Monument record MDO7232 - Medieval lynchets, south of West Chaldon, Chaldon Herring

An area of probable medieval strip lynchets is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs of the 1940s and 1960s to the south of West Chaldon, Chaldon Herring.

Strip lynchets of contour type, covering 7 acres, are visible south of West Chaldon Farm at SY 776824. On the south west spur of High Chaldon at SY 779828 are 6 acres of both contour and up-and-down type strip lynchets. <1-2>

The strip lynchets centred at SY 776824 and SY 779828 remains as described by RCHM. They have heights of up to 2.0m. <3>

An area of probable medieval strip lynchets is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs of the 1940s and 1960s <4-5> to the south of West Chaldon, Chaldon Herring. The earthworks consist of narrow linear banks and occasional ditches visible over an area measuring approximately 490 m by 460 m. The features are not visible on aerial photographs of 2009 <6> and may have been levelled by this date. These features were digitally plotted as part of the Wild Purbeck Mapping Project.

<1> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 1, 36 (Monograph). SDO148.

‘(22) STRIP LYNCHETS at West Chaldon are in two groups: S. of West Chaldon Farm (776824) are 7 acres of much broken contour strip lynchets; on the S.W. spur of High Chaldon (779828) are 6 acres of both contour and up-anddown types. (R.A.F. V.A.P. CPE/UK 1821: 4439.)’

<2> Royal Air Force, 04-NOV-1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1821 4437-38 (Aerial Photograph). SDO19839.

<3> Barton, J G, Various, Field Investigators Comments JGB, F1 JGB 23-JUL-80 (Unpublished document). SDO11900.

<4> Royal Air Force, 18-JAN-1962, RAF 58/4878 (F22) 0078-9 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13871.

<5> Royal Air Force, 04-NOV-1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1824 3272-3 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13845.

<6> Dorset County Council, XX-XXX-2009, Dorset CC Vertical Digital Photo Tile (Aerial Photograph). SDO13314.

<7> National Record of the Historic Environment, 454264 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Jul 7 2023 2:39PM