Monument record MDO39494 - Historic or modern enclosure, East Parley Common, Hurn, Christchurch

A small historic or modern enclosure on East Parley Common is visible on 1940s aerial photographs and was digitally plotted during the Dorset Stour NMP.

A small historic or modern enclosure on East Parley Common is visible on 1940s aerial photographs (1).

The enclosure measures 12m by 21m, with a possible entrance on its northeast side. The uneven enclosing bank may have been formed using cast up earth.

The enclosure is considered likely to be modern and associated with wider wartime military activity on the heathland north of Christchurch. Alternatively it may be a medieval or post medieval agricultural enclosure, possibly a bee garden.

The enclosure was sited on open heathland in 1946. It is still visible under scrub by 1957 (2). It has remained visible as a scrub covered earthwork in gradually deriorating condition on aerial photographs through the 1960s to 1992, where it appears as a very low earthwork (3). It may survive under tree cover on current Google Earth imagery (4).

The enclosure was digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP.

<1> Royal Air Force, 12-DEC-46, RAF/CPE/UK/1893 RS 4168 (Aerial Photograph). SDO15448.

<2> Ordnance Survey, 18-SEP-57, OS/57R1 V 160 (Aerial Photograph). SDO15454.

<3> Ordnance Survey, 15-JUN-92, OS/92200 V 200 (Aerial Photograph). SDO15456.

<4> Google Earth, 2017, Google Earth 2017 (Aerial Photograph). SDO15388.

Record last edited

Sep 27 2017 2:59PM