Grafton, Worcestershire

Grafton
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Grafton  Grafton shown within Worcestershire
District	Wychavon
Shire county	Worcestershire
Region	West Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Police	West Mercia
Fire	Hereford and Worcester
Ambulance	West Midlands
EU Parliament	West Midlands
List of places UK England Worcestershire

Grafton is a village in Worcestershire, England.

Grafton Wood

Grafton Wood is an Ancient Wood, originally part of the Forest of Feckenham, and is now jointly owned by the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust and Butterfly Conservation. In October 2014 the two organisations bought Laight Rough, a seven-acre of ancient woodland, adjoining Grafton Wood.

Grafton Wood is the centre of the only colony of the Brown Hairstreak butterflies in the Midlands. Laight Rough is also important for other butterflies such as white admiral, white-letter hairstreak and the silver-washed fritillary. In 2009 the Bat Conservation Trust launched a detail study of 10 counties in England to determine the range of the Bechstein's bat and in 2010 a lactating female Bechstein's was discovered in Grafton Wood suggesting that there was a breeding colony in the wood or close by. The People's Trust for Endangered Species are funding further research work. In October 2014 it was reported that the scare Brandt's bat has also been found at the 300-year-old woodland.