Monument record MDO6223 - Post-medieval enclosures on Parley Common, West Parley

A series of long, narrow fields running from north to south across the common. The remains of turf-cutting allotments formed in 1633 when the heathland was divided between freeholders of the Manor. Occasional hedges and cross-banks indicate later subdivisions.

Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1929, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1928, 109-116 (Serial). SDO32.

<1> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1975, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume V (East), 76 (Monograph). SDO129.

‘(5) Enclosures, on Parley Common, in the form of extremely long, narrow fields which formerly extended from N. to S. across the common, are the remains of turf-cutting allotments formed in 1633 when the heathland was divided between the freeholders of the Manor (Dorset Procs., L (1928), 109–16). The remains consist of continuous parallel banks some 2½ ft. high and up to 1 mile in length. Occasional hedges and cross-banks are the result of later subdivision into small fields.’

Record last edited

Jan 16 2015 1:32PM