Monument record MDO27978 - Shaftesbury Out-Park, Shaftesbury

"There was another park [at Shaftesbury] called the Out-Park, near the old water-works belown the hill on the north-west, containing 100 acres. The marks fo fish-ponds are still visible in it." (1)

"The location of the Out-Park seems to have been forgotten: it is suggested that it lay west of the Castle and immediately north-west of Breach Common. Here, a parish boundary runs north-westwards downhill besid a sunken track to meet the A30 road. In part the boundary is marked by a bank some 10ft wide, but the earthwork is not impressibe. This line is however taken as the south-western side of the Out-Park; the A30 road, the lane from st John's Church to Breach Common are suggested as completing the circuit, though no convincing earthworks can be found to support the suggestion. The area enclosed is about 115 acres; the size would be nearer to Hutchins' 100 acres if the northern boundary followed a lane which seems to have run westwards from Long Cross to cut off a loop in the main road. The site is certainly suitable for a deer-park in consisting, at least in the upper slopes, of poor and ill-drained soil: a series of ponds still exists and could well be those mentioned by Hutchins." (2)

<1> Hutchins, J, 1868, The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset. Volume 3. 3rd edition, 38 (Monograph). SDO11486.

<2> Wilson, J D, 1978, The Mediaeval Deer-Parks of Dorset; Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 34-5 (Article in serial). SWX7847.

Record last edited

Feb 18 2015 4:32PM