The reserve is managed and maintained by a team of volunteers under the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust[1] as well as Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council.
[2] The reserve shares its name with the coal-fired power station which occupied the adjacent land prior to its closure in 1994[3] and the demolition of its remaining cooling towers in 2012.
During the Middle Ages, Thorpe Marsh was an agricultural site on which farmers used the open field system, creating a ridge and furrow pattern via the use of ploughs.
[11] By the early 15th century, land in Thorpe Marsh was owned by chaplain John Shirley, likely purchased from one or multiple of the aforementioned landowners.
[18] The letters pertain to a cut being made on Thorpe Marsh for the construction of the River Dun Navigation which would conclusively go ahead the following year.
[28] The consistent use of such water-related terminology is indicative of the marish nature of the land – as well as its tendency to flood – drawing parallels to other such flood-prone villages along the Don as Fishlake, Waterside and Arksey.
), was passed for the enclosure of Thorpe Marsh and Grumblehirst[33] (later known as Grumble Hurst[34]); the enclosing freeholder remains unknown,[35] and the present site likely changed hands between 1731 and 1766 as Francis Ferrand Foljambe only inherited estates in Aldwarke, Wadworth, Steeton and Westow.
[44] In 1916[47][48] the LNER Gowdall and Braithwell Railway was constructed and opened,[49] and this line intersected the modern day area of the reserve, separating Reedholme and Cockshaw.
[50] The line was closed in September 1970, leaving a raised bank running through the reserve which is now known as the Main Embankment and presently serves as a primary artery for nature transects and hide placement.
[50] In 1959, during the construction of Thorpe Marsh Power Station,[58] Fordstead Lane was extended[59] to connect with the villages of Almholme and Arksey.
[60] In the 1960s, land in the present Thorpe Marsh Nature Reserve was purchased by the Central Electricity Generating Board where large volumes of fly ash were tipped.
This not only raised the embankment at Thorpe Mere View, but also contributed to the proliferation of a wide range of plant species across the reserve.
The site was initially limited to Thorpe Mere, however was later expanded to include the surrounding coal storage and fly ash deposit areas.
[63] The CEGB conclusively dissolved in 2001[64] and thus relinquished its remaining ownership of Thorpe Marsh Power Station and Nature Reserve to National Grid, its successor in the energy transmission sector.
The project is estimated to involve the recovery of up to 2.25 million tonnes of pulverised fuel ash tipped by the CEBG, as well as the saving of over 265,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide via the construction of a 2.8 GWh battery hub in the north of the development area, projected to be the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom[71] and the third largest in the world.
A list of birds spotted at the reserve which are denoted as Red Conservation Status are as follows:[80] Other birds which have been recorded at Thorpe Marsh include but are not limited to Common Tern, Great White Egret, Grey Wagtail, Hobby, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Little Egret, Marsh Harrier, Peregrine Falcon, Ruddy Duck, Spotted Redshank, Water Rail[81] and Wigeon.