Monument record MDO45329 - Medieval and / or Post Medieval sheep fold or horse enclosure, Long Crichel

A probable Medieval and / or Post Medieval sheep fold or horse paddock or gallops is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs taken in 1947 but was being ploughed flat by 1953. The site comprises a large oval enclosure which is situated at the head of a combe. It is defined by fragments of linear bank which measure up to 10m wide and are flanked to either side by narrow ditches. The oval measures just under 500m long by up to 320m wide and is orientated north-west / south-east. It is marked on the 1888 Ordnance Survey map and probably defines a Medieval or Post Medieval sheep fold on the open common. Alternatively, the large scale of the earthworks together with the place name of Horse Down could suggest the enclosure was a post medieval gallops. The oval enclosure sits on top of a later Prehistoric coaxial field system and is clearly later.

A probable Medieval and / or Post Medieval sheep fold or horse enclosure is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs taken in 1947 but was being ploughed flat by 1953. The site is centred at ST 9601 0979 and comprises a large oval enclosure which is situated at the head of a combe. It is defined by fragments of linear bank which measure up to 10m wide and are flanked to either side by narrow ditches. The oval measures just under 500m long by up to 320m wide and is orientated north-west / south-east. It is marked on the 1888 Ordnance Survey map and probably defines a Medieval or Post Medieval sheep fold on the open common of Crichel Down. Alternatively, the place name of "Horse Down" could suggest the enclosure was a post medieval gallops or paddock. The oval enclosure sits on top of a later Prehistoric coaxial field system (see ST 90 NE 11 / UID: 209273) and is clearly later. <1-2>

<1> Royal Air Force, 17-JAN-1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1934 5148-5150 (Aerial Photograph). SDO19261.

<2> Royal Air Force, 20-APR-1953, NMR RAF/58/1090 F21 0136-0137 (Aerial Photograph). SDO19234.

<3> Bishop, Sharon, 2009, Tarrant Launceston 15 & Environs. Aerial Photograph Survey & Analysis, Object Number: MD002384 (Unpublished document). SDO12459.

<4> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1479126 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Jan 25 2023 3:59PM