Over
past years, Councillors, Residents and the Press, have repeatedly
quoted, “.......development of housing on the former Middleton
Hospital site, could be detrimental to an area of ’ancient
woodland’ apparently
called Middleton woods..........”.
How
many have stopped to wonder, just where are
Middleton woods?
I
have beside me various maps of this area, surveyed and printed from
about 1895 to 1990,
respectively. Each different when describing woodland across the
river, now called by some as ‘Middleton
Woods’.
In
1895,
there were between Low Hall and Low Laithe, Coppy
Wood, Stubham Wood, Hudson wood
and Nail Bank Wood.
No mention of
Middleton Wood. In
approximately 1900/4,
there were Coppice
Wood, Stubbing Wood, Middleton Wood
and Nail Bank Wood.
Hudson Wood seemingly
disappearing. The map
of 1952
( revised in 1959
), shows Coppy
Wood, Stubham Wood and
Hudson Wood.
Nail Bank Wood and
Middleton Wood, going the way of Hudson Wood on a previous map.
Also, what was
formerly known as Holmes
Spring, between Low
Laithe and Carters Lane, had become another part of
Hudson Wood. Which
seems very odd, given the large area of open land between the former
Holmes Spring
and a previous Hudson
Wood.
On
the 1990 map
the whole area had become Middleton
Woods, thus removing
any ancient woodland
names from that
part of the locality, forever.
Some
years ago, when involved in trying to stop a development down south,
an application from another party was thrown out because of the
vagueness in naming an area of woodland. Are
we to suppose the same could happen here?
If they are to be called ‘Ancient
Woodland’, then
their ‘ancient’
names must be upheld, too. While there are some who would say Coppy
and Coppice,
or Stubham
and Stubbing
are variations of the same.
One can’t say this for Hudson, Nail Bank or Holmes spring!
Changing
names, has lost this Valley much throughout the past hundred years.
Too much. Wheatley is
a prime example. We
all make little mistakes in research, but the above is so glaringly
obvious, one wonders how the Parish Council have missed it, worse
still, allowed it to happen.
