Tring Park, Dancersend Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire, England

Charles Rothschild was a pioneer of nature conservation. In May 1912, he held a meeting to discuss his radical idea about preserving natural wildlife habitats. His aim was to organise“persons interested in the preservation of the natural fauna and flora of the United Kingdom.” This meeting led to the formation of the Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves (SPNR), which later became The Wildlife Trusts.

Dancer's End was a very fine characteristic chalkland reserve which was part of the Tring Park Estate. Charles Rothschild secured the land in 1922, to preserve its unique characteristics. It was kept in perfect condition until Charles' death in 1923, after which it became neglected. The Tring Park estate was inherited by Victor, 3rd Lord Rothschild (1910-1990) in 1937, on the death of Walter, 2nd Lord Rothschild (1868-1937). Charles' daughter, Miriam Rothschild (1908-2005) persuaded her brother Victor not to destroy Dancer's End as a reserve after the Second World War, but to hand it over to the Royal Society for Nature Conservation.

Miriam continued to look after the now reduced area and restored it as a chalkland reserve. She provided the funds and labour (the latter from her Ashton Wold Estate, and she provided sheep and goats to restore the turf). This restoration programme included fencing as well as the necessary animals, and a girl to look after the grazing goats. The reserve was very successful, and is said to have saved the Tring variety of the Burnet Moth, and produced a remarkably fine crop of Gentian germanica and Salvia pretensis, together with a fine show of species, including the High Brown Fritillary.

When Miriam Rothschild returned to live at Ashton Wold in the late 1960s, she handed Dancer's End to the Royal Society for Nature Conservation who looked after it for several years. Today, known as Dancersend Nature Reserve, the site spans 211 acres and is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. Recent years have brought improvements to the reserve, funded by grants from The Rothschild Foundation, including the excavation of a new pond and the planting of trees and shrubs. Scientific research at Dancersend continues to highlight its importance as a biodiversity hotspot, continuing the vision of Charles and Miriam Rothschild.