Hockley Woods Local Nature Reserve

Hockley Woods is a large woodland in south-east Essex. It is a Local Nature Reserve, and parts are a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is owned and managed by Rochford District Council. Hockley Woods are the largest residual area of the wildwood, which covered much of Essex after the Ice Age, 10,000 years ago. Hockley Woods comprise several contiguous named woods including Great Bull Wood (30.2 ha), Great Hawkwell Wood (44.1 ha), Beeches or Beaches Wood (25.0 ha), Winks Wood (1.1 ha), Little Bull Wood (1.51 ha), Whitbred's Wood (3.57 ha) and Parson's Snipe (3.67 ha). Note that none of the woods is called Hockley wood. The woods extend over parts of the parishes of Hockley, Hawkwell and Rayleigh. The size of the woods is variously given as 130 hectares, 109 hectares and 91.3 hectares, although the latter is the SSSI only. Trees have recently (2022) been planted in the arable field to the south of Parson' s Snipe The woods are on pre-glacial gravels and clay. The wooded areas are a

Location

Rochford