| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 Summerhouse Lake | |
| Location | Greater London |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | TQ156927 |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 55.1 hectares |
| Notification | 1990 |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Bentley Priory Nature Reserve is aSite of Special Scientific Interest[1] andLocal Nature Reserve[2][3] inStanmore in theLondon Borough of Harrow, surrounding the stately home ofBentley Priory. It is a 55 hectare mosaic ofancient woodland, unimproved neutral grassland, scrub, wetland, streams and an artificial lake, an unusual combination of habitats in Greater London.[1]
Bentley Priory was anAugustinian priory ofCanons in the Middle Ages, but it ceased to exist before theDissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s. In 1775Sir John Soane designed a new house which stood north of the original priory, also called Bentley Priory. Edgware Brook, a small stream which ran through the grounds, was dammed to form Summerhouse Lake, which was named after the lakeside gazebo ofQueen Adelaide,[4] the widow ofKing William IV, who spent the last years of her life there in the 1840s.
The grounds and house were separated when the house becameRAF Bentley Priory, the headquarters ofFighter Command during theSecond World War. The grounds are now maintained as a nature reserve by the Harrow Nature Conservation Forum, a sub-committee of the Harrow Heritage Trust.[5]
The name Bentley is believed to derive from the Anglo-Saxon word Beonet, a place covered in coarse grass, which remain a feature of much of the site today, which includes traditional grassland which has never been treated with fertilisers, and hence is rich in wild flowers. The dominant grasses arecommon bent,red fescue andYorkshire Fog. Uncommon wild flowers includegreater burnet,great burnet andspotted orchid. There are many birds includingbuzzard,spotted flycatcher, andbullfinch[4]
Bentley Priory has a number of woods, including Heriot Wood. Its dominant tree ishornbeam, a species characteristic of ancient woodlands, and it probably dates back to the end of the last Ice Age, theYounger Dryas, 11,500 years ago. To the east is a private deer park.[4]
TheLondon Loop goes through Bentley Priory,[6] There is access from Common Road, Priory Drive, Aylmer Drive, Embry Way, Old Lodge Way, Bentley Way and Masefield Avenue.[7]