Monument record MDO3412 - Chambered long barrow, Combe Farm, Winterbourne Steepleton

The remains of a possible chambered long barrow. Two large stones have been recorded at this location by various field investigators and are also visible on aerial photographs

SY 61418970. An almost destroyed long barrow, possibly oriented east to west with two large stones at the east end the remains of a mound. <1>

Stones, possibly remains of chambered long barrow (SY 61408968) marked `cromlech` on some maps lie 400 ft above OD on a steep south east facing slope, now in pasture. One large sarsen, an iregular oblong 8 ft by 4 3/4 ft and 1 1/4 ft above ground, lies in the shoulder of a rounded scarp some 2 ft high. A second sarsen, 4 ft across and 1 ft 8 ins deep, projects from the scarp 5 ft to the east. Three small boulders can be seen between these large stones. Warne listed this site among destroyed cromlechs` describing `one large stone apparently the capstone with two or three others.... in a confused heap`.The stones may not be in situ since the area was once part of the arable fields of Winterbourne Steepleton and the scarp is in part a lynchet ploughed down since enclosure. <3>

SY 61408967. The two large stones noted by RCHM (3) are all that remain; they measure 2.7m by 1.5m. by 0.7m. and 1.4m. by
by 0.6m. The scarp has been ploughed continuously and is now barely discernible. Published Survey (1:2500) Correct. <4>

The site lies at SY 6140 8967, on the edge of a dry valley which runs into the valley of the South Winterbourne, northeast of Coombe Farm. The remains comprise a slight, much ploughed, ovoid mound, orientated NE-SW, 17m long and 13m wide. Two large, recumbent sarsens lie on the south edge of the mound, as described by authy 4. The field has evidently been ploughed for many years: it once formed part of the open fields of Winterbourne Steepleton and it was arable land in the mid-19th century (Winterbourne Steepleton tithe map and award, 1841). <6>

The site was surveyed using differential GPS at a scale of 1: 200 as part of a survey of the long barrows on the South Dorset Ridgeway carried out by English Heritage and the Ridgeway Survey Group. <7>




An almost destroyed long barrow, possibly oriented east to west with two large stones at the east end the remains of a mound. {1}

RCHM field investigations record stones at this location, possibly the remains of a chambered long barrow marked `cromlech` on some maps lie 400 ft above OD on a steep south east facing slope, now in pasture. One large sarsen, an iregular oblong 8 ft by 4 3/4 ft and 1 1/4 ft above ground, lies in the shoulder of a rounded scarp some 2 ft high. A second sarsen, 4 ft across and 1 ft 8 ins deep, projects from the scarp 5 ft to the east. Three small boulders can be seen between these large stones. Warne listed this site among `destroyed cromlechs` describing `one large stone apparently the capstone with two or three others…. In a confused heap`.The stones may not be in situ since the area was once part of the arable fields of Winterbourne Steepleton and the scarp is in part a lynchet ploughed down since enclosure.{2}

Late field investigations note that two large stones are all that remain; they measure 2.7m by 1.5m. By 0.7m. And 1.4m. By by 0.6m. The scarp has been ploughed continuously and is now barely discernible. {3}

Two possible stones are also visible on aerial photographs {4}, and were digitally plotted during the South Dorset Ridgeway Mapping Project.

<1> Grinsell, L V, 1959, Dorset Barrows (Monograph). SDO132.

<2> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1963 (Map). SWX1540.

(SY 61408968) Burial Chamber (NR)(rems of) (NAT)

<3> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 515 (Monograph). SDO150.

<3.1> Warne, C, 1872, Ancient Dorset (2nd Edition), 136 (Monograph). SWX1971.

<4> Barton, J G, Various, Field Investigators Comments JGB, F1 JGB 24-MAR-80 (Unpublished document). SDO11900.

<5> Papworth, M, 1983, The South Dorset Ridgeway Project: condition and management survey, SDR 174 (Index). SDO12304.

Set in arable. 1/6/E

<6> Riley, H, Field Investigators Comments: Hazel Riley, March 2007 (Unpublished document). SDO17469.

<7> Riley, H, 2008, Long Barrows on the South Dorset Ridgeway. A Survey by English Heritage and the Ridgeway Survey Group (Unpublished document). SDO15192.

<8> Wessex Archaeology, 2011, South Dorset Ridgeway Barrow Survey 2010 (Unpublished document). SDO12407.

<9> Royal Air Force, 04-NOV-1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1824 4279-81 (Aerial Photograph). SDO11791.

<10> English Heritage, Historic England Archive AF00268 Long Barrows on the South Dorset Ridgeway, Dorset (Excavation archive). SDO19846.

<11> Historic England, Historic England Archive, AA72/01770 (Index). SDO14738.

PROB.CHAMBERED LONG BARROW,ALMOST DESTROYED WITH TWO LARGE STONES AT EAST END.NEGATIVE CRACKED

<12> Historic England, Historic England Archive, AA72/01771 (Index). SDO14738.

PROB.CHAMBERED LONG BARROW,ALMOST DESTROYED WITH TWO LARGE STONES AT EAST END.NEGATIVE CRACKED

<13> National Record of the Historic Environment, 452304 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

May 17 2023 4:22PM