Swelling Hill Pond

Published: 18 March 2024

We are lucky in Four Marks to have a very unusual natural feature in Swelling Hill Pond. It’s the highest pond in Hampshire sitting on top of a clay cap covering the chalk strata.

The pond served as a watering hole for cattle and oxen having been driven up Swelling Hill for hundreds of years, but gradually fell out of use. By the late 1960’s it had silted up and became more of a bog than a pond. So, in the early 1970’s the Parish Council took possession of the Pond and started a restoration program with local volunteers and in 1975 won the Daily Telegraph award for the “Best Restored Pond in the UK” – there is a plaque in the Village Hall to commemorate their success.

Over the following 50 years the Pond has proved to be a very popular walking destination for people of all ages and of course provides an essential refuge for wildlife of all types. It’s also a very attractive and quiet location for people to relax and enjoy the countryside.

Since then, the maintenance of the pond has been carried out to greater or lesser extent by the Parish Council according to needs and funding available. However, it has become apparent over the last few years that a major effort was required to avoid the pond silting up again, the water level in the middle has reduced to approx. 1 metre!

Having obtained specialist quotes for a complete de-silting of the pond, the Parish Council applied for a grant from EHDC in September 2023 and after a few delays this was granted under S106 funding in late December 2023. This is the second time a complete de-silting of the pond has taken place in the last 50 years, suggesting that this work will keep the pond as a valued local amenity for residents and sanctuary for wildlife for another 25 years.

The removed silt has been contained within the area around the pond ensuring that the micro-organisms essential to the ponds health are retained. Plans are also in place to re-instate footpaths once the silt dries out and some undertake some selective replanting in and around the pond.