Monument record MDO48429 - Post medieval water meadow, Cerne Abbas

A post medieval water meadow on the northwest side of Cerne Abbas is visible as earthworks on 1940s aerial photographs and Environment Agency lidar imagery. The features comprise a series of linear banks and ditches alongside the River Cerne, mainly on the west side where there are also a series of tail leats, on the east side the ditches feeding straight into the river. The water meadow only partially survives. A continuation of the water meadow on the south side of the road is recorded under MDO755. The features were digitally plotted during the Dorset Upper Cerne and Piddle Valleys AIM project.

A post medieval water meadow on the northwest side of Cerne Abbas is visible as earthworks on 1940s aerial photographs and Environment Agency lidar imagery [1, 2, 3]. The features comprise a series of linear banks and ditches alongside the River Cerne, mainly on the west side where there are also a series of tail leats, on the east side the ditches feed straight into the river. At the southern end on the east side, the features merge with those from an area of possible medieval deserted settlement (MDO740). These are visible on a 1949 aerial photograph and lidar imagery [2, 3]. The differentiation between the two sites at this point is not entirely clear.
The water meadow only partially survives. A continuation of the water meadow on the south side of the road is recorded under MDO755. The features were digitally plotted during the Dorset Upper Cerne and Piddle Valleys AIM project.

<1> Royal Air Force, 11-APR-1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FS 2377 (Aerial Photograph). SDO20883.

<2> Cambridge University Collection of Aerial Photography, 08-APR-1949, CAP 7942/56 (Aerial Photograph). SDO20897.

<3> Environment Agency, 16-NOV-2021, LIDAR Environment Agency DTM (Aerial Photograph). SDO18034.

Record last edited

Aug 21 2024 11:13AM