Bentley Priory Nature Reserve, Nature reserve in Stanmore, London, England
Bentley Priory Nature Reserve is a 55-hectare protected area in Stanmore with ancient woodlands, natural grassland, scrub, wetland, streams, and a man-made lake called Summerhouse Lake. The site offers a range of habitats that visitors can explore along marked pathways.
The site started as an Augustinian priory founded in 1171 and later transformed with a mansion designed by Sir John Soane in 1775 for James Duberley. This change from religious to private ownership shaped how the land was used afterward.
The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon word 'Beonet', meaning an area covered in coarse grass, and this natural grassland character remains visible throughout the reserve today. Walking through different sections, you can see how the landscape has kept its open, grassy appearance that reflects this ancient naming.
The reserve is accessible from several roads including Common Road, Priory Drive, Aylmer Drive, Embry Way, Old Lodge Way, Bentley Way, and Masefield Avenue. Wear sturdy footwear and watch for wet ground, particularly in the wetland and stream areas.
The hornbeam trees in Heriot Wood, part of the reserve's ancient woodland, date to the end of the last Ice Age roughly 11,500 years ago. These ancient trees are a living record of the landscape's recovery after glaciers retreated.
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