Monument record MDO46899 - Earthwork, Bourton

[ST 76593057 to ST 76823069] Earthwork in a field NW of Bourton. <1>

ST 76593059 to ST 76703062 The earthwork consists of a lynchet, the slope of which is 5.0 m. wide measured horizontally, and 0.4 m. high, running E - W, and situated in a grass covered field which slopes gently to the S. At the W. end is a modern field entrance, and at the E. end a hedge which forms the termination. On the E. side of this hedge is a modern N-S sunken trackway, and beyond it a footpath which skirts the N. lip of an old quarry, now a fir plantation. Parallel to the lynchet on the S. side is a bank 5.0 m wide and 0.2 m. high.
The lynchet does not continue beyond the sunken way, as indicated in Authy. 1. It is undateable, and most doubtful if it is of a prehistoric nature; it may well be a comparatively modern agricultural work or demolished field boundary bank. <2>

From the lip of the lynchet to the top of the bank is 9.0m. The earthwork is insignificant, and it probably represents a disused trackway along the North side of a destroyed hedge, the remaining bank of which fits neatly into the existing field system. <3>

Recent (2022) LiDAR imagery suggests that the earthwork bank described may be the southern side of a square feature, perhaps an enclosure, though the other sides are less distinct. This feature may be rectangular and extend into the field to the east. <4>

As well as LiDAR, the possible earthwork is visible in recent satellite images; the east and south boundaries of the possible enclosure correspond with field boundaries still extant in the late C19, and the northern boundary appears to fit into this same system. However, they may represent earlier banks fossilised in the medieval/post-medieval field system, especially given the recorded finds of Iron Age pottery in the vicinity. <5-8>

<1> Corr. 6", Mrs.M.Harfield - 1951 (Map). SDO19708.

<1.1> Harfield, Mrs Mary, Oral information, correspondence (not archived) or staff comments:, 1951 (Verbal communication). SDO18625.

<2> Quinnell, N V, Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Field Investigator's Comments NVQ, F1 NVQ 03-FEB-56 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

<3> Rigg, J, Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Field Investigator's Comments JR, F2 JR 13-MAR-56 (Unpublished document). SWX1255.

<4> Environment Agency, 2022, Boundary/Footprint/LIDAR_Composite_DTM_1m_2022 (Aerial Photograph). SDO20031.

<5> Historic England, National Record of the Historic Environment, 202600 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

<5> Google Earth, 2009, Google Earth 2009 (Aerial Photograph). SDO15393.

<6> Google Earth, 01/01/2022, Google Earth 2022 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18611.

<7> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey 25-inch map, epoch 1, Somerset LXVI.10 (Map). SDO10239.

<8> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey 25-inch map, epoch 2, Dorset I.10 (Map). SDO11594.

Record last edited

Oct 8 2026 11:41AM