Monument record 1229/11 - Point's Copse, Long Copse and East and West Ashall's Copse

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

{1} Point's Copse has been radically remodelled and is now made up of two blocks divided by a straight ride that may be an 18th-century vista created by Capability Brown. Only the southern boundary carries the original, medieval, bank and ditch.

Long copse has been severely truncated by the creation of fields in the mid-19th century. Now only narrow woodland strips representing the extreme western and northern parts of the original coppice survive. The ride between Long copse and Point's Copse has been straightened and narrowed, but the original medieval coppice bank and ditch do survive. This may be the former Deanshanger stallage (route from the village into the forest).

The eastern and western boundaries of East Ashall's Copse and the east and west boundaries of West Ashall's Copse are medieval survivals. The straightening of the Whittlebury road in the 19th century removed evidence for the southern extent of the woodland. The 1610 Whittlewood Map {2} indicated that it lay close to the stream and parish boundary. A possible 19th-century quarry lies in West Ashall's Copse at SP 732 416.

<1> Jones, RLC, 2001, An archaeological survey of woodland on the Wakefield Lodge Estate, Northamptonshire, March 2001, p. 21-24 (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 7:45PM