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Archaeology and history
14 February 2011
Flint tool found at The Lodge - arrowhead of Sutton Type B, from the early Bronze Age
With 50,000 visitors a year, The Lodge is one of the RSPB's most visited nature reserves, but visitors are not new for this important site.
Flint artefacts found here show hunter-gatherers were visiting this part of the Greensand ridge in the Mesolithic period, more than 9,000 years ago. It is likely that these early communities were already clearing glades within the woodlands, encouraging the growth of young vegetation to attract grazing animals for hunting.
Today we are once more removing trees - in this case, exotic conifers - to restore open heathlands that offer a home to nightjars, woodlarks and Dartford warblers.
The Lodge is unique in Bedfordshire in that it holds two ancient hill forts, dating back to the Iron Age, just over 2,000 years ago. One of these, on Galley Hill, is in particularly good condition, and you can wander around the ancient banks and ditches and imagine about what life may have been like for the people who lived there.
At that time, in all probability, much of the reserve would already have been open heath, with clear views of approaching enemies and a commanding view down into the Ivel Valley.
The stone quarries on the south side of the reserve probably date back to the Medieval period, and were worked out over hundreds of years; the stone in many local historic buildings came from here. Today the largest of these is a regionally important geological site, and displays an information panel that explains some of the natural and human history of these important features.
Much of the reserve is likely to have been heath until the land was bought by Captain William Peel in 1851
Much of the reserve is likely to have been heath until the land was bought by Captain William Peel in 1851. Peel constructed the Swiss Cottage (today the Gatehouse that contains the reserve shop) and planted up much of the ancient heathland.
Peel also ordered the building of a stone wall around the entire estate, a huge undertaking that used thousands of tons of locally quarried stone. Stretches of this original wall can be seen along the reserve's southern boundary, around the old heath, and are reminiscent of a Victorian Scottish estate wall - perhaps Peel saw one at a shooting party and decided to build one in Bedfordshire?
You can read about Peel on a panel outside the Gatehouse. Following his death in the Indian Mutiny, the estate passed to his brother who in 1870 built The Lodge for the princely sum of £6,695.
During World War Two, the estate was owned by Lord Stewart, the chairman of the London Brick Company. Much of the land was requisitioned by the military for the storage of ammunition and later for weapons and supplies that were dropped to resistance fighters in France via the nearby RAF Tempsford. You can still see the brick bases of Nissen huts along the path from the Gatehouse to Galley Hill, as well as concrete storage tanks, pits and rubble strewn tracks on the old heath.
We bought The Lodge in 1961 and it is now our UK Headquarters. We'll be celebrating our 50 years here in 2011. There are guided walks and events about the archaeology and history of The Lodge reserve and occasional tours of the house – keep an eye on our events listings for upcoming dates.
Metal detecting and the collection and removal of objects from the reserve is not permitted.