Monument record MDO41067 - Probable medieval field boundaries, Hampreston, Ferndown Town

Ditched linear features to the southwest of Hampreston are visible on 1940s aerial photographs. The features are considered likely to be historic field boundaries of probable medieval date, posibly fossilising an area of former medieval strip field. They were digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

Ditched linear features to the southwest of Hampreston are visible on 1940s aerial photographs (1).

The features comprise two narrow ditched curvilinears set 81m apart and running broadly parallel to each other on a north-south axis. A short rectilinear ditch runs off the westernmost of these, running southwest towards the river. The features extend between historic field boundaries to the north and south. The northernmost of these in particular is sinuous in character and probably medieval in origin. The western most curvilinear corresponds with a slight notch in the extant field boundary, suggesting a possible junction (1 and 2).

The features are considered likely to be historic field boundaries of probable medieval date, possibly fossilising an area of former medieval strip field.

The site is still fields on current Google Earth imagery and the feature are visble in years 2000 and 2014 (3 and 4). They were digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP.

<1> Royal Air Force, 12-DEC-46, RAF/CPE/UK/1893 RP 3204-5 (Aerial Photograph). SDO16011.

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

<3> Google Earth, 2000, Google Earth imagery 2000 (Aerial Photograph). SDO15834.

<4> Google Earth, 2014, Google Earth 2014 (Aerial Photograph). SDO15450.

Record last edited

May 25 2018 3:11PM