Monument record MDO6526 - Portland Open Fields (South Field)

Portland open fields, strip fields, some still cultivated, survive here. The medieval or post medieval strip lynchets are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs of the 1940s and 1960s.

The Isle of Portland was a royal manor in 1086, and divided into five tithings and organised into two or three-field 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 system consisted of furlongs butting at right angles. (1) Remnants were noted on a 1970s AP. (2)

The area of strip lynchets described above (in 1-2) is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs of the 1940s and 1960s. (3) A large proportion of the lynchets are still extant on aerial imagery of 2009. (4) The lynchets are oriented east-west and cover an area measuring approximately 780 m by 475 m. This site was digitally plotted during the South West Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (Dorset).

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.

<1> 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.

<2> Anon, 1970s APs, AP70_368000E_70000N (Digital archive). SWX8820.

<3> Royal Air Force, 13-APR-1946, RAF 106G/UK/1411 4050-1 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13027.

<4> Meridian Air Maps Ltd, 26-JAN-1968, MAL 68002/006-7 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13032.

Record last edited

Sep 6 2024 4:36PM