Monument record MDO44059 - Post medieval tree enclosure rings, Badbury Rings, Shapwick

Three concentric post medieval tree enclosure rings within Badbury Rings forming the prominent fir copse of Badbury Clump. They were digitally plotted during the Dorset Middle Stour Catchment AI&M Project.

RCHME Survey recorded at least three concentric banks with external ditches crowning the summit of the interior of Badbury Rings hillfort (ST 90 SE 45). The banks, averaging 2m in width and up to 0.8m high, with ditches up to 0.4m deep, are interpreted as tree enclosure rings, possibly originally surmounted by a hedge, designed to protect an ornamental tree clump from damage by animals. Such a clump has been in existance at Badbury Rings since at least 1742 (1a), presumably planted as a landscaping feature associated with Kingston Lacy House, which is just visible from the summit some 2km to the SE. A full Field Survey report is available from NMR Archives. <1>

Three concentric post medieval tree enclosure rings within Badbury Rings containing the prominent fir copse of Badbury Clump. The outer enclosure is 115m across, the middle, 90m, and the inner 70m. They were digitally plotted from aerial photographs and lidar imagery <7-8> and were recorded during the Dorset Middle Stour Catchment AI&M Project.

<1> Donachie, J D, 1994, RCHME Field Survey Report: Badbury Rings Hillfort, Shapwick, Dorset (Monograph). SDO19358.

<1.1> 1742, Woodward Estate Maps, Bankes of Kingston Lacy (Map). SDO19359.

<2> Historic England, Historic England Archive, 1061623 (Index). SDO14738.

Badbury Rings Hillfort (1993)

<3> Historic England, Historic England Archive, 1097924 (Index). SDO14738.

Badbury Rings hillfort (1993), sheet1/pencil survey

<4> Historic England, Historic England Archive, 1182419 (Index). SDO14738.

Badbury Rings (1998)/ink survey

<5> Historic England, Historic England Archive, 918802 (Index). SDO14738.

Badbury Rings hillfort (1993)/ink survey

<6> Historic England, Historic England Archive, AF0918785 (Index). SDO14738.

RCHME: Badbury Rings, Dorset (1993). RCHME Salisbury surveyed the interior of the Iron Age hillfort in 1993, at the request of the National Trust.Contents : 3 plans, report, correspondence, survey data, computer plot, research material, field check sheetCondition : INTACT

<7> Historic England, Historic England Archive, AF1127432 (Index). SDO14738.

RCHME: Badbury Rings, Dorset (1998). The summit area of Badbury Rings was cleared of undergrowth in 1997 by the National Trust and the young conifer plantation was thinned out. The clearance offered the opportunity for the RCHME to complete the large scale survey of the hilltop which proved impractical in 1993 because of the vegetation cover.Contents : 1 plan

<8> Alexander Kieller Collection, 14-JUL-1925, ALK 7415/257 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18295.

<9> Environment Agency, 16-NOV-2021, LIDAR Environment Agency DTM (Aerial Photograph). SDO18034.

<10> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1060498 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Feb 6 2023 7:10PM