Stanstead, Suffolk - Landscape

Landscape

Within the Suffolk Landscape Character Assessment the parish of Stanstead is within an area defined as

• Rolling valley farmlands - This landscape has small and medium sized fields on the valley sides with an organic form which was created by the piecemeal enclosure of common arable and pasture lands. As with the other valley side landscapes the field size tends to increase on the upper sides and plateaux edges of these valleys. Overall the growth and development of villages and small towns in this landscape has been driven by the quality of the land and the agricultural prosperity that it brought. Ancient woodland is mainly confined to the upper slopes of the valleys and is mostly in relatively small parcels.

• Undulating ancient farmlands - This is predominantly an area of ‘ancient enclosure’, with an irregular pattern of fields bounded by large, long-established hedges. The settlement pattern is one of dispersed farmsteads and hamlets, scattered between moderately sized green-edge settlements. The area is well stocked with ancient woods of moderate size, usually situated on the tops of the more poorly drained clay hills. In general there are long open views across this undulating landscape in which trees, either in hedges or in woods, are always a prominent feature. The historic pattern of field boundaries has been degraded through 20th century agricultural rationalisation that has resulted in a large number of hedges being removed.

• Valley meadowlands - This landscape character type is found principally in the floors of the river valleys of south and south-east Suffolk. These are flat valley floors made up of seasonally wet clays overlying alluvial deposits and peat. The damp nature of the land has led to a long use as meadows. These landscapes are generally unsettled although there are occasional farmsteads on the edge of the valleys or on locally higher spots.