The Ordnance Survey National Grid Reference for the estate is - (TG 02/12) - 088216.

Topography, Geology and Soils

Norfolk is a relatively low-lying county, the fourth largest in England occupying a total of some 535,500 hectares (1,322,700 acres). Some 80 per cent of this area is managed as agricultural land while 8 per cent is assigned to lakes, rivers, fens, heathlands, mineral workings and other land not in agricultural use. Towns and villages take up 5 per cent. The remaining 7 per cent is used as woodland and forest.[The total tree cover of Britain is 10 per cent and still rising]. The optimum rise in sea-level is 90m (300 ft), gained along the Cromer-Holt Ridge, and around the Massingham area.

Norfolk is often regarded by many as 'flat', in fact it undulates gently to form what is known as an area of low and subdued relief.

The area of Whitwell Hall amounts to some 16.2 hectares (40 acres) and is typical of this description. The western end of the estate lies 30m (110 ft) above mean sea-level, while the eastern end of the estate drops to 21m (70 ft) above sea-level. The high ground is mostly open parkland while the lower ground becomes boggy with some peat and curious chalk outcrops. The southern boundary displays a different character to the rest of the estate. Springs break through the surface from the underlying chalk and numerous drainage channels have been dug out over the centuries in order to carry off the surplus water. A group of larger springs have artificially been embanked to create a reservoir from which water was pumped to the Hall.

The underlying soil has been recorded by the Soil Survey of England and Wales 1:250000 as Burlingham 1 (572n). This records it as a chalky till and glaciofluvial drift. This is a deep, coarse and fine loamy soil with slowly permeable subsoil and slight seasonal waterloggin.. The soil is most suitable for growing agricultural crops like cereals, peas, beans and sugar beet.

Climate

The climate of the British Isles is predominantly maritime. The location of East Anglia on the eastern side of Britain, where land is broadest means that the climate will bare more of a relationship to that of the continent. The mean annual temperature of eastern England varies between 9oC and 10.5 oC. The annual average sunshine total over Norfolk is 1500 hours. The distribution of rainfall throughout the British Isles is influenced by the topography with the largest rainfall occurring in the mountainous regions. East Anglia contains many areas which have the least rainfall, which averages 600 millimeters a year. Thunder is a phenomena caused by the sudden heating and expansion of air along the path of lightning, Norfolk has an average of 15 days thundery weather annually. Snow is associated closely with rainfall, nearly always falling when temperatures are lower than 4oC, between November and April. The amount of days during which snow falls varies between 20 and 30, while the amount of snow lying varies from 7 to 15 days throughout East Anglia. Strongest winds occur in the winter months, with Norfolk averaging 5 days of gales each year ( gales are winds averaging over 34 knots or
more, over a period of ten consecutive minutes).

Mill Pond

The Mill Pond is situated to the east of the Whitwell Hall Tannery of which remains enclosing the Mill Pond can still be traced. The water mill probably served the old village site until the 18th Century, later being rebuilt in the early 19th Century to drive a machine that broke up the bark for the Tannery. It was later replaced by a steam engine [circa 1870]. The sluice gate controlling the depth of water in the mill pond empties into the new cut beck dug out in the early 19th Century, running in a straight line North to South, until it rejoins the course of the Blackwater.

Reservoir

The Reservoir is a spring fed pond which was embanked in 1842 to create a larger reservoir from which a hydraulic ram pumped water to the newly enlarged hall. A notable feature of the springs which feed the reservoir is that they remain at a constant temperature of 5oC, subsequently they have never been known to freeze.

Marl Pits

The Marl Pits are situated a few yards west of the reservoir along the southern boundary of the estate within the boundaries of the woodland. The chalky-clay was extracted from this site and carried across the southern boundary to the adjacent farmland. The old gateway leading to the fields can still be found, although the gate has gone.

Manor Site

The Old Manor Site is situated South East of the Marl Pits and North East of the Reservoir, in an somewhat open area adjacent to a large characteristic Beech tree. The Manor Site has been identified by the very narrow drainage channels and ditches which form a moated site, 35m X 25m. The Manor House was believed to have been a wooden structure of sorts, although it is not known the precise time at which the Manor site changed to where the hall is situated today. The enclosed area shows no evidence of occupation.

Wildlife Habitats

Meadows

The meadows constitute what is the prime habitat for the estate, equalling some 7.1 hectares of semi-improved, well drained, neutral grassland. The medows have been designated a county wildlife site by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust and are adjecent to Whitwell Common which is a SSSI.The meadows split roughly into seven main areas, two of which are used for camping, three utilised as traditional meadows, one being reclaimed from a Poplar plantation which was felled in 1992, while the seventh remains an area of scrub, previously a Poplar plantation. The meadows are grazed by agreement, with sheep and cattle. All meadows apart from the two areas used for camping are of good botanical interest, and support many of the common and distinctive meadow species, including Common Spotted Orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsii and Ragged Robin Lychnis flos-cuculi. There are also some impressive parkland oaks on the meadows, notably an English oak probably planted by Rev. Monsey some time in the 17th century – it is now a fine specimen at 102 ft tall and with a girth of 17 ft.

Freshwater

The estate is well endowed as a whole with various types of freshwater habitat, made up from ponds, drainage channels and tributaries of the R. Blackwater. There are four ponds, two tributaries of the R. Blackwater and numerous drainage channels, the majority being scattered throughout the woodland. All of these areas are particularly rich in many types of wildlife notably Kingfishers alcedo atthis that frequent the Blackwater.

Woodland and Hedgerows

Much of the estate is connected to, or forms part of existing woodland. The majority of the woodland covers a diversity of age ranges and species, including Fern-Leaved Beech Fagus sylvatica heterophylla and a possible native Norfolk Black Poplar Poplus nigra var. Betulifolia, some areas of the woodland show signs of coppicing.

At present over 200 species of flowering plants and trees have been recorded on the estate at Whitwell and from this botanical base plate, a huge amount and variety of wildlife thrives.