Monument record MDO4807 - Medieval field system south of France Oaks Coppice, Stourpaine

Strip lynchets south west of France Oaks Coppice, probably of medieval date and part of the former open field system around the settlement of France Farm. The record for this monument has been enhanced with support from Wessex Water. Parallel bank and ditched features are visible as earthworks on lidar imagery and were digitally plotted during the Dorset Middle Stour AIM Project.

Strip lynchets centred at ST 86790843 (A) and ST 8663 0815 (B).

(A) A grass covered field with closely spaced and parallel strip lynchets following the contours in a NW-SE direction. These lynchets are rather poorly defined.

(B) Several irregularly spaced lynchets very pronounced and probably Medieval in origin. These lynchets are set in a NW-SE direction upon a fairly steep slope above the River Stour. <1>

Strip lynchets SW of France Oaks Coppice (867084) are perhaps the remains of the open fields of France Farm, a Medieval settlement. <2>

Nutford Lockey appears now to be represented by France Farm. Its position suggests it was once larger, for it stands on the old road from Bulbarrow to Ashmore and near a pond on the River Stour. <3>

Parallel bank and ditched features are visible as earthworks on lidar imagery and were digitally plotted during the Dorset Middle Stour AIM Project. They are considered to be medieval or later field boundaries and cultivation marks <4>. The features extend northwards into the Coppice and are described further in MDO44929.

<1> Quinnell, N V, Various, Field Investigators Comments NVQ, 12-DEC-55 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

‘Strip lynchets centred at ST 86790843 (A) … A grass covered field with closely spaced and parallel strip lynchets following the contours in a NW-SE direction. These lynchets are rather poorly defined.’

<2> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1975, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume V (East), 262-263 (Monograph). SDO129.

‘(10) CULTIVATION REMAINS. … Strip lynchets S.W. of France Oaks Coppice (867084) are perhaps the remains of the open fields of France Farm, a mediaeval settlement (Fägersten, 58).’

<3> Good, R, 1979, Lost Villages of Dorset, 41 (Monograph). SWX1569.

<4> Environment Agency, 16-NOV-2021, LIDAR Environment Agency DTM (Aerial Photograph). SDO18034.

<5> National Record of the Historic Environment, 205426 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Jul 22 2024 12:47PM