Monument record MDO41348 - Possible historic trackways, Longham, Ferndown Town

Ditched curvilinear features at Longham are visible on 1940s aerial photographs. The features may be sections of historic trackway, possibly of post medieval date, although an earlier origin is also possible as they clearly underlie a later trackway and field boundaries (MDO41347 and 41349) that are almost certainly post medieval in date. The features were digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

Ditched curvilinear features at Longham are visible on 1940s aerial photographs (1).

The features comprise three long curvilinear ditches that run from southwest to northeast across two historic enclosures recorded on the OS 1st Edition map whose predominantly rectilinear boundaries suggest a probable post medieval date, although the southern boundary to both enclosures may be earlier in origin (2). The features are faint but they appear to continue under an extant historic field boundary present on the OS 1st Edition map; they also appear to underlie later features visible on te same 1940s aerial photographs, including a later trackway and field boundaries of probable post medieval date (MDO41347 and 41349).

The features may be sections of historic trackway, possibly also of post medieval date, although an earlier origin is also possible. Certainly there is a clear stratigraphy of features, although the relative dates are uncertain.

The site is under Longham Lakes on Google Earth imagery and the features are no longer visible. They were digitally plotted from 1940s aerial photographs by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

<1> Royal Air Force, 08-MAR-45, RAF/106G/LA/163 RP 3027-8 (Aerial Photograph). SDO16099.

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

Record last edited

Jul 27 2018 3:36PM