Monument record MDO1431 - Cross dyke on Askerswell Down, east of Higher Coombe, Litton Cheney

A dyke facing the N.N.E. extends across the ridge 1/4 mile E. of HIGHER COOMBE. The bank is about 1ft high, but the ditch to the N. is over 5ft deep. The work is about 250 yards long. <1>

A: SY 54299144 to C: SY 54449134 This earthwork consists of a bank across the ridge. It runs in a NW-SE direction and for part of its length has a ditch on the NE side. The total length of the earthwork is 190.0m. The extant portions are grass covered. From A to B. The bank is 7.0m wide and averages 0.3m. high, while the ditch on its N.E. is 6.0m. wide and averages 1.5m. deep. The earthwork ends abruptly at A, where the hillside becomes steep. From B to C. Only the bank exists and this has been mutilated in the E half by a silage pit dug into its S. side. The ditch has been destroyed, its probable centre is occupied by a modern hedgerow, and to the N of this is a ploughed field. At the SE end of the earthwork a modern road runs in a N.S. direction; there are no indications of the bank and ditch to the E. of this road. The dyke occurs near an area of IA/RB field system; it bears a strong resemblance to the IA cross-ridge dyke type of earthwork common in the area. <2>

<1> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England, 1952, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume I (West), 137 (Monograph). SDO97.

'(19) DYKE, extending across a ridge ¼m. E. of Higher Combe and 1,000 yards N.W. of the church, faces N.N.E. The bank rises only about 1 ft. above the ground to the S. but about 6¾ft. above the bottom of the ditch to the N. The work extends for some 250 yards.'

<2> Quinnell, N V, Various, Field Investigators Comments NVQ, F1 NVQ 03-MAY-55 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

<3> Historic England, Historic England Archive, OS55/F114/6 (Index). SDO14738.

CROSS RIDGE DYKE AT LITTON CHENEY, BANK AND DITCH FROM SE.

<4> Historic England, Historic England Archive, OS55/F114/7 (Index). SDO14738.

CROSS RIDGE DYKE AT LITTON CHENEY, BANK AND DITCH FROM SE.

<5> National Record of the Historic Environment, 451529 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 24 2023 8:01PM