Monument record MDO6671 - Iron Age/Romano-British occupation site at Wyndings, Plaisters Lane, Sutton Poyntz, Weymouth

Evidence of occupation from 1st to 4th century have been found in the garden of Wyndings. Excavations in 1935 and 1936 revealed traces of a hut with drystone wall enclosing an central oven. Finds from the general area include a pit, a quern stone and pottery. Several complete vessels, pieces of shale trays, and mortars of Purbeck marble have been found.

RB Pottery, 3rd to 4th century, was found in February 1931 when the foundations of Capt Woollatt's house at Preston were being excavated. <1>

"Wyndings" was formerly Capt Woollatt's house. Since occupying the property the finds from the garden include a socketed axe (since lost), two ovens, a coin of Gallienus, Samian ware, Roman glass and two flint flakes.

Mr R A H Farrar of the DNHAS has a scale plan of the finds, and a Belgic urn is in the Dorset County Museum. Mrs Kimber pointed out the find spots in the garden of the two ovens at 'A' - SY 70198425, the burials at 'B' - SY 70168424 and where several pots were found thrown into a ditch at 'C' - SY 70188423. The two flint flakes are in fact "backed blades" of Mesolithic type. Finds in the possession of Mrs Kimber. <2>

Fragments of human cranium, were deposited in the Museum in 1958. The fragments were in bags marked ‘Sutton Poyntz, 14 Sept 39’. It is suspected that these fragments relate the contracted inhumation burial (unpublished in in 1964) found in 1936 in the garden W of the house “Wyndings”, Plaisters Lane. The burial was found with a pedestalled bead rim bowl (Brailsfords Durotrigian type 2)

The former occupant of Wyndings, Mr J F C Kimber, had an extensive collection of pottery and other objects ranging from 1st to the 4th century, including Durotrigian and later types, some complete, found during excavations carried out with Mr Selby in 1935/36. In these excavations traces of rough limestone paving and a sub-rectangular hut with drystone wall and containing a central stone-lined oven. <4-5>

Rough limestone paving was found by J F C Kimber in 1935-6 over an area of at least 60 ft by 40 ft, at 70198424, with traces at E of an oblong hut some 17 ft by 15 ft overall with drystone walls enclosing an approximately central stone-lined oven. Limestone slabs suggesting a structure had been found previously under an extension on the north side of the house, and also a pit, a rotary quern-stone and pottery including a complete native imitation of a Samian bowl, on the site of the tennis court. Finds from the site range from 1st to 4th century, including Samian and New Forest ware; several complete Durotrigian vessels and later cooking-pots, fragments of two shale plaques or trays and of three lugged mortars of Purbeck marble. In addition to two human skeletons (one of a child), found earlier in the garden; a contracted inhumation was excavated in 1936 W of the house at 70178423, accompanied by a Durotrigian bowl. <5>

<1> Rivet, A L F, Annotated record map 6", 20.5.53 (Map). SDO17443.

<1.1> Drew, C D, Colonel Drew's Index, Dorset County Museum (Index). SDO18316.

<2> Swatridge, G C, Various, Field Investigators Comments GCS, F1 GCS 21-DEC-54 (Unpublished document). SWX1169.

<2.1> Kimber, Mrs, Oral: Mrs Kimber, Wyndings Sutton Poyntz (Verbal communication). SDO20403.

<3> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1963 (Map). SWX1540.

(SY 70178423) Roman Remains found ®

<4> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1965, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1964, 114-115 (Serial). SDO64.

<5> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 618-619 (Monograph). SDO150.

‘(449) Sutton Poyntz, Plaisters Lane (SY 78 SW). Occupation Debris, a Hut, and Inhumation Burials were found in 1931–6 in the garden of 'Wyndings' at the junction of Upper Greensand and Kimmeridge Clay on a S.-facing slope below the 200 ft. contour.
Rough limestone paving was found in excavations N. of the house by J. F. C. Kimber in 1935–6, over an area at least 60 ft. E.-W. by 40 ft. (70198424), with traces at E. of an oblong hut some 17 ft. by 15 ft. overall with drystone wall, enclosing an approximately central stone-lined oven 2 ft. wide internally. Limestone slabs suggesting a structure had been found previously under an extension on the N. side of the house, and a pit, a rotary quern-stone and pottery including a complete native imitation of a samian form 30 bowl (in D.C.M.) on the site of the tennis court to N.W. Finds from the site range from 1st to 4th century, including samian and New Forest type ware, several complete Durotrigian vessels and later cooking-pots, fragments of two shale plaques or trays (one engraved) and of three lugged mortars of Purbeck marble. In addition to two human skeletons (one of a child), found earlier in the garden, a contracted inhumation was excavated in 1936 W. of the house (70178423); it lay E.-W. with head E. beside which was a pedestalled Durotrigian bowl of Brailsford's class 2. (Finds and unpublished notes in possession of Mrs. J. F. C. Kimber; J.R.S. XXI (1931), 241; XXVII (1938), 194; Dorset Procs. LXXXVI (1964), 114–5.)’

<6> Wallis, S, 1996, Wyndings, Plaisters Lane, Sutton Poyntz (Unpublished document). SDO14345.

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

Object Number
Object Title
Scope And Content
AA71/03068 STONE-LINED OVEN (2' WIDE) SEE DOR2/PT 3/618
AA71/03069 STONE-LINED OVEN (2' WIDE) SEE DOR2/PT 3/618
AA71/03070 DRY-STONE WALL
AA71/03071 DRY-STONE WALL
AA71/03072 SKELETON WITH DUROTRIGIAN VESSEL (HEAD EAST) FOUND DEC.1936 IN MR.KIMBER'S GARDEN (SY 7017 8423)
AA71/03073 UPPER PART OF ROTARY QUERN FROM IA/RB OCCUPATION SITE
AA71/03074 LUGGED MORTARS OF PURBECK STONE FROM IA/RB OCCUPATION SITE
AA71/03075 HAMMER STONES FROM IA/RB OCCUPATION SITE
AA71/03076 FROM IA/RB OCCUPATION SITE
AA71/03077 BRONZE FIBULA
AA71/03078 BRONZE FIBULA
AA71/03079 DUROTRIGIAN BOWL FROM IA/RB OCCUPATION SITE
AA71/03080 DUROTRIGIAN BOWL FROM IA/RB OCCUPATION SITE
AA71/03081 DUROTRIGIAN BOWL FROM IA/RB OCCUPATION SITE
AA71/03082 PEDESTALLED DUROTRIGIAN BOWL/URN OF BRAILSFORD'S CLASS 2
AA71/03083 DUROTRIGIAN JAR WITH COUNTERSUNK HANDLE
AA71/03084 COUNTERSUNK HANDLES FROM IA/RB OCCUPATION SITE
AA71/03085 COOKING POTS
AA71/03086 COOKING POTS
AA71/03087 CUP (FORM 27) FROM IA/RB OCCUPATION SITE
AA71/03088 LATE FLANGED BOWLS FROM IA/RB OCCUPATION SITE
AA71/03089 PAINTED WARE OF NEW FOREST TYPE
BB71/05478 SKELETON WITH DUROTRIGIAN VESSEL (HEAD EAST) FOUND IN MR. KIMBER'S GARDEN (DEC.1936) (SY 7017 8423)

<8> National Record of the Historic Environment, 454351 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Jan 10 2024 12:58PM