Meathop Moss

Between 1912-1915 Charles Rothschild co-ordinated a national survey of wildlife sites 'worthy of preservation' in Britain and Ireland. Rothschild had founded the Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves (SPNR - now The Wildlife Trusts) in May 1912, with the objective of protecting places for wildlife (as nature reserves) in response to a decline in natural habitats as drainage, development and modernisation of agriculture began to change the British landscape.


Meathop Moss is 70 ha of raised bog close to Morecambe Bay. Rothschild considered it as 'one of the most interesting places in England'. It was listed by the SPNR for its entomological, botanical and ecological significance. It was particularly noted for its bog plants, large heath butterfly and large colony of lesser black-backed gulls. Rothschild negotiated a lease arrangement between the owner and the SPNR from 1920. It is now a nature reserve managed by Cumbria Wildlife Trust.