Monument record MDO39621 - Post medieval drainage or cultivation marks, Merritown Farm, Hurn, Christchurch

A series of probable post medieval drainage channels and/or cultivation marks to the south of Merritown Farm are visible on 1940s and 1950s aerial photographs. The features were digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP.

A series of probable post medieval drainage channels and/or cultivation marks to the south of Merritown Farm are visible on 1940s and 1950s aerial photographs (1 and 2) and on current Lidar imagery (3).

The ditched and banked features appear faintly as slightly curving linears along the length of the field, not quite aligned with the adjacent historic field boundaries. The faint diagonal line of ditches are also present, indicating that some of these linears may be associated with a post medieval drainage system. Others may be cultivation ridges of possible post medieval or earlier origin A substantial banked field boundary (MDO39622) showing on current Lidar imagery appears to underlie, and therefore pre-date, the linear features (3).

The linear features are now under the extended golf course (4).

The features were digitally plotted during the Dorset Stour NMP.

<1> Royal Air Force, 12-DEC-46, RAF/CPE/UK/1893 RP 3213-4 (Aerial Photograph). SDO15523.

<2> Royal Air Force, 24-JAN-59, RAF/58/2687 F22 74 (Aerial Photograph). SDO15524.

<3> XX-XXX-2015, Environment Agency DTM Lidar 1m (Aerial Photograph). SDO15442.

<4> Google Earth, 2017, Google Earth 2017 (Aerial Photograph). SDO15388.

Record last edited

Oct 5 2017 12:16PM