Devil's Punch Bowl

2025-09-01T22:02:55Z

2A00:23C7:CBC5:6201:446B:BED7:5AA9:CC03: /* Return to nature */

{{Short description|Site of special scientific interest in Surrey, England}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox SSSI
|image= Devil's Punch Bowl, Hindhead Common - geograph.org.uk - 1562464.jpg
|image_caption = The Devil's Punch Bowl seen from below
|name= Devil's Punch Bowl
|aos= Surrey
|interest=Biological
|gridref={{gbmappingsmall|SU 892 364}}<ref name=dsv/>
|area= {{convert|282.2|ha|acre|abbr=off}}<ref name=dsv/>
|notifydate= 1986<ref name=dsv/>
|map=[https://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271000109%27 ''Magic Map'']
}}
The '''Devil's Punch Bowl''' is a {{convert| 282.2 |ha|acre|abbr=off|adj=on}} [[visitor attraction]] and biological [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] situated just to the east of the village of [[Hindhead]] in the English county of [[Surrey]]. It is part of the Wealden Heaths Phase II [[Special Protection Area]].<ref name=dsv>{{cite web |url=https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteDetail.aspx?SiteCode=S1000109&SiteName=&countyCode=41&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |title=Designated Sites View: Devil's Punch Bowl |series=Sites of Special Scientific Interest |publisher=Natural England |access-date=7 November 2018 |archive-date=3 January 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103224807/https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteDetail.aspx?SiteCode=S1000109&SiteName=&countyCode=41&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea=}}</ref><ref name=map>{{cite web|url=https://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271000109%27 |title=Map of Devil's Punch Bowl|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|access-date= 7 November 2018}}</ref><ref name=nt>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hindhead-and-devils-punchbowl|title=Hindhead Commons and the Devil's Punch Bowl|website=National Trust|access-date=16 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteGeneralDetail.aspx?SiteCode=UK9012132&SiteName=&countyCode=41&responsiblePerson=&unitId=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea=|title= Designated Sites View: Wealden Heaths Phase II | series= Special Protection Areas |publisher=Natural England|access-date = 7 November 2018}}</ref>

The Punch Bowl is a large natural [[amphitheatre]] and is the source of many stories about the area. The London to [[Portsmouth]] road (the [[A3 road|A3]]) skirted the rim of the site before the [[Hindhead Tunnel]] was built in 2011. The land is owned and maintained by the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] as part of the "Hindhead Commons and the Devil's Punch Bowl" property. The highest point of the rim of the bowl is [[Gibbet Hill, Hindhead|Gibbet Hill]], which is {{convert|272|m}} [[Above Ordnance Datum|above sea level]] and commands a panoramic view that includes, on a clear day, the skyline of London some {{convert|38|mi|km}} away.<ref name=nt/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-surrey-14278289 |title=Tunnel vision becomes a reality |first=Nick |last=Tarver |date=27 July 2011 |access-date=16 December 2018 |work=BBC News |publisher=[[BBC]]}}</ref>

The Devil's Punch Bowl was featured on the 2005 TV programme ''[[Seven Natural Wonders]]'' as one of the wonders of the South.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/england/sevenwonders/south/devils_punchbowl/ |title=Seven Man Made Wonders |publisher=[[BBC]] |access-date=20 June 2018}}</ref>

== Toponym ==
[[Image:The old A3 at Hindhead (aerial).jpg|right|thumb|Aerial view of the Devil's Punch Bowl in January 2007, before the closure of the old A3.]]
The name Devil's Punch Bowl dates from at least 1768, the year that [[John Rocque]]'s map of the area was published. This was 18 years before the [[Unknown Sailor|murder of the unknown sailor]] on [[Gibbet Hill, Hindhead|Gibbet Hill]], so this event was clearly not the origin of the name. Prior to 1768, it was marked as "y<sup>e</sup> Bottom" on a map by [[John Ogilby]] dated 1675. The northern end of the Bowl is known as Highcombe Bottom which exists in different variants: Hackombe Bottom, Hacham Bottom, and Hackham Bottom.<ref>John Rocque 1768</ref><ref>Lindley and Crossley 1793</ref><ref>Ordnance Survey 1811</ref>

== Geology ==
This part of Surrey comprises a [[sandstone]] known as the [[Hythe Formation]] that lies above a [[mudstone]] known as the [[Atherfield Clay Formation]]. The bowl's deep depression is believed to be the result of erosion caused by spring water beneath the sandstone, causing the upper level to collapse. The steep slopes are characterised by heathland, streams and woodland.

The site, which has been designated a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]], has abundant wildlife such as the [[lesser spotted woodpecker]] and [[common redstart]]. It has been known for the [[wood warbler]], a rare summer visitor with the last documented sighting in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|title=RSPB: North West Surrey|url=https://ww2.rspb.org.uk/groups/nwsurrey/reports/217386|access-date=7 November 2018}}</ref>

== Roads ==
During the [[Tudor period]] in the 16th Century, [[Portsmouth]] developed into a major [[naval dockyard]], needing access to London. The steep gradients of the Devil's Punch Bowl and nearby [[Gibbet Hill, Hindhead|Gibbet Hill]] made this difficult. As a consequence, there have been three phases of road construction through the Devil's Punch Bowl.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/ |title=Welcome to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard |publisher=Portsmouth Historic Dockyard Ltd |access-date=8 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810082525/http://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/ |archive-date=10 August 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Earliest route===
[[File: Celtic cross on Gibbet Hill.JPG|left|thumb|A granite Celtic Cross on [[Gibbet Hill, Hindhead|Gibbet Hill]] that commemorates the site of the 1786 murder of the [[Unknown Sailor]]]]
The Old Portsmouth Road is the oldest highway through the area. It is a [[Ridgeway (road)|ridgeway]] that skirts the Punch Bowl to the summit of Gibbet Hill before descending into [[Hindhead]]. The murder of an unknown sailor in 1786 on this route is commemorated by the Sailor's Stone. The route is still used by walkers, cyclists and horse-riders.<ref name=StripMap>{{cite map |url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~genmaps/genfiles/COU_files/ENG/HAM/gentsmag_lon-winchester_rd_1765.html |publisher=[[The Gentleman's Magazine]] |via=ancestry.com |title=A Map of the Roads from London to Portsmouth, Chichester, Southampton, Pool & from Southampton to Winchester |year=1765 |access-date=17 August 2011 |archive-date=3 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091003184927/https://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~genmaps/genfiles/COU_files/ENG/HAM/gentsmag_lon-winchester_rd_1765.html}}</ref><ref name=WeyRiver>{{cite web |url=http://www.weyriver.co.uk/theriver/places_10_hindheadtunnel.html |title=The Devil's Punch Bowl and the Hindhead Tunnel |publisher=Weyriver Freelance Community |access-date=5 August 2011 |archive-date=16 August 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816014825/http://www.weyriver.co.uk/theriver/places_10_hindheadtunnel.html}}</ref>

===Turnpike===
[[File:Devil's Punch Bowl, old A3 closed to traffic 1.jpg|thumb|The 1826 route was created by a [[Cut (earthworks)|cutting]] through hillside of the Devil's Punch Bowl]]
In 1748 [[Kingston-Upon-Thames]] to Sheet Bridge [[Turnpike trust|Turnpike Company]] took over the management of Old Portsmouth Road. They installed mileposts, toll houses, gates and maintained the highway through the Devil's Punch Bowl. However, by the early 19th Cenutry increased pedestrian and horse-drawn traffic meant this steep section of highway between Portsmouth and London required major improvements.

In 1826, the Portsmouth & Sheet Bridge Turnpike Road Trust began asking for tenders from bidders to improve the road. The winning bid resulted in a completely new highway through the Devil's Punch Bowl. Old Portmouth Road was abandoned in favour of a new [[Cut (earthworks)|cutting]] {{convert|200|ft|abbr=on}} below the ridgeline. By digging into the hillside at a lower height, the new road removed the steep ascents and descents of the summit over Gibbet Hill. The surveyed route had a gradient of no more than 5% which meant larger and heavier horse-drawn carriages could now use this section of the road.

In the 1920s, this route became the [[A3 road (Great Britain)|A3]] when road numbering was introduced by the [[Ministry of Transport (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Transport]] with the advent of motorised transport. For almost hundred years, it remained a principal route from London to Portsmouth.<ref name=NtHistory>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/surrey/hindhead-commons-and-the-devils-punch-bowl/the-history-of-hindhead-commons-and-the-devils-punchbowl |title=The History of Hindhead Commons and the Devil’s Punch Bowl |publisher=[[National Trust]] |access-date=13 December 2024 |archive-date=13 December 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241213181033/https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/surrey/hindhead-commons-and-the-devils-punch-bowl/the-history-of-hindhead-commons-and-the-devils-punchbowl}}</ref>

=== Return to nature ===
[[File:Old A3 Hindhead.JPG|thumb|right|The 1826 [[turnpike trust|turnpike]] route of the former A3 has been removed.]]
By the start of the 21st century most of the A3 had become a [[dual carriageway]], leaving only the section through Hindhead and the Devil's Punch Bowl as [[single carriageway]]. Due to daily traffic volumes, this section operated at or above capacity for much of the day and had an accident rate 40% higher than the national average for that class of road. As a consequence, the decision to bypass the route over the Devil's Punch Bowl was taken.

The [[Hindhead Tunnel]], which passes directly under Gibbet Hill and the Punch Bowl, opened in 2011. The 1826 turnpike route of the former A3 was completely removed with the intention that it will revert to natural heathland.<ref name=Mottmac/><ref name=HaHindhead/><ref name=NtWork/><ref name=PublicInquiry>{{cite web |url=http://www.godalmingcycle.org.uk/docs/Hindhead_report.pdf |title=Report to the First Secretary of State and the Secretaries of State for Transport and for Environment Food and Rural Affairs; File Reference: HA/061/002/0002 |first1=Alan |last1=Gray |first2=John |last2=Watson |publisher=The Planning Inspectorate |date=24 August 2005 |access-date=6 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100120052717/http://www.godalmingcycle.org.uk/docs/Hindhead_report.pdf |archive-date=20 January 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Conservation ==
[[File:Devil's Punch Bowl National Trust sign, Hindhead (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|National Trust sign at the Punch Bowl]]
The Devil's Punch Bowl, along with Hindhead Common, was acquired by the [[National Trust]] in 1906, making it one of the first open spaces acquired by the Trust. The beauty of the area and the diversity of nature it attracts resulted in the Devil's Punch Bowl being designated as a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] on 30 April 1986.<ref name=dsv/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://blackdownhindheadntsupporters.org/locations/the-devils-punch-bowl-hindhead-common/ |title=The Devil's Punch Bowl & Hindhead Common |publisher=Black Down and Hindhead Supporters of the National Trust |access-date=14 December 2024}}</ref>

This ownership and status helped save the Devil's Punch Bowl from above-ground redevelopment of the [[A3 road|A3]] in the first decade of the 21st century. The National Trust co-operated with developers [[Balfour Beatty]], who designed the alternative [[Hindhead Tunnel]], running underneath the area. The tunnel preserves not only the area from the road widening originally proposed but also removes the heavy traffic congestion which previously affected this section of the A3 in peak hours.<ref name=Mottmac>{{cite web |url=http://www.tunnels.mottmac.com/projects/?mode=type&id=3402 |title=A3 Hindhead tunnel |publisher=Mott MacDonald |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070504015651/http://www.tunnels.mottmac.com/projects/?mode=type&id=3402 |archive-date=2007-05-04 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=HaHindhead>{{cite web |url=http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/3832.aspx |publisher=Highways Agency |title=A3 Hindhead Improvement |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629031024/http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/3832.aspx |archive-date=2007-06-29 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=NtWork>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/surrey/hindhead-commons-and-the-devils-punch-bowl/our-work-at-hindhead-commons-and-the-devils-punch-bowl |title=Our work at Hindhead Commons and the Devil’s Punch Bowl |publisher=[[National Trust]] |access-date=13 December 2024 |archive-date=13 December 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241213181733/https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/surrey/hindhead-commons-and-the-devils-punch-bowl/our-work-at-hindhead-commons-and-the-devils-punch-bowl}}</ref>

The National Trust provide car parking and a cafe at the Hindhead end of the Devil's Punch Bowl. A number of different footpaths, of differing length and difficulty, provide access to all parts of the Punch Bowl and surrounding area.<ref name=nt/><ref name=NtWalk>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/surrey/hindhead-commons-and-the-devils-punch-bowl/walking-at-hindhead-commons |title=Walking at Hindhead Commons and the Devil's Punch Bowl |publisher=[[National Trust]] |access-date=14 December 2024 |archive-date=14 December 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241214175100/https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/surrey/hindhead-commons-and-the-devils-punch-bowl/walking-at-hindhead-commons}}</ref>

The Hindhead [[youth hostel]], run by the [[Youth Hostels Association (England & Wales)|Youth Hostel Association]], used to be located inside the bowl but closed in 2015.<ref>{{cite news |title=Popular youth hostel closing down |url=https://www.farnhamherald.com/news/popular-youth-hostel-closing-down-168074 |work=Farnham Herald |date=10 November 2014 |access-date=14 December 2024 |archive-date=14 December 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241214175651/https://www.farnhamherald.com/news/popular-youth-hostel-closing-down-168074}}</ref>

== In fiction ==
Punch Bowl Farm, at the northern end of the Devil's Punch Bowl, was the home of children's novelist [[Monica Edwards]] from 1947 until 1998. In her books she renamed the farm Punchbowl Farm.<ref>{{cite newspaper The Times |title= Monica Edwards |date= 7 February 1998 |issue= 66119 |page= 25 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Tucker |first=Nicholas |title=Obituary: Monica Edwards |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-monica-edwards-1144457.html |access-date=9 November 2019 |work=[[The Independent]] |date=13 February 1998}}</ref> In [[Charles Dickens]]' novel ''[[Nicholas Nickleby]]'', Nicholas and Smike visit the Devil's Punch Bowl on their journey to [[Portsmouth]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Dickens |first= Charles |author-link= Charles Dickens |year= 1839 |title= The life and adventures of Nicholas Nickleby |publisher= Chapman and Hall |location= London |url= https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Nicholas_Nickleby |access-date= 10 February 2023 |page= 207}}</ref>

The third novel in the [[Horatio Hornblower]] series, ''[[Flying Colours (novel)|Flying Colours]]'' by [[C.S. Forester]], makes a one-line reference to the Devil's Punch Bowl in chapter eighteen as Hornblower is returning to London: "Even the marvellous beauty of the Devil's Punch Bowl was lost on Hornblower as they drove past it."<ref>{{cite book |last= Forester |first= C. S. |author-link= C. S. Forester |year= 1951 |orig-year= 1938 |title= [[Flying Colours (novel)|Flying Colours]] |publisher= Michael Joseph |location= London |chapter= XVIII |page= 188 }}</ref>

[[File:Devil's Punch Bowl, Hindhead Common - Christopher-Hilton.jpg|thumb|right|The Devil's Punch Bowl seen from above, by the Sailor's Stone]]
The "Devil's Punch-Bowl in Surrey" is briefly mentioned in ''The Shining Pyramid'', a short story by [[Arthur Machen]],<ref>{{cite book |last= Machen |first= Arthur |year= 1923 |title= The Shining Pyramid |publisher= Starett, Vincent |url= https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Shining_Pyramid_(collection)/The_Shining_Pyramid |access-date= 10 February 2023 |at= Chapter 5: The Little People }}</ref> and in "The Manhood of Edward Robinson", the fifth story in [[Agatha Christie]]'s ''The Listerdale Mystery and Other Stories''.<ref>{{cite book |last= Christie |first= Agatha |author-link= Agatha Christie |year= 2016 |orig-year= 1934 |title= The Listerdale Mystery and other stories |publisher= Harper Collins |location= London |isbn= 978-0-00-819643-1 |pages=112–113}}</ref> The area is the setting for [[Sabine Baring-Gould]]'s novel ''The Broom-squire''.<ref>{{cite book |last= Baring-Gould |first= S. |year= 1895 |title= The Broom-squire |publisher= Frederick A. Stokes |location= London }}</ref>

== Local legends ==
According to a local legend the [[Devil]] hurled lumps of earth at the god [[Thor]] to annoy him. The hollow out of which he scooped the earth became the Punch Bowl. The local village of [[Thursley]] means Thor's place.<ref>The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names – Fourth Edition 1977 – page 472</ref> An alternative version of this story says that Thor threw the lumps of earth at the Devil, who was annoying Thor by jumping across the [[Devil's Jumps, Churt|Devil's Jumps]].<ref>{{cite news |last= Phillips |first = Jamie |date= 6 June 2020 |title= The mythical battle between Thor and the Devil said to have created Surrey beauty spot |work= Surrey Live |url= https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/mythical-battle-between-thor-devil-18369732 |access-date= 10 February 2023 }}</ref>

==Legacy project==
[[File:Portal (2013) public sculpture at Hindhead National Trust situated on former A3 road; view North.JPG|thumb|right|'Portal' sculpture at Devil's Punch Bowl]]
A lottery award from the [[Heritage Lottery Fund]] was made in 2012 for a project with young people from schools in the area, celebrating the landscape. Several sculptures marked the completion in early 2013 and a carving from a 3-tonne block of [[Portland stone]] by [[Jon Edgar]] now sits on the spine of the former A3 near the visitor centre.<ref name=nt/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cultureshift.org.uk/news/heritage-lottery-funding-for-hindhead-a3d-legacy-project/|title=Culture Shift » Heritage Lottery funding for Hindhead A3D legacy project|website=www.cultureshift.org.uk|access-date=16 December 2018}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Devil's Jumps, Churt]]
*[[List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Surrey]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Devil's Punch Bowl}}
* [https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hindhead-commons-and-the-devils-punch-bowl Hindhead Commons and the Devil's Punch Bowl]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070504015651/http://www.tunnels.mottmac.com/projects/?mode=type&id=3402 A3 Hindhead Tunnel — Mott MacDonald Project Page]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070629031024/http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/3832.aspx Highways Agency — A3 Hindhead Improvement]

{{Surrey Hills AONB}}
{{Waverley}}
{{SSSIs Surrey }}
{{Coord|51.11689|N|0.72887|W|source:placeopedia_type:landmark_region:GB-SRY|display=title}}

[[Category:National Trust properties in Surrey]]
[[Category:Geography of Surrey]]
[[Category:Parks and open spaces in Surrey]]
[[Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Surrey]]
[[Category:Surrey folklore]]
[[Category:Special Protection Areas in England]]

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Devil's Punch Bowl