SDO16955 - Farmstead and Landscape Statement: Marshwood and Powerstock Vales

National Character Area 139 Historic Character ■ Settlement consists of nucleated villages with numerous isolated farmsteads. Within the vale of Marshwood, settlement is almost entirely dispersed. This is associated with the medieval irregular enclosure of woodland and the 17th-century and earlier piecemeal enclosure of farmland including strip fields and rough pasture. ■ Arable farming on areas of higher ground is evidenced by strip lynchets on hillsides but pastoral farming dominated across much of the area. ■ Small- to medium-sized farmsteads often retain evidence for the rebuilding of farmhouses in the 17th century but farm buildings mainly date from the 18th and 19th centuries. Significance ■ Despite the medieval origins of many farmsteads, pre-1700 farm buildings are rare in this area. ■ Some now-rare examples of cider houses survive, any with internal mills and presses being particularly significant. ■ There are some rare surviving dairies with cheese lofts. Present and future issues ■ In this National Character Area, the Photo Image Project (2006) recorded a medium proportion of listed working farm buildings converted to non-agricultural use (37.5%, the national average being 32%). ■ The redundancy of unlisted farm buildings, especially smaller scale buildings for cattle which are a distinctive feature of this area, puts them at particular risk from dereliction.