Monument record MDO47645 - Medieval deer park, Haydon Hill, Charminster

In Charminster parish "there".... seems to have been a park belonging to the prebendary "according to Hutchins" for, in a grant of some lands in this manor, 13.Jac.I (1616 AD) "mention is made of Park Close, near Heydon, containing four acres. The name Heydon now survives in Haydon Hill (at SY 670943) which formerly contained a field name "Park Eweleaze", as shown on the Tithe Apportionment. Examination of the area found no trace of a park-like embankment, rendering the field name alone as insufficient proof that a Medieval park once existed here. Virtually all the area was occupied by the open fields of Charminster which were enclosed in 1587 and 1837. <1>

<2> National Record of the Historic Environment, 453490 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

<2> Cantor, L M and Wilson, J D, 1972, The Medieval Deer-Parks of Dorset XI; Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 67 (Article in serial). SDO13205.

<2.1> Shipp, W, and Hodson, J W (eds), 1863, The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset. 3rd edition. Volume 2, 543 (Monograph). SWX1269.

‘CHARMINSTER (P15). “Here seems to have been a park belonging to the prebendary”, says Huchins (II, p.543), “for, in a grant of some lands in this manor, 13 Jac. I, mention is made of Park Close, near Heydon, containing four acres.”
The name Haydon now survives in Haydon Hill, on the south side of the Cerne valley a mill north-west of Charminster. The western side of the hill is called Charminster Down, and here the Tithe Apportionment lists a field called Park Eweleaze. This evidence was thought to justify Charminster’s inclusion in the list of possible park sites, but examination of the area revealed no trace of park-like embankment. The parish boundary between Charminster and Stratton runs more or less along the crest of the down here and is nowhere strongly embanked. On its eastern side, presumable, ran the very ancient road which Professor Good describes as going north-west out of Dorchester and up on to this spur of the downs, by a road which is today in part metalled, leaving the Cerne road at Charminster. This old round formed a southern fork of the Furzey Down road which is referred to elsewhere in the present article, and it is to be presumed that a park here would have been situated to the north-east of the road. But crucially, virtually all the area was occupied by the open fields of Charminster. In the Haydon Hill area they were enclosed in 1587 (S & DN & Q, XIII, 162-170), the remainder being finally enclosed in 1837. The hedge patterns in the area bear witness to late enclosure, and it seems that the field name quoted is no more convincing a proof of the existence of a medieval park here than are those at Hilfield, also mentioned in the present article.’

Record last edited

Jul 26 2024 2:29PM