appears to be enclosed by woodland on two sides.
When most of the Top Lodge farm was acquired by the Forestry Commission this meadow remained in private hands. It has poor-quality soil so has been used for grazing throughout living memory. Older residents and visitors remember when it was grazed by horses with a few significant Horse Chestnut trees in the middle. For children growing up here it has been a regular playground, with sledging in the winter and visits to the "snake pit" in summer! (the field has always been used by Adders). When the Horse Chestnuts died it was here that the local community decided to plant Oak trees to mark the coming of the new millenium in 2000 (sadly, rabbits and deer destroyed the young trees.)
Wildlife
As well as Adders and Slowworms, the Sheep Field boasts a wide variety of wildlife. There is a rich mix of flowers which attract butterflies of all sorts including in recent years the Marbled White and White-letter Hairstreak. Other insects abound in summer, and on dark evenings bats can be seen foraging over the field. Then, as night falls it is a good place to see Glow Worms and, just occasionally, Barn Owls. All year round, during daylight hours, Kestrels often sit on the wires that cross the field, waiting for the voles and other mammals that live amongst the grass. There is a long-established Red Kite nest in the trees immediately adjacent to the field.
Threats
In 2014 the current owner of the field applied unsuccessfully for planning permission to develop the field for "glamping pods". This was followed in 2015 by another application that involved tented camping with a toilet and administration block. See details of that second application here.
In February 2019 another application was presented. This proposed 32 static caravans on half of the sheep field. Like the other applications it attracted very strong opposition and the council's planning officer recommended that it should be rejected for five different reasons. The owners withdrew the application just before it was due to be decided
You can see more about the application and the objections it attracted here.
Most recently in 2021 another application was made. This time it was for a glamping and camping site with a single static caravan for an on-site warden. Once again it was an ill-thought-out piece of work - there was no provision for toilets or showers. for example!
Here's a link to the page where we described this application in detail and suggesting how best to oppose it. Once again the application failed due in no small part to the efforts of many of the Friends of Fineshade.
The future?
Perhaps now, after five unsuccessful and costly attempts, the current owners will realise that the meadows are no place to develop static caravans. Friends of Fineshade would certainly like to see them changed into a community nature reserve with some public access.
The view across the field from the front entrance of the Top Lodge Visitor Centre
20 years ago there were old trees and rare-breed sheep grazing