Monument record MDO6522 - Portland Open Fields (South Field?)

The Isle of Portland was a royal manor in 1086, and divided into five tithings and organised into two or three-filed rotation until the communal management finished in the 19th century. It is suggested that an original settlement at Wakeham was the nucleus for the expansion of the open fields across Portland. Although the fields have been destroyed over time by quarrying, building and later cultivation, some of the strip fields, some of which are still cultivated, survive over some 150 acres. This field system seems to be the surviving remains of the field known as South Field, c. 1800.The strips are generally arranged in furlongs butting at right angles, this system, however has a continuous run of parallel strips extending for nearly a mile along its E side. On its W side some furlongs have been bisected, and the half lengths remain cultivated as separate strips. This system also has mere-stones of apparently 19th century date, usually inscribed with capital initials in the baulks at the strip ends (1).

Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 2, 259 (Monograph). SDO149.

Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3 (Monograph). SDO150.

DCC SMR, to 2003, Former DCC SMR Card Index (Index). SWX8285.

Record last edited

Apr 13 2021 5:21PM