Monument record MDO3840 - Tennerley Ditch, Fontmell Magna

A cross-dyke, known as Tennerley Ditch, extends north west-south east across a ridge, to the NNW of Fontmell Hill House. The earthworks are located to the east and the west of the Shaftesbury to Blandford Road. The monument survives as a bank and ditch, but is partly destroyed by a track. The cross dyke may not have extended fully across the ridge but may have had an original gap where the Shaftesbury to Blandford Road passes through. The record for this monument has been enhanced with support from Wessex Water.

ST 88431756 - ST 89091725 A cross dyke, known as Tennerley Ditch, extends some 800 yards across the brow of an escarpment. The centre portion has been destroyed by a track, but the western and eastern parts survive, each about 260 yards long. A copse bank on the north edge of the ditch in the eastern part of the dyke has the deceptive appearance of a counterscarp bank. <2>

A cross dyke, of probable Bronze Age/Iron Age date, some 700.0m long running intermittently through woodland from ST 88481755 to ST 89091723 across the brow of an escarpment. The centre portion of some 180.0m has been destroyed by a modern trackway and a road cuts through the line of the dyke at ST 88771746. The extant eastern portion runs for some 320.0m from ST 88821740 to ST 89091723 and consists of a low bank 4.0m wide and up to 1.4m high with a ditch 0.5m deep on the north side. The western portion, cut by a track at ST 88551750 is the best preserved part of the earthwork; it measures some 180.0m long from ST 88481755 to ST 88661749 and consists of a bank up to 6.0m wide and 1.8m high with a ditch 0.6m deep on the north side. The name 'Tennerley Ditch' was not verified during current field investigation. Surveyed at 1:2500, partly on Ams ST 88/8917, and part divorced survey on ST 8817. <3>

<1> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1962 (Map). SWX1540.

ST 88481755 - ST 88551753 and ST 88891736 - ST 89091725 Earthwork (NR) (Twice)

<2> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1972, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume IV (North), 26 (Monograph). SDO99.

'(35) TENNERLEY DITCH (88431756 -89091725), cross-dyke, extends from NW to SE for a dsitance of 800 yds or more across the brow of the Chalk escarpment. On the summit some 300 yds of the earthwork has been destroyed by a track which follow sth same line, but the dyke survives on the W and ont E. The western part, 260 yds long, extends from near the top of the escarpment down a steepening slope towards Longcombe Bottom ; the eastern part is about the same length and runs down a gentle eastward inclination inside Fontmell Wood. In the best-preserved parts the bank is 16 ft wide and 1.5 ft high ; the ditch is 17 ft across and 2.5 ft deep. A copse bank on the N edge of ht editch in theeaster part of th edyke has the deceptive appearance of a counterscarp bank. (1)

The monument includes, in two separate areas, a cross dyke, known as Tennerley Ditch, extending north west-south east across a ridge, 480m and 690m NNW of Fontmell Hill House. The earthworks are located to the east and the west of the Shaftesbury to Blandford Road. In his book `The ancient earthworks of Cranborne Chase', published in 1913, Heywood Sumner notes that Thomas Aldwell suggested in 1618 that this earthwork was reused to mark the inner boundary of The Chase at this point. The eastern section of the cross dyke extends for about 320m from the brow of
the ridge down an eastward facing slope, and has a bank up to 6m wide and 0.7m high with a ditch on its northern side, 2.5m wide and 0.5m deep. It has been truncated in places by woodland tracks and banks. The western section, extending for approximately 190m from the brow of the hill and fading out on a steep slope, has a bank, up to 8m wide and 1m high, with a ditch on the northern side, up to 3.5m wide and 1m high, and has been truncated by a track.

It is not clear if the cross dyke originally extended fully across the ridge between the two sections of surviving earthwork as this area has been partly disturbed by the main road. Limited excavation in 1995 by the side of the road, on the extrapolated line of the cross dyke, showed no evidence for its presence in this area, perhaps suggesting an original gap.'

<3> Barrett, G, Various, Field Investigators Comments GB, F1 GB 16-FEB-78 (Unpublished document). SDO17369.

<4> Historic England, Scheduled Monument Notification, 24-Sep-99 (Scheduling record). SDO17468.

<5> Historic England, Historic England Archive, BB69/01710 (Index). SDO14738.

SECTION ACROSS DYKE WHICH EXTENDS NW-SE FOR 800 YARDS

<6> Historic England, Historic England Archive, AO56/26/2 VIEW ALONG PART OF THE DITCH WITH THE BANK TO RIGHT (Index). SDO14738.

<7> National Record of the Historic Environment, 205944 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Sep 27 2024 5:19PM