Monument record 9349/0/8 - Medieval/post-medieval ridge and furrow cultivation, Higham Park

A block of contiguous medieval and/or post medieval ridge and furrow cultivation, remnants of the former common open-field system, are visible as earthworks and cropmarks on historic aerial photographs and remote sensing data. Located across the parish of Newton Bromswold parish, aerial photographs taken in 2018 suggest that many of the blocks have been ploughed-levelled in the latter half of the 20th century through continued agricultural cultivation, though some blocks remain as extant earthworks within pasture fields and paddocks.

{1-8} A block of contiguous medieval and/or post medieval ridge and furrow cultivation, remnants of the former common open-field system, are visible as earthworks and cropmarks on historic aerial photographs and remote sensing data and were mapped as part of the Bedford Borough NMP project. Located across the southern half of Newton Bromswold parish and centred at SP 99104 64500, aerial photographs taken in 2018 suggest that many of the blocks have been ploughed-levelled in the latter half of the 20th century through continued agricultural cultivation, though some blocks remain as extant earthworks within pasture fields and paddocks. Some furlong boundaries were also mapped and recorded.

<1> Bedford Borough Council HER, 1940s, Georeferenced composite layer of vertical aerial photographs taken in the 1940s. Held by Bedford Borough Council HER (Archive). SNN112713.

<2> Royal Air Force, Vertical Aerial Photography, RAF/CPE/UK/1994 FS 2218-2219 13-APR-1947 (Photographs). SNN104890.

<3> Bedford Borough Council HER, 1996, Georeferenced composite layer of vertical aerial photographs taken in 1996. Held by Bedford Borough Council HER (Archive). SNN111739.

<4> Oblique Aerial Photograph, NMR 27056/029 29-JUN-2011 (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN111738.

<5> Environment Agency, LIDAR Composite DTM - 1m, LIDAR SP 9863-9864, 9964 Environment Agency 1m DTM 04-JUL-2006–03-AUG-2017 (Digital Plots). SNN111710.

<6> Vertical Aerial Photograph, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery SP 9664, 9763-9764, 9863-9864 12-JUN-2018 (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN112695.

<7> Environment Agency, LIDAR Composite DTM - 1m, LIDAR SP9965/SP9966 Environment Agency 1M DTM 01 Oct 2014 - 31 May 2017 (Digital Plots). SNN111710.

<8> Royal Air Force, Vertical Aerial Photography, RAF/540/474 RS 4019 22-APR-1951 (Photographs). SNN104890.

Record last edited

Feb 4 2025 8:32PM