Monument record MDO2820 - Settlement remains, Warmwell

Medieval settlement earthworks visible around Warmwell village. A field system likely to be associated with this settlement is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs and lidar to the west of the village. Earthworks associated with the settlement are also visible on lidar imagery.

SY 753863. Settlement remains, formerly part of Warmwell cover 6 acres to the north of the village. The site is now partly waterlogged with a sunken road running through the remains. The area was known a 'Golehays' on the Tithe Map circa 1845. <1>

An area of small ditched enclosures and closes centred at SY 753861 is probably the result of village shrinkage and old fields. The sunken road mentioned by Authy 1 is depicted but not described on OS 6" 1963 at SY 75158597. <2>

Remains indicative of former settlement are visible over an area of about 1.7 ha west of Warmwell village. They consist of a hollow-way (SY 75048590 to SY 75068576), and two probable building platforms with associated enclosure banks on a south-east slope centred at SY 75058588.

Further isolated building platforms occur at SY 75198594, SY 75168590 and SY 75408604 in permanent pasture.

North and east of the village, centred at SY 75288623 and SY 75478611, amorphous scarps and old field boundary banks up to 0.6 m high are visible. Sherds of late eighteenth century (b.) pottery were found in mole-hills at SY 75248629 and SY 75518617.

The sunken way depicted on OS 25" remains as shown (SY 75068594 - SY 75258599); it now forms an open drain, heavily overgrown. Surveyed at 1:2500 on AM. <3>

Earthworks survive to the west of the village and comprise a hollow-way and building platforms with associated enclosure banks. Earthworks to the north and east of the village comprise amorphous scarps and old field boundary banks. A field system likely to be associated with this settlement is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs and LIDAR to the west of the village (SY7499085828). <5-8>

Earthworks associated with deserted settlement of Warmwell are visible on lidar imagery around the centre of the modern village. The earthworks consist of building platforms with hollow ways running between them and adjacent to them. These features were digitally plotted as part of the Wild Purbeck Mapping Project.

<1> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 2, 329 (Monograph). SDO149.

'(9) SETTLEMENT REMAINS (753863), formerly part of Warmwell village, cover 6 acres N. of it. The site is now partly wet with a sunken road running through the remains. In c. 1845 the area was known as 'Golehays' (Tithe Map). (R.A.F. V.A.P. CPE/UK 1821: 6434.).'

<2> Mead, Richard, Field Investigators Comments RPM, R1 RPM 29-JUN-1979 (Unpublished document). SWX2301.

<3> Barton, J G, Various, Field Investigators Comments JGB, F1 JGB 25-JAN-80 (Unpublished document). SDO11900.

<4> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, Externally held archive: RCH01/093 RCHME Inventory: Dorset II (South-East) (Unpublished document). SDO17434.

<5> Royal Air Force, 04-NOV-1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1821 6435-7 (Aerial Photograph). SDO10778.

<6> Royal Air Force, 17-JAN-1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1934 1049-51 (Aerial Photograph). SDO10775.

<7> 6 Nov 2007, D0087793 (Aerial Photograph). SDO10804.

<8> Environment Agency, 2010, Lidar DTM (Aerial Photograph). SDO13148.

<9> National Record of the Historic Environment, 453921 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 23 2024 3:43PM