This chapter summarises the main physical and cultural influences that have shaped the landscape within the study area. The detailed descriptions of different LCAs (Landscape profiles) highlight the key components that are of most significance to the particular landscape concerned.

The landscape has evolved through the interaction of the natural environment and human activities, through the combination of physical and cultural influences. Physical influences such as geology and landform, together with the pattern of settlement and land use are key determinants of landscape character.

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Natural influences

The physical components of the landscape have the most tangible and fundamental influences upon its character, being the most permanent and least changeable aspect of its appearance. The underlying geology creates the ‘backbone’ of the landscape. The actions of weathering, erosion and deposition alter the landform, consequently influencing hydrological patterns and affecting the nature of soil conditions. This influences the nature of the vegetation and fauna that the landscape can support, and affects how humans have used and continue to exploit the landscape for agriculture, settlement and industry.

The map below displays the physical components of the landscape that were used for this study. These are described in more details below the map.

Natural influences - View the map full screen in a new tab

Geology and landform

The landforms that have resulted from geological and weathering processes are shown on the figure above. The bedrock geological formations generally extend diagonally across the study area in a south-west to north-east direction and includes the following:

• White Chalk Subgroup.
• Lambeth Group – Clay, Silt, Sand and Gravel.
• Grey Chalk Subgroup.
• Gault Formation and Upper Greensand Formation (undifferentiated) – Mudstone, Sandstone and Limestone.
• West Walton Formation, Ampthill Clay Formation and Kimmeridge Clay Formation (undifferentiated) – Mudstone, Siltstone and Sandstone.
• Corallian Group – Limestone, Sandstone, Siltstone and Mudstone.
• Portland Group – Limestone and Calcareous Sandstone.
• Lower Greensand Group – Sandstone and Mudstone.
• Wealden Group – Sandstone and Siltstone, Interbedded.
• Kellaways Formation and Oxford Clay Formation (undifferentiated) – Mudstone, Siltstone and Sandstone.
• Great Oolite Group – Sandstone, Limestone and Argillaceous Rocks.

Much of the study area comprises low-lying vales underlain by bands of Kimmeridge Clay and Gault Clay, characterised by flat to gently undulating landform and heavy soils. The vales are drained by the rivers Thames, Thame and Ock and their tributaries, which are surrounded by extensive, low-lying alluvial flats with naturally impeded drainage. Within this alluvial floodplain, however, deposits of terrace gravels produce areas of drier, raised ground more suited to settlement and cultivation. Along the southern edge of the vales, a band of Upper Greensand (‘or Malmstone’) is marked by more pronounced, rolling landform and lighter, calcareous and more fertile soils.

In the north the ‘Mid-vale Ridge’, an irregular band of limestone, rises above the surrounding low-lying clay vales and includes a series of low limestone hills that surround Oxford. The hills are composed of Upper Jurassic Corallian Limestones and Sands, which are widely used as building stone in this area. In places, these rocks are overlain by Kimmeridge Clay and a capping of Lower Greensand which forms the higher ground at Shotover Hill, Forest Hill and above Garsington.

Across the south of the study area sweeps a broad belt of chalk uplands, part of the more extensive Cretaceous chalk belt of southern England. To the south-east, the Chiltern Hills form a highly distinct land mass with its steep escarpment facing the vale to the north and its dip slope descending gently into the Thames Valley to the south. Where the chalk is exposed along the escarpment and valley sides, the soils are thin and calcareous and support remnant chalk grassland and scrub woodland. On the plateau and dip slope, however, the chalk is overlain by extensive deposits of clay-with-flints, producing more acid soils which support extensive woodlands, medium grade farmland and even remnant heath. To the south-west the North Wessex Downs form an elevated plateau of smoothly rolling or undulating topography, incised by dry valleys or combes, often with scrub woodland on the steeper slopes. Soils are predominantly light, free-draining and thin except where clay-with-flints cap the chalk, creating localised areas of damp, heavier soils. The Sinodun Hills (Wittenham Clumps) form an outlier of the Wessex Downs chalk escarpment rising above the Thames and surrounding vales to the north. The River Thames cuts through the chalk belt at Goring and separates the Chilterns from the North Wessex Downs.

Traditional building materials closely reflect these broad geological differences, with local Wheatley limestone predominating in the Oxford Heights, brick and tile on the clays of the vales, and brick and flint (with locally grown timber) characterising the Chilterns and Wessex Downs.

Water

The main rivers within the study area are the River Thames (also referred to as the ‘Thames’ or ‘Isis’ north of the confluence with the River Thame) and its tributaries the River Thame and River Ock.

The River Thames flows from north to south through central parts of the study area and defines its north-western and south-eastern edges. The River Thame flows westwards through the eastern half of the study area (South Oxfordshire District) between the village of Shabbington and the River Thames at Dorchester. The River Ock flows through the western half of the study area (Vale of White Horse District) between the village of Little Coxwell in the west and the River Thames at Abingdon.

In terms of flooding, areas of Flood Zone 2 and 3 located across the study area are associated with the main rivers and their tributary streams and brooks. Watercourses and flood zones are shown on the figure above.

Semi-natural land cover

The study area supports a wide range of habitats, many of which are of international, national or local importance, and are recognised through designation. This includes six Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), 60 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), 210 Local Wildlife Sites and numerous areas of Ancient Woodland, concentrated particularly in the Chilterns to the south-east and on the ridge hilltops to the north and north-west. Ancient Woodland has been continuously present since at least 1600 and it tends to support nationally important woodland plant and animal species.

The SACs wholly or partially within the study area are:

• The Chiltern Beechwoods, part of which lies on the chalk escarpment between Chinnor and the M40, designated primarily for being an extensive Asperulo-Fagetum beech forest that forms an important part of a grassland-scrub-woodland mosaic.
• Aston Rowant to the east, designated for Juniperus communis formations on heaths or calcareous grasslands and Asperulo-Fagetum beech forests.
• Hartslock Wood to the south-east, designated for semi-natural dry grasslands and scrubland facies on calcareous substrates (Festuco-Brometalia) and Taxus baccata woods of the British Isles.
• Little Wittenham to the south of Dorchester, is designated for great crested newts (Triturus cristatus).
• Hackpen Hill to the south-west, designated for its unimproved chalk grassland and nationally important rare early gentian, as well as autumn gentian, fragrant orchid, frog orchid, horseshoe vetch, common rock-rose and dwarf thistle.
• Cothill Fen to the south-west of Wootton, designated for its nationally rare habitats which include alkaline fens, calcareous grassland, alluvial forests including Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus excelsior species, and scrub of varying degrees of wetness.

The SSSIs within the study area, with particular concentrations in the northern and eastern regions, include:

• Wytham Woods, consisting of a complex of Ancient Woodland, wood pasture, common land and old limestone grassland on a variety of soils.
• The Wytham Ditches and Flushes are also designated, containing species-rich eutrophic aquatic and fen flora.
• Fernham Meadows, to the south of Fernham, designated for its species-rich mosaic of wet fen meadow habitats, woodland and drier grassland.
• Little Wittenham SSSI located to the south of Dorchester, is designated for its great crested newt (Triturus cristatus) population.
• Swyncombe Downs SSSI east of the village of Ewelme is designated for its chalk grassland, scrub and bird communities.
• Culham Brake SSSI, to the south of Abingdon-on-Thames is a small area of willow carr and contains one of the largest British populations of the summer snowflake Leucojum aestivum.

There are two National Nature Reserves (NNR) in the study area:

• Aston Rowant NNR , which is also located within the Chilterns National Landscape boundary, lies approximately nine miles to the north-east of Wallingford. Main habitats within the NNR include flower-rich chalk grassland, beech woodland and juniper scrub.
• Cothill NNR is species-rich lowland calcareous fen, forming part of the Cothill Fen SAC.

The study area contains six Local Nature Reserves (LNR): Cuttle Brook, Ewelme Watercress Beds, Mowbray Fields, Watlington Chalk Pit, Abbey Fishponds and Tuckhill Meadows.

There are also numerous Priority Habitats spread across the study area including ‘deciduous woodland’, ‘traditional orchards’, ‘lowland calcareous grassland’, lowland dry acid grassland, lowland fens and lowland meadows.

Landscape and landscape-related designations are shown on the figure above.

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Cultural influences

The map below displays the cultural influences that were used for this study. These are described in more details below the map.

Cultural influences - View the map full screen in a new tab

Historic character and land use

The study area contains a wealth of archaeological sites, monuments and historic assets that reflect a long history of human settlement and activity. These assets, many of which are statutorily designated, play a large part in defining the character of the landscape and the individuality of particular settlements. Heritage designations are shown on the figure above.

The basic physical structure of the landscape has also had a strong influence on patterns of human occupation and activity within South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse. In particular, slope, elevation and water supply have influenced the selection of sites for settlement, while the workability of soils and their potential for improvement has influenced patterns of agriculture and land use.

Prehistoric farmers were responsible for radical changes in the landscape, progressively creating clearings in the dense forests to create extensive open pastures or croplands.

Many of the settlements within the study area originate from the Saxon period, particularly those alongside the Thames (such as Abingdon-on-Thames, Mapledurham, Goring-on-Thames, Shillingford and the original Nuneham Courtney), those on the Hilltop Ridges (such as Wheatley, Cuddesdon and Faringdon) and those close to the vale edge slopes below the Chiltern and North Wessex Downs scarps (such as Watlington, Benson, Lewknor, Wantage, Childrey, Woolstone). This period of settlement established a pattern which is still very much in evidence today.

In the Chilterns, clusters of loosely grouped farmsteads were established on the plateau and new small fields were carved out of the extensive common woods, a process known as ‘assarting’. Elsewhere, nucleated villages were typically surrounded by a farming system of large open fields divided into a number of strips, individually owned but farmed together.

Open farmland was steadily enclosed by hedges, banks and occasionally ditches during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. However, these earlier and more irregular enclosures were largely overwhelmed by the major parliamentary enclosures of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries which transformed the appearance of much of the landscape introducing a pattern of square or rectangular fields defined by straight predominantly hawthorn hedges which remain today. New straight roads were also introduced with wide grass verges, replacing the narrow winding lanes. The Chiltern Hills largely escaped this revolution and still display many typical characteristics of ‘ancient countryside’ which contrast with the ‘planned landscape’ of the Vales.

The process of early enclosure through the Tudor and Jacobean period was accompanied by the development of grand mansions and manor houses, particularly in the Chilterns and Thames Valley, such as Mapledurham House, Hardwick House, Rotherfield Greys and Stonor Park. The formal parks which surrounded these houses had a considerable impact on the landscape but not so dramatic as the designed landscapes of the eighteenth century. These include ‘Capability’ Brown’s dramatic transformation of Nuneham Park and a succession of beautiful parks created along the Chiltern reaches of the Thames Valley, including Mongewell House, Caversham Park and Fawley Court as well as the re-design of the parks at Mapledurham and Hardwick House. Other examples of manor houses and associated park and gardens are concentrated along the Corallian Limestone Ridge, including Buscot House, Buckland House and Hinton Manor.

Settlement and infrastructure

Changes to the landscape and settlements during the twentieth century have resulted mainly from the pressures of modern farming and the growth in demand for new housing and more efficient communications. The increasing mechanisation of post-war agriculture has obliterated many miles of hedgerows and woodlands creating more open landscapes.

There are significant pressures on the South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse area to accommodate new housing. Improvements in road and rail communications and proximity to London were initially a key factor, but the districts are now home to a wide range of nationally and globally important science and technology businesses. Proximity to the major employment centres of Oxford, Reading and Swindon, combined with the qualities of the districts’ countryside, makes it an attractive place to live. Some settlements, such as Didcot and Wantage/Grove, have expanded rapidly with a significant effect upon the local landscape character. Elsewhere, however, much of this pressure has been successfully resisted, particularly in the smaller rural settlements.

A less obvious effect of the prosperity of this area, however, is the gradual ‘suburbanisation’ and ‘gentrification’ of many of the districts’ villages and a gradual erosion of local distinctiveness. The same effects are evident across the study area and are manifested in more ‘urban’ types of fencing, surfacing, buildings, lighting and highway treatments, which cumulatively detract from the traditional, rural character of villages and hamlets. Other changes in the landscape have been brought about by the construction of new roads, including the M40 motorway, and by mineral extraction, particularly along the River Thames.

The settlements and infrastructure within the study area are shown on the figure above.

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Perceptual characteristics

Tranquillity

Urban areas (including towns and larger villages, as well as the urban areas of Oxford, Reading/Caversham and Swindon which lie immediately adjacent or close by), along with transport corridors such as the M40 Motorway and A34, influence the character of the surrounding landscape. However, away from the settlements and main roads, many parts of the study area have an overriding rural character and enjoy relatively higher levels of tranquillity. The areas of higher tranquillity are particularly concentrated to the south, in the North Wessex Downs National Landscape, to the east within the Chilterns National Landscape and to the north-east on and around the Mid-Vale Ridge. This is illustrated in the Results section in the Tranquillity Assessment section of this digital report.

The levels of light pollution and dark night skies within the study area vary. Light pollution decreases with distance from the main settlements. There are some areas of dark night skies free from interference from artificial light, notably within the National Landscapes but also in other locations both on higher ground (such as in the hills east and west of Oxford) and in the vales (including parts of the valley of the River Thames). The character and special qualities for both the Chilterns and North Wessex Downs National Landscapes include a sense of remoteness and tranquillity and dark night skies (relative to surrounding areas). Variations in levels of light pollution are available to view in the Results section in the Dark Skies section of this digital report.

Views

Open often panoramic views are available from areas of higher ground over the surrounding lower-lying vales and river valleys. Notable views are available from the North Downs Chalk Escarpment and Escarpment Footslopes to the south-west, from the Ridge Hilltops and Ridge Slopes to the north, the Chilterns Chalk Scarp and Footslopes to the south-east, and from the Sinodun Hills (Wittenham Clumps).

On the lower-lying vales and river valleys the flat, large-scale landscape means that open views are frequent due to the uniform topography and limited intervening vegetation. From other areas, views are more restricted by vegetation and mature trees particularly in the vicinity of watercourses. The surrounding higher ground is often apparent as a backdrop on the horizon of views – the Corallian Limestone Ridge to the north, the North Wessex Downs to the south-west and the Chilterns to the east and south-east.

Looking across the vale from Whitehorse Hill

Looking north past Shirburn Hill from the Chiltern escarpment

Looking west along the Ridgeway towards Uffington Castle

Oxford viewed from Boars Hill

Holton Wood and Waterperry Wood in the vale east of Forest Hill

Wittenham Clumps, viewed over Didcot from Hagbourne Hill

North along the Thames from Wittenham Clumps

Associations

Many parts of the landscape have particular cultural associations relating to art, literature, events, myth, music, people, media, legends and folklore. These include:

• The ‘dreaming spires’ of Oxford, as painted from Hinksey Hill by William Turner.
• The prehistoric Uffington White Horse chalk figure is a prominent feature on the scarp. It is used as an emblem by diverse organisations, including the Vale of White Horse District Council and the Berkshire Yeomanry. It also appears in numerous works of literature, including The Scouring of the White Horse (1859) by Thomas Hughes and Idylls of the King (between 1859 and 1885) by Lord Tennyson; and within music, including John Gardner’s Ballad of the White Horse (1959) and David Bedford’s Song of the White Horse (1978).
• North Wessex Downs landscapes in Oxfordshire were a favourite subject for noted 20th century artist Paul Nash, and Eric Ravillious also painted downland views in the area.
• The River Thames in South Oxfordshire forms the setting for The Wind in the Willows, a children’s novel by Kenneth Grahame (1908). Henley-on-Thames has the River and Rowing Museum with special permanent Wind in the Willows exhibition.
• Many villages in Oxfordshire have featured in the Midsomer Murders television series, with five towns within the study area being particular favourites for the filming: Henley-on-Thames, Wallingford, Dorchester-on-Thames, Thame and Watlington.