Monument record MDO41325 - Probable medieval field boundary, Holmwood Park, Ferndown Town

Ditched curvilinear features in Holmwood Park are visible on 1940s aerial photographs and current Lidar imagery. They are considered most likely to be historic field boundaries of probable medieval date. It is possible the features are related to a curving historic boundary to the east, recorded on the OS 1st Edition map and forming the southwest side of an enclosure round Holmwood House. Were this the case, it is possible the features may once have been part of a larger historic enclosure, possibly of early medieval date, although this is not certain. The features were digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

Ditched curvilinear features in Holmwood Park are visible on 1940s aerial photographs and current Lidar imagery (1 and 2).

The features are narrow and curvilinear in form. Current Lidar imagery suggests that the features may originally have been one larger feature, which has been truncated by a later features, probably a post medieval extractive pit or pond; the line of a partial ditch is visible running along the northern edge of this latter feature (2).

It is possible that the features are related to a curving historic boundary to the east, recorded on the OS 1st Edition map and forming the southwest side of an enclosure round Holmwood House (3). Were this the case, it is possible the features may once have been part of a larger historic enclosure of possibly early medieval date, although this is not certain.

The features are therefore considered most likely to be historic field boundaries of probable medieval date, although an earlier origin is also possible.

The site is under new housing construction on current Google Earth imagery and the features are no longer visible; the most current Lidar imagery (2) pre-dates the latest Google Earth imagery. The features were digitally plotted from the Lidar imagery by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

<1> Royal Air Force, 20-MAR-45, RAF/106G/LA/187 RP 3043-4 (Aerial Photograph). SDO16090.

<2> XX-XXX-2015, Environment Agency DTM Lidar 1m (Aerial Photograph). SDO15442.

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

Record last edited

Jul 26 2018 1:07PM