Sweetbriar Road Meadows, Norwich Sweetbriar Road Meadows, Norwich Sweetbriar Road Meadows, Norwich is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Norwich in Norfolk. Enclosed between Norwich's outer ring road, industrial land and lying in the floodplain of the River Wensum the site acts as a 'green wedge' extending towards the city. The site consists of a series of unimproved wet meadows with permanent water-logging which support many plant species. Three principal grassland communities are present; damp neutral grassland, marshy grassland and areas of tall fen. A number of water-filled dykes bisect the site and attract large numbers of breeding amphibians in the spring
Norwich named "Venta Icenorum", literally "the marketplace of the Iceni". The Roman settlement fell into disuse around 450 and the Anglo-Saxons settled on the site of the modern city between the 5th and 7th centuries, founding the towns of "Northwic" (from which Norwich gets its name), "Westwic" (at Norwich-over-the-Water) and the secondary settlement at Thorpe. According to a local rhyme, the demise of "Venta Icenorum" led to the development of Norwich: "Caistor was a city when Norwich was none, Norwich was built of Caistor stone." There are two suggested models of development for Norwich. It is possible that three separate early