Monument record MDO47855 - Medieval monastic road from Abbotsbury to Cerne Abbas

(SY 580852-ST 667015) A former Medieval monastic road between the abbeys of Abbotsbury and Cerne Abbas, left Abbotsbury by the road that climbs the hill to Newland's Corner to the summit of White Hill where it continues as the present road along the south side of Valley of the Stones to the west end of Black Down. Here, the road descends into the South Winterbourne valley, probably
running along a line a little east of the present enclosure road. Over the valley the old route is now absorbed in Muckleford Lane as far as Muckleford where the old trackway diverges from the double bend of the modern road near Quartr Bras and heads towards the River From. Beyond Muckleford the route becomes a trackway and climbs past the settlement on Grimstone Down towards Crete Hill. At this point the route embodies the pre-Roman trackway from BatcombeHill to Wrackleford and diverges from it just to the south of Ridge Hill. Here, the Medieval road descends the slope, just east of Smacam Down, before joining the valley road to Cerne Abbas. Timperley and Brill described the section of the route from Crete Hill, via Muckleford to Black Down, as part of a pre-Roman trackway but give no reference to the Medieval aspect mentioned by Good. The route from Muckleford to Cerne is stillsometimes called 'The Abbot's Way' according to Good. (1,2)

<1> Good, R, 1966, Old Roads of Dorset, 67-68 (Monograph). SWX1178.

<2> Timperley, H W, and Brill, E, 1965, Ancient Trackways of Wessex (Monograph). SDO18527.

<3> National Record of the Historic Environment, 453808 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 2:42PM