Monument record MDO1340 - Mizmaze on Leigh Common, Leigh

The earthwork remains of a maze situated on Leigh Common, on a low hill 250 metres south-east of White Hall Farm. The maze survives as an hexagonal banked enclosure with traces of an outer ditch and a small, circular, central mound. It is thought that the paths would have been marked by the removal of turves. Though the pattern of the maze cannot now be reconstructed, a 16th century map shows it as two concentric ovals linked by a central cross. The date of the maze is unknown, but it may be as early as the 13th or 14th century. It appears on a map of the manors of north Dorset dated between 1569 and 1574, and on several 18th century maps, though not on the enclosure map of 1804. It is likely that it served recreational functions, associated with local festivals.

A circular maze 30 paces in diameter, situated about 1/4 mile south of Leigh, is surrounded by a bank and ditch. Composed of earth banks about 1 ft wide and 6 inches high "set almost close together". By 1800, when the common was enclosed, the maze had become almost obliterated. Previously the ditches had been cleaned out every 6 or 7 years. <2>

The Miz Maze consists of a hexagonal bank, 26 yds across, with a ditch on the outside and a slight circular platform in the middle. According to Coker it was repaired once a year. <3>

The Miz Maze is in fact a disc barrow. <5>

ST 6200818. The "Miz Maze" (the name is still used locally) is a maze of post-Medieval date. It comprises a six-sided banked enclosure with faint traces of an outer ditch, and of a small central mound. The enclosure has maximum diameters, measured between crests of the bank, of 31.5m north north east-south south west by 26.5m transversely. The lengths of the sides average 14.5m. The bank averages 5.0m in width; and in height, 0.6m externally and about 0.3m internally. The central mound in 6.0m in diameter and 0.2m high. There are no traces of the maze itself within the enclosure bank. The site is upon the summit of a low hill close to the village of Leigh, and is under permanent pasture. Resurveyed at 1:2500 on PFD. <6>

The earthwork remains of a maze, situated on Leigh Common, on a low hill 250 metres south-east of White Hall Farm. The maze survives as an hexagonal banked enclosure with traces of an outer ditch and a small, circular, central mound. It is thought that the paths would have been marked by the removal of turves. Though the pattern of the maze cannot now be reconstructed, a 16th century map shows it as two concentric ovals linked by a central cross. The date of the maze is unknown, but it may be as early as the 13th or 14th century. It appears on a map of the manors of north Dorset dated between 1569 and 1574, and on several 18th century maps, though not on the enclosure map of 1804. It is likely that it served recreational functions, associated with local festivals. Scheduled. <7>

<1> Hutchins, J, 1873, The history and antiquities of the County of Dorset. Volume 4. 3rd edition, 451 (Monograph). SDO10245.

<2> Ordnance Survey, 1900, Ordnance Survey 25-inch map, epoch two (Map). SDO11594.

(ST 6200818) Miz Maze (NR)

<3> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England, 1952, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume I (West), 132 (Monograph). SDO97.

'(19) MIZ MAZE, 570 yards S.S.E. of the church, consists of a hexagonal bank about 26 yards across, with a ditch on the outside and a slight circular platform in the middle. According to Coker it was repaired once a year by the young men of the village. If it was a maze of the ordinary type the paths must have been marked out in some manner that has left no traces.'

<3.1> Gerard, T (Coker, J ), 1732, A Survey of Dorsetshire. (Cartographic materials). SWX8143.

<4> Royal Air Force, 11-APR-1947, RAF CPE/UK/1975 4053-4 (Aerial Photograph). SDO17389.

<5> 1962, Oral: Letter from J G C Trench 9.1.62 (Verbal communication). SDO17388.

<6> Phillips, A S, Various, Field Investigators Comments ASP, F1 ASP 04-NOV-77 (Unpublished document). SWX3817.

<7> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1990, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1989, 130-132 (Serial). SDO89.

<8> DCMS, Scheduled Monument Notification EH Scheduled Monument Review, 14-DEC-2000 (Scheduling record). SWX2456.

<9> National Record of the Historic Environment, 198814 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Sep 12 2024 1:43PM