Essex Field Club on Facebook

Visit Our Centre

EFC Centre at Wat Tyler Country ParkOur centre is available for visits on a pre-booked basis on Wednesdays between 10am - 4pm. The Club’s activities and displays are also usually open to the public on the first Saturday of the month 11am - 4pm.

About us


Video about the Club Essex Field Club video

registered charity
no 1113963
HLF Logo A-Z Page Index

Mill Wood Pit

In 1995 Mill Wood Pit was acknowledged by English Nature to have an invertebrate fauna of national importance. Despite this, all but a tiny fragment of the site and adjacent area was developed for housing, with minimal mitigation for the massive loss of nature conservation land above the then existing outline plans for the development. However some benefits have been made, with surviving parts of the Chafford Hundred area becoming under the ownership and management of the Essex Wildlife Trust in 2005.

Flower rich area at Mill Wood Pit in 2004

Mill Wood-flowerrich detail Copyright: Peter Harvey  Mill Wood Pit flower-rich Copyright: Peter Harvey
both © Peter Harvey

The unmanaged flower rich grasslands provided a diverse structural mosaic with rich forage and phytogenous resources for insects and dead herbaceous stems for stem nesting species. The sandy slopes, sand and chalk banks and sand cliffs all provided important nesting habitat for ground nesting bees and wasps, as well as Sand Martins (now gone).

Sand slope and cliffs at Mill Wood Pit

MillWood slope Copyright: Peter Harvey  Mill Wood Pit sand faces Copyright: Peter Harvey
both © Peter Harvey

Mill Wood Pit after development
Mill Wood Pit-housing now Copyright: Peter Harvey
© Peter Harvey

Open space at Mill Wood Pit after development
Mill Wood Pit open space now Copyright: Peter Harvey
© Peter Harvey
Open space at Mill Wood Pit now bears little resemblance to anything formerly present, and does not provide flower rich areas to support foraging insects (or Sand Martins).

Back to destroyed sites