Monument record MDO40745 - Possible post medieval trackway, Cottage Farm, Colehill

A ditched curvilinear feature to the northeast of Cottage Farm, Colehill, is visible on aerial photographs. The feature is considered likely to be a historic trackway of possible post medieval date, although an earlier origin is also possible. It was digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

A ditched curvilinear feature to the northeast of Cottage Farm, Colehill, is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs (1).

The feature runs from north to south across a historic enclosure present on the OS 1st Edition map from where it appears to continue south under and beyond an extant historic field boundary of possible medieval origin. In form the feature is considered most likely to be a trackway, although it does not appear to correspond with any obvious break in the field boundary to the south, which would suggest it pre-dates this. The feature is further located within a cluster of north-south aligned parallel linear features (MDO40746) which may also be field boundaries of possible medieval date; perhaps associated with relict medieval strip field. The realtionship between this curvilinear feature and the parallel linears is not clear as the features are very faint, but the curvilinear feature is potentially the earlier of the group.

The feature may, therefore, be a trackway of possible medieval or older date.

The features is faintly visible on a 2002 vertical aerial photograph (2). It was digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

<1> National Monuments Record, 08-AUG-78, NMR 1305/197-8 SU0300/001 (Aerial Photograph). SDO15930.

<2> Dorset County Council, 2002, Dorset County Council Vertical Photograph (Aerial Photograph). SDO13401.

Record last edited

Apr 23 2018 3:02PM