Monument record MDO43603 - Field system, Blandford St Mary, Winterborne Clenston

Areas centred 'A' ST 85620380; 'B' ST 85450475.

Area 'A' consists of pronounced field banks and lynchets which form rectilinear fields of Iron Age/Romano British type. Lynchets average 0.8m high. Under the plough.

Area 'B' as it would be bounded from examination of air photos is divided by an east-west hedge. North of the hedge the land is under the plough and the system is ploughed out. South of the hedge the land is under stubble and contains scattered field banks and lynchets of Iron Age/Romano British type average 0.3m. high. <1>

'Celtic' field remains, almost all broken by ploughing, occur over 100 acres of Little Down, Fox Ground Down and other areas in the north west of Blandford St Mary parish, between ST 855032, ST 871036 and ST 854049 at about 200ft and 400ft OD. They formerly continued in all directions and were almost certainly linked with fields of Group (60) (ST 80 NE 12) and appear to be contemporary with cross-dykes and linear ditches. The track approaching the settlement (ST 80 SE 1) From the west is bounded by a ditched enclosure on the south, and on the north, by a ditch which continues to form the boundary of another enclosure, a trapezoid of 1 1/2 acres with subsidiary enclosures, which appears to be at the heart of the settlement. The track widens to about 30ft and then contracts to under 10ft before entering this enclosure. Dyke (27) (ST 80 SE 7) is apparently linked to the settlement by a straight ditch running towards its north end. Dyke (28) (ST 80 SE 6) south of the settlememt, was integrated with 'Celtic' fields of which some unploughed scarps survive to a height of about 6ft. Dyke (29) on Fox Ground Down, apparently bounded 'Celtic' fields north of it, and traces immediately south. See Boyden AP. (3). <2-3>

<1> Rigg, J, Field Investigators Comments JR, SWX1255 (Unpublished document). SWX1255.

<1.1> Royal Air Force, 11-APR-1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1975 1019-20 (Aerial Photograph). SDO17799.

<2> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume III (Central) Part 2, 345 (Monograph). SDO136.

<2.1> Royal Air Force, 17-JAN-1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1934 3163-6 (Aerial Photograph). SDO17800.

<3> John Boyden, 1973, Aerial photograph taken by John Boyden, 64 (Aerial Photograph). SDO98.

<4> Historic England, Historic England Archive, 882877 (Index). SDO14738.

RCHME: `Celtic' Fields, Settlements and Dykes, Little Down, Dorset: RCHME: `Celtic' Fields, Settlements and Dykes, Little Down, Dorset

<5> Historic England, Historic England Archive, RCH01/096 (Index). SDO14738.

RCHME Inventory: Dorset III (Central): A large collection of archive relating to the RCHME Dorset Inventory Volume III, published in 1970. It contains field surveys and excavation archive. Parish files containing original surveys have been given child collection status.

<6> National Record of the Historic Environment, 205618 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Jul 3 2023 4:03PM