Ponds

The county of Cheshire has the densest pond landscape in lowland Britain and probably has no equivalent elsewhere in northwestern Europe. The principle reason for this is the underlying clay, known as ‘marl’. When spread on agricultural land marl reduces acidity and increases fertility, so marl was a valuable resource in historical times before chemical fertilisers were widely available, and the practice of digging and spreading marl was widespread. The pits the marl were dug from filled with water and became ponds.

Agricultural activity and extraction of sand and clay for bricks have created a sequence of field ponds or marl pits in the region, which is estimated at 25% of the total in England and Wales. These pools are recorded from the 13th century and increased in number, particularly in isolated rural areas, until the 19th century, through the regular digging of marl for fertiliser. Many ponds have been maintained for watering of livestock, or are managed for angling.

Ordnance Survey maps of the Cheshire region in the 1870s indicated nearly 42,000 ponds. A survey by the Pond Life Project (1995-99) examining aerial photographs (1992-1993 series).found 16,782 ponds, indicating over 60% had disappeared in the last 120 years.

Ponds have been lost through natural succession to woodland scrub as well as through infilling. This loss has been encouraged by the recognition of contaminated drinking water in ponds in the 1950s and the alternative provision of piped drinking water to the fields. However, amongst the remaining field ponds in the region, there are a number with exceptional conservation value that warrant early identification and protection. More recently some farm ponds have been restored or created specifically to enhance their wildlife value.

All our native amphibians depend upon pond habitats and 50% of Britain's most endangered wetland plants occur in ponds. The Great crested newt is endangered throughout Europe, but due to our many ponds it is common in Cheshire, which can be regarded as it’s stronghold.

Although the recognition of ponds as habitats for wildlife has led to a revision of agricultural policy towards their maintenance, most ponds remain unprotected and sites are vulnerable to the nature of the drainage of adjacent land. Ponds are relatively closed systems so that pollution is likely to be long-lasting, with residues remaining in the lake sediments. Ponds managed as fish pools do not have the same benefits for wildlife as sites left undisturbed, except by stock animals whose marginal grazing can prevent sites colonising with scrub.