Bat Havens

Historic sites, particularly roofed buildings such as Berry Pomeroy Castle, Devon, or Lincoln Bishops’ Palace, Lincolnshire, have become a haven to bats where more traditional roosting spots such as old trees or undisturbed caves have been lost. These buildings have useful nooks and crannies that provide perfect environments for bats – a warm and dry space to breed in the summer, and a cold and humid space to hibernate in the winter. The buildings are also often located near woodlands, parks or gardens which provide ideal landscapes for the bats to forage in.

In England, it is required by law to protect all species of bat, their breeding sites and their roosts. When conserving our historic buildings, we often encounter bat habitats and must ensure that access to these spaces is maintained during and after any conservation work. Maintenance can be a common occurrence at some of our more vulnerable sites, and when any works are planned, a survey is carried out to identify any bat roosts which need to be protected.

Reintroducing Choughs

The red-billed chough is a striking bird and rare member of the crow family. It is recognisable by its black plumage, red legs and red beak. Legend has it that the species originally got its colouring by walking in the blood of Thomas Becket as the archbishop lay dying in Canterbury Cathedral. The birds were a common sight in Kent at the time that Dover Castle’s defences were first built in the 12th century but have been extinct in the area for more than 200 years due to changing farming practices and persecution.

We’ve been working with Wildwood Trust and Kent Wildlife Trust to support the reintroduction of the chough at Dover. The birds were released in the area during the summer of 2023, and to widen public understanding and appreciation of the birds, a temporary aviary opened at the castle housing four young red-billed choughs. It allowed the public to learn more about the choughs’ historic links to the area and their ecological significance.

This also marks the start of a wider project to introduce choughs into the wild in Kent in 2024.

Recognising History

Some animals have important historical links to our sites and can still be seen there today. Sheep, cows and pigs were farmed at Boscobel House in Shropshire during the early 19th century when the house was part of a mixed farm (both crops were grown and animals were farmed). It would later become a dairy farm. Today, English Heritage cares for local and rare breed farm animals at Boscobel as a nod to this part of the house’s history. Breeds include Tamworth pigs and Ryeland sheep, both some of the oldest breeds found in the UK. It is believed that after Queen Elizabeth I was presented with a pair of Ryeland wool stockings, she swore she would only wear clothes made of Ryeland wool. You can also see Shropshire sheep at Boscobel – the oldest registered pedigree breed in the UK. They were very popular in the 19th century because of their big dense fleece and strong build.

At Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight, donkeys have formed part of the castle’s history for hundreds of years. They fulfilled the important role of drawing up the water from the 16th-century well-house which was once the main water supply for the castle. Today at Carisbrooke, the stables are home to six donkeys who graze on the five-acre field behind the castle. They no longer have to ‘work the wheel’ as they would have in the 16th century, but they do sometimes perform short demonstrations of the well-house wheel for visitors, though they never turn the wheel more than twice per demonstration.

A Mutual Benefit

Protecting or conserving nature is an essential consideration when managing our historic sites, and in turn nature can also help us with our work. For example, the sheep that graze at Dover Castle help prevent tree growth on the earthworks. This protects historic features underground from damage by tree roots and helps reduce the amount of ivy reaching the castle’s stone walls.

Soft-capping is one way in which we can protect some of our most vulnerable ruined buildings. This is the placing of soil and turf on the tops of the exposed walls in order to protect the wall from damaging water ingress. There is a mutual benefit in using soft-capping as the vegetation can provide a valuable, flower-rich habitat and food source for invertebrates and birds, while also protecting the historic walls. We have used soft-capping on a number of our sites including Hailes Abbey in Gloucestershire, Lincoln Bishops’ Palace in Lincolnshire, Wigmore Castle in Herefordshire, and Shap Abbey in Cumbria.