Editing Titchwell Marsh (section)

==History==
===Before 1972===
[[File:Coastal defence at Titchwell, Norfolk. - geograph.org.uk - 164972.jpg|thumb|Remains of [[Second World War]] coastal defences]]
Titchwell has a long history of human occupation. Populations of both [[anatomically modern humans|Modern]] and [[Neanderthal]] people were present in Norfolk before the last  [[glacial period|glaciation]] between 100,000 and 10,000&nbsp;years ago, and returned as the ice retreated north. The [[archaeological record]] is poor until about 20,000 years ago, partly due to the prevailing conditions, but also because the coastline was much further north than at present, so that many sites are now under the sea.<ref name= NAE9/> Early [[Mesolithic]] [[flint]] tools with characteristic [[Blade (archaeology)|blades]] up to {{convert|15|cm|in|abbr=on}}<ref name=murphy14>Murphy (2009) p. 14.</ref> long found on the present-day coast at Titchwell date from a time when it was {{convert|60|–|70|km|mi|abbr=on}} from the sea. Other flint tools have been found dating from the [[Upper Paleolithic]] to the [[Neolithic]]. As the ice retreated during the Mesolithic, the sea level rose, filling what is now the [[North Sea]], and bringing the Norfolk coastline much closer to its present line;<ref name= NAE9/> the remains of submerged forests can still be detected at low tide.<ref name= murphy32>Murphy (2009) p. 32.</ref> By 11,000 BC, the makers of the long blades had gone, and peat marshes had formed behind an offshore [[barrier island]] or spit.<ref name= NAE9>Robertson (2005) pp. 9–10.</ref> A layer of peat formed between 1920 and 1680&nbsp;BC and another between 1020 and 830&nbsp;BC, indicating marshy conditions;<ref name= NAE152>Robertson (2005) p. 152.</ref> polished Neolithic axes found in those layers were blackened by exposure to the peat.<ref name= NAE15>Robertson (2005) pp. 15–16.</ref>

Two possible timber platforms were identified within the peat at Titchwell, and may be prehistoric. Similar [[Bronze Age]] structures are rare, and they may be significant in providing information about early timber construction methods.<ref name= NAE149>Robertson (2005) p. 149.</ref> [[Medieval]] and later pottery has been found at Titchwell, and the peat and [[silt]]s which overlay the [[sediment]]s deposited by the retreating [[glacier]]s have signs of post-medieval ploughing.<ref name= NAE15/>

The draining of Norfolk's coastal marshes commenced in the late 17th and 18th centuries, and sea defences including the "Old Lord's Bank" at Titchwell were shown in maps from 1786 and 1797.<ref name= NAE9/> For the next 170 years or so, the reclaimed marsh was [[arable land|arable]], producing crops and beef cattle.<ref name= Robinson>Robinson (1986) p. 28.</ref> A huge influx of [[Pallas's sandgrouse]] into Britain in 1853 led to several arrivals at Titchwell, including mated pairs. The last bird seen was on the saltmarsh, and the rest were on the dunes or in [[Ammophila (Poaceae)|marram grass]]; many were shot.<ref name= zool21>{{cite journal | last= Dodman | first= M |author2=Dodman, W | year= 1853 | title= Pallas' Sand Grouse in Norfolk | journal = The Zoologist | volume= XXI | page= 8686 }}</ref><ref name= zool22>{{cite journal | last= Stevenson | first= Henry | year= 1854 | title= Pallas' Sand Grouse in Norfolk | journal = The Zoologist | volume= XXII | page= 8957 }}</ref>
[[File:SS Vina, The Brancaster Wreck.jpg|thumb|The wreck of the SS ''Vina'', seen in 2010.]]
Thornham Marsh, immediately west of Titchwell, was used between 1914 and 1918 by the [[Royal Flying Corps]] as a [[bombing range]]. Some brickwork on Titchwell Marsh is all that remains of a military hospital dating from that period. A First World War concrete building along the west bank was let as holiday accommodation until the [[British Army]] returned in 1942.<ref name= beforerspb >''Titchwell Marsh before the RSPB''. RSPB information sheet.</ref>

During the [[World War II|Second World War]], military defences were constructed at Titchwell. The drainage of farmland behind the banks was stopped, reflooding the former marshland;<ref name = rspbarch>{{cite web| title= Archaeology and history | work= Titchwell Marsh | url= http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/t/titchwellmarsh/archaeology.aspx | publisher= RSPB}} Retrieved 5 November 2011.</ref> zigzag ditches were dug, and [[British hardened field defences of World War II|pillboxes]] built into Old Lord's Bank.<ref name= NAE15/> Between 1942 and 1945, the marsh was used by the [[Royal Tank Regiment]];<ref name=beforerspb/> an [[armoured fighting vehicle]] gunnery range was established and new banks were constructed for firing practice, with targets set at {{convert|900|m|yd|abbr=on}} intervals. Some of the still extant islands were built to hold "pop-up" targets, operated by cables from winches in a building whose foundations lie below Island Hide. Remains of the triangular concrete track used by the tanks also survive.<ref name=beforerspb/><ref name = rspbarch/> Military activities continued after the war, with the [[Royal Air Force]] returning to Thornham Marsh between 1950 and 1959. Bombing practice was supervised from a control tower, which was demolished in 1962, leaving only a concrete structure opposite the end of Titchwell's west bank.<ref name= NAE15/><ref name=beforerspb/> The remains of two Second World War [[Covenanter tank]]s, probably used as targets, are sometimes exposed at low tide.<ref name = rspbarch/>

The wreck of the SS ''Vina'', a cargo steamer built in 1894, can be seen at low tide. In 1944, she was anchored offshore for use as an RAF [[target ship|target]] when a gale dragged her to her present location and sank her. After the war, some of the wreck was salvaged as scrap.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?69922 |title=SS ''Vina'' (+1944) |author=Dowse, Julian |publisher= Wreck Site |access-date=12 November 2011}}</ref> The remains of the ''Vina'' are accessible at low tide, but visiting them is potentially hazardous as the wreck is quickly cut off and submerged by the incoming tide.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hunstanton lifeboat crew warns of Brancaster wreck danger |author=Semmens, Donna |url=http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/hunstanton_lifeboat_crew_warns_of_brancaster_wreck_danger_1_991014 |newspaper=Eastern Daily Press |date=11 August 2011 |access-date=14 November 2011 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304075526/http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/hunstanton_lifeboat_crew_warns_of_brancaster_wreck_danger_1_991014 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Deadly peril of a treacherous tide |author=Shaw, John |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1352827/Deadly-peril-of-a-treacherous-tide.html | newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=15 August 2000 |access-date=14 November 2011}}</ref> A warning sign on the wreck advises anyone reaching it to return to the beach immediately.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2034303 |title=TF7846 : SS Vina – Safety warning sign |author=Dowse, Julian |publisher=Geograph Britain and Ireland |access-date=18 November 2011}}</ref>

Behind the sea wall, the marshes were drained after the war, and reverted to farmland, but the bank was breached in the [[North Sea flood of 1953]], returning the whole area to tidal saltmarsh dominated by [[Aster tripolium|sea aster]].<ref name = hammond>Hammomd (1984) pp. 167–168.</ref> The construction of a new sea wall across the reserve created a shallow freshwater lagoon, with a [[reed bed]] on its northern side and a vegetation-free [[brackish marsh]].<ref name =hammond/>

===RSPB era===
[[File:Recurvirostra avosetta -Titchwell Marsh, Norfolk, England -swimming-8.jpg|The [[pied avocet|avocet]] features on the RSPB's logo.|thumb]]
Between 1970 and 1972, a pair of [[Montagu's harrier]]s, Britain's rarest breeding [[bird of prey|birds of prey]], nested in the reed bed. The RSPB bought the reserve in 1973 for £53,000 (£{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|53|1973|r=0}}}},000 in 20{{CURRENTYEARYY}}).{{Inflation-fn|UK}} The Montagu's harriers did not return, but [[western marsh harrier|marsh harriers]] did, and the RSPB commenced improving the habitat and facilities, including embanking the lagoons and building a car park and visitor centre. Avocets, then still very rare in the UK, first bred here in 1984. The visitor centre facilities were improved between 1987 and 1989 to cope with the numbers of visitors.<ref name= afterrspb>''The RSPB and Titchwell Marsh''. RSPB information sheet.</ref>

In 1991, the sea broke through the dunes at the eastern end of the beach near the former Tern Hide, and the dunes started to [[erosion|erode]]. The remains of the Second World War tanks first appeared around this time. In the following year the boardwalk at the beach end of the west bank was constructed to protect the dunes, and the [[seawatching]] platform was added at its northern end. {{convert|12|ha|acre|abbr=off}} of land to the east of the reserve was bought in 1993; much of this was formerly part of the firing range, and large amounts of [[barbed wire]] caused problems when the area was being converted to reed bed and wet grazing meadow. Over the winter, an old hide on the West Bank was demolished and replaced with the current Island Hide. Storms in February 1996 removed most of the dunes east of the boardwalk, and eroded those to the west. The Tern Hide, now cut off at high tide, was dismantled. Developments at the end of the 20th century included the 1997 extension of the visitor centre, which included building a cafe, and the erection of Fen Hide in 1999, together with a boardwalk path to the hide, and a dragonfly pond.<ref name= afterrspb/>

The reserve covers {{convert|171|ha|acre|abbr=off}},<ref name =hammond/> and is of international importance for its breeding and wintering birds. It was designated as a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] (SSSI) in 1973, and in 1986 it was subsumed into the {{convert|7700|ha|acre|abbr=off}} North Norfolk Coast SSSI. The larger area is now additionally protected through [[Natura 2000]], [[Special Protection Area]] (SPA) and [[Ramsar Convention|Ramsar]] listings, and is part of the [[Norfolk Coast AONB|Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty]] (AONB).<ref name=encitation>{{cite web |title=North Norfolk Coast |work=SSSI citations |url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1001342.pdf |publisher=Natural England |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202212559/http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1001342.pdf |archive-date=2014-02-02 }} Retrieved 8 November 2011.</ref><ref name = rspbmain>{{cite web| title= Titchwell Marsh| work= Reserve guide| url=http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/t/titchwellmarsh/ | publisher= RSPB}} Retrieved 6 November 2011.</ref><ref name = aonb>{{cite web | title= Other Conservation Designations within the AONB December 2009 | work= Norfolk Coast AONB Management Plan 2009–14 | url= http://www.norfolkcoastaonb.org.uk/mediaps/pdfuploads/pd001159.pdf | publisher= Norfolk Coast partnership | access-date= 8 November 2011 | archive-date= 31 March 2012 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120331161613/http://www.norfolkcoastaonb.org.uk/mediaps/pdfuploads/pd001159.pdf | url-status= dead }} Retrieved 8 November 2011.</ref> This is the RSPB's most visited reserve, with about 92,000 visitors annually.<ref name=rspbfacts>{{cite web|title=Fact File |work=Reserves |url=http://www.west-norfolk.gov.uk/pdf/1390-42b%20Birdwatching2.pdf |publisher=RSPB |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719080254/http://west-norfolk.gov.uk/pdf/1390-42b%20Birdwatching2.pdf |archive-date=2012-07-19 }} Retrieved 17 November 2011.</ref>