- Tottenham Marshes
The Tottenham Marshes are one of the last remaining examples of semi-natural wetland in
Greater London . They contain a variety of plant communities typical of a former flood plain location, such as a range of neutral grassland types, sedge marsh, reed swamp, sallow scrub and areas of tall herb vegetation. Associated with this diversity of habitat are several species of plant and insect which are uncommon in the London area.Tottenham Marshes are located at
Tottenham in theLondon Borough of Haringey . Themarshes cover over convert|100|acre|km2 and became part of theLee Valley Park [ [http://www.leevalleypark.org.uk/en/content/cms/leisure//nature_reserves___pa/marshes/marshes.aspx Tottenham Marshes] RetrievedNovember 14 ,2007 ] in 1972. The marsh is made up of three main areas; Clendish Marsh, Wild Marsh West and Wild Marsh East. The latter two are separated by the River Lee.History
The convert|100|acre|km2 of marshes were originally a
flood plain of the River Lee. But significant changes have been made over the years. Between the 1860s and 1930 a range of facilities including tennis courts and swimming were available but afterWorld War II between 1946 and 1960 the area was used for gravel extraction andlandfill . In the late 19th century the Wild Marsh East was bisected when the River Lee was diverted to accommodate the construction of some of theLee Valley Reservoir Chain . The marsh was the first home ofTottenham Hotspur Football Club in 1882 [ [http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/history/history_yearbyyear.html Tottenham Hotspur Football Club] RetrievedNovember 14 ,2007 ] . TheLee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA), created by an Act of Parliament in 1965, bought Tottenham Marshes in 1972 [ [http://www.londongardenstrust.org/index.htm?features/grants07.htm London Parks Grants News] RetrievedJuly 5 ,2008 ] .Ecology
Plants
Many species of plants can be found on the marsh including Wall Bedstraw Galium parisiene
Yellow Vetchling Lathyrus aphaca
Bee orchid Ophrys apifera
Babington's Poppy Papaver dubilum
Wurzell's Wormwood Artemisia vulgaris x verlotiorum
Butterflies
Brown Argus Birds
Skylark Short-eared Owl References
External links
* [http://www.tottenhammarshes.org/about.html Friends of Tottenham Marshes]
* [http://www.leevalleypark.org.uk/en/content/cms/leisure/nature_reserves___pa/marshes/marshes.aspx Lee Valley Park: Tottenham Marshes]
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