Ardley Cutting and Quarry
Site of Special Scientific Interest
LocationOxfordshire
Grid referenceSP 535 272[1]
InterestBiological
Geological
Area40.1 hectares (99 acres)[1]
Notification1988[1]
Location mapMagic Map

Ardley Cutting and Quarry is a 40.1-hectare (99-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Bicester in Oxfordshire.[1][2] It is a Geological Conservation Review site[3] and an area of 11 hectares (27 acres) is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust as Ardley Wood Quarry.[4] The site contains a Scheduled Monument, Ardley Wood moated ringwork, a Norman defended enclosure.[5]

The quarry and railway cutting exposes rocks dating to the Bathonian stage of the Middle Jurassic, about 167 million years ago. It is described by Natural England as of national importance for the understanding of the Jurassic Period in Britain as it allows correlation of rocks of the Oxford area to be correlated with those of the Midlands. The site has calcareous grassland with diverse vertebrates, including the internationally protected great crested newt.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Designated Sites View: Ardley Cutting and Quarry". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Map of Ardley Cutting and Quarry". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Ardley Cuttings & Quarries (Bathonian)". Geological Conservation Review. Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 26 February 2020.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Ardley Wood Quarry". Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  5. ^ Historic England. "Ardley Wood moated ringwork (1015554)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Ardley Cutting and Quarry citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
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51°56′28″N 1°13′23″W / 51.941°N 1.223°W / 51.941; -1.223

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