Monument record MDO6169 - Medieval settlement, Walnut Tree Field, Sturminster Marshall

Banked and ditched linear earthworks in Walnut Tree Field are visible on 1940's aerial photographs. They features are considered likely to be associated with a deserted medieval settlement at this location and were digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

ST 95020035 Deserted medieval settlement. The remains of a 13th and 14th century shrunken medieval village surviving as a complex of extant earthworks, with prehistoric settlement remains surviving as buried features, set in a field adjacent to the River Stour. Excavations have also revealed Mesolithic finds, a Neolithic settlement, and a late Saxon cemetery, which may be part of the church cemetery butis now outside its boundaries. The site was surveyed by staff of RCHME in 1990, for further information see archive report. <1>

Banked and ditched linear earthworks in Walnut Tree Field are visible on 1940s aerial photographs <4>.

The features comprise a series of narrow linear banks and ditches on a broadly SSE-NNW alignment. The banks and ditches form narrow linear enclosures and may be historic field boundaries or the reminas of settlement earthworks associated with the deserted medieval settlement recorded at this location.

The site is still open fields on current Google Earth imagery and many of the features remain visible. They were digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

<1> Field, D J, and Cunliffe, D A, 1990, RCHME Field Investigation (Unpublished document). SDO19390.

<2> Oxford Archaeological Unit, 1991, Sturminster Marshall, Walnut Tree Field. Interim Report on Archaeological Investigations (Unpublished document). SDO13894.

<3> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1992, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1991, 171 (Serial). SDO91.

<4> Royal Air Force, 12-DEC-46, RAF/CPE/UK/1893 RS 4147-8 (Aerial Photograph). SDO16132.

<5> Historic England, Historic England Archive, 888339 (Index). SDO14738.

Walnut Tree Field/ink survey

<6> Historic England, Historic England Archive, 888342 (Index). SDO14738.

Walnut Tree Field/pencil survey

<7> Historic England, Historic England Archive, AF0888331 (Index). SDO14738.

RCHME: Walnut Tree Field - Sturminster Marshall. RCHME Salisbury surveyed the deserted medieval village in 1990. Report with field survey team.Contents : 2 plans, reportCondition : INTACT

<8> National Record of the Historic Environment, 966097 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Jan 17 2025 4:03PM