Monument record 8060 - Open Field System, Strixton

Blocks of medieval or post-medieval ridge and furrow cultivation, remnants of the former open common field system, are visible on historic aerial photographs and remote sensing data. Located in Strixton parish, many of the ridge and furrow blocks appear to share a roughly NW-SE alignment. Also notable are the linear and sinuous plough levelled earthworks banks, plough headlands, field and boundary banks of probable medieval date, though some may be earlier in origin. Visible on remote sensing data throughout the parish, these features are remnants of a formerly contiguous agricultural cultivation system, but suggest that many of the ridge and furrow blocks had already been plough levelled by the mid 20th century. Aerial photographs taken in 2018 suggest that much of the ridge and furrow blocks have been plough levelled, but a few remain extant.

{1} Common fields certainly existed in 1583 and were probably enclosed in the early C17th. In 1619 Robert Parkhurst of London had licence to enclose 260 acres of arable land and convert it into pasture. By 1697 the lordship was described as 'closes of pasture or inclosed ground'.

{2-6} Blocks of medieval or post-medieval ridge and furrow cultivation, remnants of the former open common field system, are visible on historic aerial photographs and remote sensing data and was mapped as part of the Bedford Borough NMP project. Located in Strixton parish and centred at SP 90469 61346, many of the ridge and furrow blocks appear to share a roughly NW-SE alignment. Also notable are the linear and sinuous plough levelled earthworks banks, plough headlands, field and boundary banks of probable medieval date, though some may be earlier in origin. Visible on remote sensing data throughout the parish, these features are remnants of a formerly contiguous agricultural cultivation system, but suggest that many of the ridge and furrow blocks had already been plough levelled by the mid 20th century. Aerial photographs taken in 2018 suggest that much of the ridge and furrow blocks have been plough levelled, but a few remain extant.

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1979, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.142 Site 10 (part checked) (Series). SNN77380.

<2> Vertical Aerial Photograph, US/7GR/LOC334 V 5001-5002 31-MAY-1944 (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN112695.

<3> Royal Air Force, Vertical Aerial Photography, RAF/CPE/UK/2546 RS 4137-4139 26-MAR-1948 (Photographs). SNN104890.

<4> Bedford Borough Council HER, 1991, Georeferenced composite layer of vertical aerial photographs taken in 1991. Held by Bedford Borough Council HER (Archive). SNN111744.

<5> Environment Agency, LIDAR Composite DTM - 1m, LIDAR SP 9060, 9160-9161 Environment Agency 1m DTM NOV-2003–NOV-2012 (Digital Plots). SNN111710.

<6> Vertical Aerial Photograph, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery SP9060-9062, 9160-9163 12-JUN-2018 (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN112695.

<7> Bedford Borough Council HER, Undated, Bedford Borough NMP (Archive). SNN113023.

Record last edited

Feb 17 2025 7:13PM