 The reserve consists of several pools created by subsidence as a result of brine extraction in the area.Upton Warren was a Manor, for many years inherited alongside Grafton first in the hands of John de Grafton, then the Staffords, followed by the Talbots and Earls of Shrewsbury.There were two other Manors, Little Cooksey and Great Cooksey, the latter giving its name to the de Cooksey family.