Monument record MDO7602 - Fitzworth Deer Park, Corfe Castle

A deer park was briefly established on Fitzworth Point by John Calcraft in 1771. The area was used in the early 19th century as a rabbit warren, and was shown on the OS 1st edn 1in map. The deer park pale was an earthen bank and ditch. A section excavated in 1987 revealed a buried soil layer overlain by a stacking of turves. To the west, documentary evidence shows the pale running east to west across the Fitzworth peninsula before tuning towards Wytch Moor. (Dodd 1995)

Linear earthwork observed, likely to be of recent date. Area known to be the limit of medieval heathland reclamation, possibly a major land boundary of that period. (Hearne 1988)

Ordnance Survey, 1811, Ordnance Survey Map 1 1811 (Map). SWX1626.

Hearne, C M, 1988, Wytch Farm Oilfield Development, Infield Flowlines: Wellsite D to Gathering Station, Archaeological Assessment. (Unpublished document). SWX8174.

Cox, P W, and Hearne, C M, 1991, Redeemed from the Heath: the Archaeology of the Wytch Farm Oilfield 1987-1990 (Monograph). SWX2893.

Cox, Peter W, 1993, Wytch Farm Oilfield: the proposed construction of a new water pipeline from Wellsite A to F - archaeological evaluation DRAFT (Unpublished document). SDO21178.

Dodd, J, 1995, The Excavation of a medieval building at Ower Farm, Corfe Castle, and other archaeological observations during the construction of a new wellsite and pipeline at the Wytch Farm Oilfield, 1994 (Unpublished document). SWX8192.

Record last edited

Oct 29 2025 4:27PM