Monument record MDO37389 - Linear boundary ditches east of Bishops Court Farm, Shapwick

A plough-levelled double-ditched linear boundary feature, elements of which appear on aerial photographs dated 1972, 2009 and 2014. The linear feature was digitially recorded during the Dorset Middle Stour AI&M project. The record for this monument has been created with support from Wessex Water.

An enclosure and a linear are visible as cropmarks on air photographs taken April 15th 2002. The enclosure seems more or less square, though only 2 sides are defined by a ditch. A third side has a ditch for half its length, this ditch then turning a right angle and continuing a short distance before turning again, effectively giving the appearance of a large number 5. Passing west of the enclosure in a sw-ne direction is a linear ditch which clearly continues for some distance in both directions. However, there is a gap or entrance through it close to the enclosure. (1)

A plough-levelled, slightly irregular linear boundary comprising two parallel ditches aligned approximately north east - south west, and visible on aerial photographs dated 1972, 2009 and 2014. The monument can be traced across four adjacent fields for a total distance of some 1180 metres. Its northern part appears to pass under Swanway Cottage (immediately south of Straw Barrow) and continues for a distance of about 100 metres into a field east of Swan Way track.

The western ditch is the larger of the two, and has several possible breaks or causeways along its length, one of which is slightly offset. The second, narrower, ditch is some 14-18 metres to the east. It also appears to be discontinuous, and may (inconclusively) be absent altogether from the northern part of the complex. The monument as a whole appears gently curvilinear, with minor but distinct changes of direction between segments at NGR ST94270 02768 and ST94064 02482.

The boundary is co-aligned with an adjacent sub rectangular enclosure (MDO37388) just to the east, and the two may be contemporary.

The linear feature is visible as cropmarks and earthworks on aerial photographs and lidar imagery (5-9) and was digitially recorded during the Dorset Middle Stour AI&M project. A single linear ditch runs NNE for 1.3km from Ram Lane to Straw Barrow (MDO6011) and beyond. A linear bank is visible on lidar imagery running alongside the ditch which may be double-ditched in the vicinty of the enclosure described in MDO37388.

<1> 15-APR-2002, NMR 21628/04 ST 9402/13 (Aerial Photograph). SDO19401.

<2> J Story and Partners, 1972, DCC vertical aerial photographs, 2011/0153 (Aerial Photograph). SDO14100.

<3> Dorset County Council, 2009, Digital vertical aerial photographs (Aerial Photograph). SDO12079.

<4> GetMapping, 2014, Digital vertical aerial photographs (Aerial Photograph). SDO14101.

<5> Papworth, M, 1994, Shapwick Parish, Kingston Lacy Estate, Wessex Region (Unpublished document). SDO14228.

A linear ditch is visible on aerial photograph NMR ST9402/5. It may be a boundary dating to the Romano-British period or earlier.

<6> J R Boyden, 02-JUL-1976, JRB 3096/8 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18324.

<7> National Monuments Record, 25-JUL-2001, NMR 21352/05 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18321.

<8> National Monuments Record, 15-APR-2005, NMR 21628/05 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18322.

<9> Historic England Archive, 23-APR-2015, HEA 29562/048 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18325.

<10> Environment Agency, 16-NOV-2021, LIDAR Environment Agency DTM (Aerial Photograph). SDO18034.

<11> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1403299 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Feb 13 2023 12:21PM