Monument record MDO40824 - Probable post medieval enclosure, Smugglers Lane, Colehill

A ditched and banked sub-circular enclosure on the south side of Smugglers Lane, Colehill, is visible on 1950s aerial photographs. The feature is recorded on the OS 1st Edition map where it is named as Stone Firs. It is considered most likely to be a wood bank or woodland enclosure of probable post medieval date, although it's origin and function are not certain and an earlier origin is possible. The feature was digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

A ditched and banked sub-circular enclosure on the south side of Smugglers Lane, Colehill, is visible on 1950s aerial photographs (1).

The feature comprises a double banked sub-oval enclosure 54.5m long by 39m wide with a 1m wide internal ditch. The interior is visible as a low flattened mound containing a few scrubby trees. The northeast side is not visible in 1951 but is marked by a denser row of trees (1).

The feature is recorded as a complete enclosure shown as a single solid line on the OS 1st Edition map and named as Stone Firs. It is within plantation but the arrangement of trees does not especially respect it, suggesting it may already be old/perhaps disused by the late 19th century (2). There are two similar and larger features recorded to the southeast on the OS 1st Edition map; Barrow Firs and Little Firs (2). The form of these features is not visible in 1951 but they are defined by the woodland they contain (1).

The feature is considered most likely to be a wood bank or woodland enclosure of probable post medieval date, although it's origin and function are not certain and an earlier origin is possible.

The site is under a 20th century school playing field on current Google Earth imagery and the feature is no longer visible. It was digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

<1> Royal Air Force, 17-APR-51, RAF/58/629 V 5179-80 (Aerial Photograph). SDO15912.

<2> Ordnance Survey, 1864, 1886, Ordnance Survey 25-inch map, epoch one (Map). SDO10239.

Record last edited

May 1 2018 11:09AM