The Hurst Water Meadow - a Dorchester village project

What is the Hurst water meadow?

The Hurst Water Meadow is an island lying between the River Thame and the Overy millstream. In winter it is usually flooded for a few days. This helps to maintain the natural fertility of the soil.

More than 100 species of plants have been recorded in the meadow. None of them is particularly rare, but species such as purple loosestrife, greater willowherb, and cow parsley make a spectacularly colourful display at certain times of year. Snake's-head fritillaries (Fritillaria meleagris) have been introduced. There are some fine tree specimens: a huge black poplar  near the weir; a well shaped oak; and a number of ash, field maple and, of course, the familiar pollarded willows. The ragwort is under good control.

The variety of habitats provided by the pasture, the river, the trees and scrub, and the newly created 'scrape' encourages many wildlife species. Birds include tits, warblers, heron, kingfisher, mallard and coot. Butterflies such as the marbled white, meadow brown and various skippers are commonly seen in the long grass of the pasture. Mayflies the banded demoiselle and brown hawker dragonfly are seasonally common. Grass snake have been seen, and mammals such as field vole, fox, mink, weasel and muntjak, but sadly, no water vole though they have been sighted nearby.

Location

The Hurst Water Meadow lies to the south of Dorchester on Thames, between the village and Overy. Access on foot is from Manor Farm Road behind Dorchester Abbey, or from Overy Lane. A public footpath crosses the meadow, and the public have access to the whole 18-acre meadow. Cars can be parked by Dorchester Bridge and beside the school. There is no car parking on the meadow.

How did the local community acquire the meadow?

The meadow was previously owned by a fishing enterprise that went into liquidation. A group of local residents decided to raise the money to purchase it and formed themselves into a Trust. An appeal was delivered to every household and enough pledges of support were received to justify putting in a bid. The Dorchester Parish Council made a generous donation.

Our bid of £32,576 (later reduced by the receivers to £31,000) was accepted and we took possession of the 18-acre site on 17 May 1996 including the fishing rights of additional river and millstream banks. We were greatly helped in these tortuous negotiations by our chartered surveyor Julian Sayers and solicitor Stuart Capel.

What is the past history of the Hurst?

Little has been recorded about the Hurst meadow, but it must have been an integral part of the Overy Mill water management system probably dating back to the eighth century. The mill is mentioned in the Domesday Book. A pasture known as `Le Hurst' was described in 14th century records. Overy Mill was part of the Dorchester Abbey Estates until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536, when it passed into private hands - Sir Edmund Ashfield and the Fettiplace family. A record in 1577 showed that the Cherrill family farmed at Overy and they continued to be leading farmers in the village for more than 300 years. Overy Mill was still working in the mid-nineteenth century.

In more recent times, the meadow was owned by the Hawken family who farmed at Queenford Mill, and grazed cattle in the meadow. Ownership passed to Richard Whittle in the 1950s, then to ARC (now Hanson Trust who retain mineral extraction rights), and finally to Dorchester Fisheries (an angling business) that went into receivership. Part of the meadow is in the Overy conservation area.

The members of the public have had access to the meadow for many decades, and the landowners have allowed fishing for as long as people can remember.

What is the Hurst Water Meadow Trust & its aims and policies?

The initial group of interested residents formed themselves into a Trust by legal deed on 13 October 1995. Application for charitable status was made and this was granted with effect from 31 October 1995. In drawing up the deed and applying for charitable status we were greatly helped by the National Council for Voluntary Organizations (NCVO) in particular by Mr Robert Evans, head of legal services to whom we are very grateful. Management is legally vested in the Hurst Water Meadow Trust. Ten local residents are the trustees. Two trustees are Parish Councillors and this arrangement is vested in a supplemental deed dated 31 December 1996.

The main objectives of the Trust are:

• to preserve, conserve and protect the meadow, its wildlife (plants and animals) and their habitats, for the benefit of the public;
• to advance public education in and understanding of the ecology of the meadow;
• to provide for the safe enjoyment and recreational use of the meadow by the public.

Policy statement