Devil's Dyke Restoration Project

(photo: James Fisher)

Leaflet - Text Only

Introduction

Devil's Dyke, or Devil's Ditch as it is also known, is a site of national significance for its archaeology and of international significance for wildlife. It is the largest Anglo-Saxon Dyke in Britain and has been described by English heritage as probably the finest earthwork of its kind in England. It is now protected by English Heritage as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. In addition to its historical importance, the Dyke contains one of the most extensive and varied areas of species-rich chalk grassland in Cambridgeshire and is designated as a Site of Special Scientific interest (SSSI) by English Nature. Part of the SSSI is also now a candidate Special Area for Conservation ( SA) which recognises its European importance.

The Dyke stretches in a near perfect straight line for 7 ½ miles (12 km) from the Fen edge at Reach, across the open chalk landscape near Newmarket and towards the more wooded landscape on the clay ridges, ending at Ditton Green. The impressive monument reaches to around 4 metres below present ground level and up to 6 metres above present ground level. The best place to see the Dyke's size is on Galley Hill near Burwell, where it is about 10.5 m (34 feet) high from the base of the ditch to the top of the bank.

Conservation & Management

The Devil's Dyke was traditionally managed by sheep grazing. This maintained the open, species-rich chalk grassland habitat. However, by the early part of the 20th century, the intensification of modern farming resulted in a decline in grazing. The lack of management allowed scrub to start to dominate parts of the Dyke and shade out the chalk grassland. Since the 1970s great efforts have been made by local wildlife groups to maintain the best areas of grassland. During the early 1990s the part of the Dyke that is managed by the County Farms Unit was entered into the Countryside Stewardship Scheme. This has allowed some scrub control and sheep grazing to take place.

Devils Dyke Restoration Project

Now the future for the Dyke looks much more promising thanks to a new five year Heritage Lottery Funded Devil's Dyke Restoration Project which aims to restore the site to its former glory and ensure that the future management of the site is possible by establishing long-term management practices that are financially sustainable.

Existing areas of open grassland are to be maintained and enhanced by establishing a management regime that will allow plants to flower and set seed before being mown or grazed in order to maintain the open grassland and discourage invasive scrub. Some sections of the Dyke have been completely taken over by scrub. This not only shades out the chalk grassland but also causes damage to the fabric of the monument through wind-blow, root damage, bare soil erosion (slope slipping), and by encouraging burrowing animals using scrub as shelter. Archaeology is a non-renewable resource and once damaged or destroyed there is no way that it can be repaired or restored. Therefore the majority of this scrub will be removed and grassland re-established by sowing locally sourced seed so that future generations will be able to see and appreciate the monument. Fencing can then be installed which will enable sheep grazing to be re-introduced to the site.

Some trees and shrubs will be retained on the banks in order to provide suitable habitat and cover for birds and act as wildlife corridors and as a buffer to surrounding arable land. The southern section of the Dyke is mature woodland. This is to be maintained with some areas of hazel being traditionally coppiced on rotation.

Access

Although much of the Dyke is under private ownership, there is a public footpath that runs the whole length of the Dyke. As part of the Restoration Project, access is to be improved by installing steps on some of the more steep, slippery slopes. Stiles will be replaced with gates to improve access for less mobile user groups. Finger posts and waymarkers will be replaced and paths well maintained. Interpretation panels will also be installed at appropriate points.

Thereafter, working with landowners and managers, the aim is to manage the Dyke in a more sustainable way with sheep grazing or mowing regimes established over the majority of the length of the Dyke

History

There is an interesting history to the name of the monument. During the Middle Ages it was regularly known as 'St Edmund's Dyke', because it marked the limit of the jurisdiction of the abbots of Bury St. Edmunds. There are also Middle Ages references to the 'Great Ditch'. During the 11th century siege of Ely by William the Conqueror, it is referred to as 'Reach Dyke'. Devil's Dyke or Ditch is a post-medieval name, probably deriving from a belief that such landforms must be of supernatural origin. One local legend is that the Devil came uninvited to a wedding perhaps at Reach church and was chased away by the guests. In anger the devil ran away and formed the groove of the Dyke with his fiery tail.

How To Get There

By bus: There are regular buses to Reach, Swaffham Prior, Newmarket July racecourse and Woodditton. Enquiries: Cambridgeshire County Council Public Transport Information Tel: 01223 717740.

By train: The nearest train stations are at Newmarket and Dullingham, both about 3 km from the Dyke. Enquiries: Tel: 0845 748 4950.

By road: There are small car parks located at Reach, near Swaffham prior on the B1102 and at Newmarket July Racecourse.

By foot: There is a good network of public footpaths that join the Dyke, particularly around Reach, Swaffham prior and Stetchworth. The whole Dyke is shown on Ordnance Survey Landranger Map 154.

Contact Details

To contact us about the Restoration Project please telephone the Project Officer on 01223 713532 or e-mail cambridgeshire@wildlifebcnp.org. Further information including details of forthcoming events is available at the web site www.devilsdykeproject.org.uk.

The Devil's Dyke Restoration Project is a partnership scheme involving English Nature, English Heritage, Cambridgeshire Wildlife Trust and Cambridgeshire County Council's Countryside, Archaeological and Farms Units, working with landowners and managers and local people.

Natural History

The grassland on the embankments is home to a wonderful variety of wild flowers, herbs, butterflies and other insects, many of which are now nationally or regionally rare.

Flora

During the spring, Pasque Flower can be seen, their purple cup-shaped flowers contrasting with the yellow of the Cowslips. From May to August the turf is in full colour; Salad Burnet, yellow horseshoe-vetch and Rockrose, blue Milkwort and Harebell, mauve Field Scabious and Clustered Bellflower and the pink Sainfoin are amongst the more common flowers.

Butterflies

The site is one of the richest in the county for species of butterfly and includes Dingy Skipper, Brown Argus and Green Hairstreak. The rare Chalkhill Blue can be seen during July and August. This butterfly requires short grassland containing Horseshoe Vetch for its caterpillars to feed on, together with a particular species of ant. The ants guard the feeding lavae and protect the pupae in their nests in return for sugars and proteins that the caterpillars and pupae produce.

Other Insects

By high summer large numbers of grass hoppers and bush crickets can be seen along with interesting beetles such as the Green Tiger Beetle. Huge numbers of snails associated with calcarious grassland are also present.

Birds

Several bird species actually nest within the grassland such as Skylark, Meadow Pipit and Corn Bunting. Other birds that breed on the site, including White throat, Yellow Hammer and Long-tailed Tit, nest in the shrubs and trees that surround the grassland.

History

The Devil's Dyke is thought to have been constructed by Penda, the Saxon king of the East Angles during the late 6th or early 7th centuries to protect the East Anglian Saxons from the Britons to the west and may have later been used as a defensive barrier against a threat from the Saxon kingdom of Mercia. Stretching across the open chalk lands between the impassable fenland to the north and the thickly wooded land to the south, it would have formed an effective barrier. The construction of a dyke (and ditch) was a common tactic used by the Saxons when fighting the Britons. The Britons often fought on horseback, while the Saxons usually only fought on foot, and so the ditch would have prevented the use of cavalry. The ditch may well have been filled with thorny bushes to act as further defence. It is possible that the monument may have been built over an earlier prehistoric dyke on a similar alignment.

Archaeology

There have been several archaeological excavations on and around the Dyke in the 20th century. Some of the most important are:

Reach Villa - A Romano-British villa still visible from the air as a cropmark. The main building had its own bath-house and hypocausts. Reach was a Fen port in Roman times.
Gallows Hill - Iron Age and Romano-British temple site in the form of square ditched enclosures with buildings within. Pagan Saxon burials were also found on the site.
Burwell Castle - An unfinished Anarchy castle built by King Stephen in the 13th century. Partly excavated in the early 20th century.
Roman Roads - The Street Way and the Icknield Way. The Dyke was probably sited to control these important routes.

In 1973, during the construction of the A14, an archaeological section was excavated and this helped to reveal how the Dyke may have been constructed. It showed that the first stage was a marker bank using topsoil from the immediate area. Material was then quarried from the ditch and was hauled to the top of the bank.

Devil's Dyke formed the last defence in a series of similar, smaller defensive earthworks to the south-west, including Fleam Dyke, Brent Ditch and Bran Ditch. These ditches controlled both the ancient Icknield Way and the Roman Roads (e.g. the modern A11) that passed through them. Thus the Dyke was constructed to control trade and access as well as a military or defensive barrier.

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