Monument record 1229/6 - Lady Copse

Area of medieval woodland with earthworks of boundary bank and ditch. Part of Whittlewood Forest

{1} Lady Copse is one of the larger coppice blocks on the estate. It is currently split into three blocks by curvilinear rides. The western and southern boundaries exhibit all the signs of medieval coppice management, with wide internal banks and external ditches. The northern edge is a recent truncation and has neither bank nor ditch to separate the woodland from the modern fields. The north-eastern boundary, corresponding to a short section of the Potterspury-Yardley Gobion parish boundary, is the most impressive. It is made up of two parallel ditches set c. 10m apart with a flat area between. The internal ditch has a large bank placed on the woodland side. This feature is comparable to that found in East Waterslade Copse and is likely to be the continuation of the same. The straightening of the ride between Lady Copse and Oakley Spinney, however, appears to have removed the middle section of this linear feature. The southern ride or plain between Lady copse and East and West Waterslade Copse may well have been the Yardley Gobion stallage (see also Oakley Spinney).
No internal features of archaeological features of significance were noted.

<1> Jones, RLC, 2001, An archaeological survey of woodland on the Wakefield Lodge Estate, Northamptonshire, March 2001, p. 14 (Report). SNN111620.

<2> Collier; Baker;, c1600, Map of Whittlewood Forest (NRO Map 4210) (Map). SNN105610.

<3> , 1887, First Edition OS Mapping (Map). SNN1004.

Record last edited

Feb 25 2025 8:08PM