LIVING CHURCHYARDS

Minster Church, Boscastle - a new SSSI for bats

Minster can claim to have the most wonderful "natural" setting of any church in Cornwall. The tranquillity and shelter that drew St Merthiana to this spot centuries ago can still be experienced today. No wonder then that in a hostile world greater horseshoe bats have found sanctuary in this church and its environs. Greater horseshoes have suffered more than most other bat species from human activities. Changing land use, loss of woodlands, diminished insect resources, disturbance and destruction of roosts plus human persecution and ignorance have resulted in dangerously low numbers. The British population is estimated to have declined by 91 per cent since 1900 and this formerly widespread species is now confined to South-West England. Listed as rare and endangered in both Britain and Europe, it requires help and protection to avoid further losses and its future demise.

Greater horseshoes have suffered more than most other bat species from human activities. Changing land use, loss of woodlands, diminished insect resources, disturbance and destruction of roosts plus human persecution and ignorance have resulted in dangerously low numbers. The British population is estimated to have declined by 91 per cent since 1900 and this formerly widespread species is now confined to South-West England. Listed as rare and endangered in both Britain and Europe, it requires help and protection to avoid further losses and its future demise.

The colony at Minster represents the largest known maternity roost in Cornwall and one of the largest in the UK, but we are looking at only a small population. Our monitoring records show that the highest number recorded has not exceeded two hundred during the last nine years. This colony, sustained by the high-quality habitat in the Valency Valley, is also limited by its boundaries.

Recent decisions taken by the National Trust to manage the valley and its farms in sympathy with these bats, and the Farm Stewardship Schemes entered into by neighbouring landowners, may in the long term create a larger area for the greater horseshoes to forage in. If this occurs, Minster may be the first colony of greater horseshoes in Cornwall to show an increase in numbers.

SSSI status is a major recognition of this site, reflecting the concerns and involvement of many people during the last ten years. I would like to take this opportunity to thank fellow bat workers in both the Devon and Cornwall Bat Groups, the National Trust, English Nature and, in particular, Pat Barnard, the Church Warden, who has worked so hard to maintain the habitat around the church building and been an unfailing champion of the bats at Minster.

Chris Shaw