Monument record MDO40858 - Historic field boundaries, High Hall, Pamphill

Ditched and banked linear features in fields to the east of High Hall are visible on 1940s aerial photographs and current Lidar imagery. The features are presumed to be historic field boundaries, some of which may be medieval in date, although a later origin for some features is also possible. They were digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

Ditched and banked linear and curvilinear features in fields to the east of High Hall are visible on 1940s aerial photographs and current Lidar imagery (1 and 2).

The features comprise three broadly parallel linear ditches aligned south to north and 55m apart. The southern end of these ditched linears abut a curvilinear scarped bank that runs from west to east for about 210.5m. This scarped bank corresponds with a curving line of trees recorded on the OS 1st Edition map, potentially marking the line of a former historic field boundary (3). The east end of the feature ends at, and is possibly truncated by, a copse of trees and a saw pit marked on the OS 1st Edition map; the scarped earthworks of a possible post medieval extractive pit at this location are recorded under MDO40859.

The curvilinear scarped bank may continue to the east as a shorter 60.6m long section of scarped banke, which also corresponds with a row of trees marked on the OS 1st Edition map (1 and 3). Both banked features abut historic field boundaries to the east and west; part of the historic grounds of High Hall. The features are likely to have been one feature originally, potentially interrupted by the construction of the post medieval saw pit and therefore pre-dating this.

The features are presumed to be historic field boundaries , some of which are potentially medieval in date, although a later origin is also possible, particularly for the more rectilinear features.

The site is still open ground on current Google Earth imagery and the features remain faintly visible. They were digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

<1> Royal Air Force, 12-DEC-46, RAF/CPE/UK/1893 RP 3101-2 (Aerial Photograph). SDO15961.

<2> Environment Agency, XX-XXX-2015, Environment Agency DTM Lidar 50cm (Aerial Photograph). SDO15306.

<3> Ordnance Survey, 1864, 1886, Ordnance Survey 25-inch map, epoch one (Map). SDO10239.

Record last edited

May 3 2018 11:25AM