Monument record MDO26285 - Post medieval enclosure, White Nothe, Chaldon Herring

An earthwork in the form of an irregular rectangle, with slightly curving sides about eleven by twelve metres, enclosed by a low bank approximately half a metre high by a metre wide, with no apparent ditch. It is considered likely to be post medieval in date. This feature is visible as an earthwork on modern Lidar imagery. It is one of a group of similar features located along the cliff here at White Nothe (MDO26285-86 & MDO29330).

This [earthwork] is in the form of an irregular rectangle, with slightly curving sides about eleven by twelve metres, enclosed by a low bank approximately half a metre high by a metre wide, with no apparent ditch. It lies about five metres north of an early nineteenth century lookout point, the remains of which were subsequently incorporated in a second world war observer point. It is possible that this enclosure was associated with the lookout, perhaps surrounding a ’signal post’ which was linked to the chain of beacons erected to warn of possible invasion during the Napoleonic wars [1].

A sub-rectangular enclosure, approximately 12.3m x 14.5m, is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs (2) and Lidar imagery (3) and was digitally plotted during the South West Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (Dorset). It is one of a group of similar features located along the cliff here at White Nothe (MDO26285-86 & MDO29330).

<1> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 2008, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 2007-2008, 274 (Serial). SDO12293.

<2> Royal Air Force, 18-NOV-1949, RAF 541/402 F20 3016-17 (Aerial Photograph). SDO12925.

<3> Channel Coastal Observatory, 25-FEB-2009, Lidar (Aerial Photograph). SDO12879.

Record last edited

Sep 10 2024 9:54AM