Monument record 6939/0/10 - Medieval Plough Headland

Probable enclosure bank of uncertain date, but maybe contemporary with ridge and furrow with which it appears to be associated, seen on air photographs dated 1947.

{1} A few interlocked furlongs also survive in the south-west of the parish near Weedon Lodge (SP607575).

{2} Cropmarks of a ploughed-out double headland are visible on aerial photos. NCCAP:SP6057/001-4.

{3} Cropmark visible on air photo as a straight double ditch seen at SP 6073 5762 by R Hollowell 196?.

{4} Straight parallel ditches on air photograph by R Hollowell. Field inspection by WRG Moore shows ridge visible on the ground January 1970 c 30 yards wide and 2 feet high. No stone visible on surface although ploughed.

{6} Ridge maximum height 0.2m crossing ploughland. No soil change or evidence of antiquity seen. Probably an enclosure bank.

Mr Hollowell has no record of this site but said it may have been one of his very early discoveries, the photograph of which was held by Northampton Museum but is now lost.

Recent air photographs (in NMR) seem to show a ditched trackway (SP 6074 5774 - SP 6094 5725). However on vertical air photographs taken in 1947 a headland between two end-on furlongs on ridge-and-furrow can still be seen intact.

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1981, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.195 (checked) (Series). SNN77381.

<2> Ordnance Survey, 1950s/1960s, Ordnance Survey Record Cards, SP65NW13 (checked) (Index). SNN443.

<3> Northampton Museum 6 Inch Map, (unchecked) (Map). SNN10162.

<4> Brown, A E (ed), 1971, Bulletin of the Northamptonshire Federation of Archaeological Societies, p. 45 (Journal). SNN13960.

<5> Hollowell, R., Robert Hollowell's Aerial Photographic Archive, SP608576 (Photographic prints (B&W)). SNN110835.

<6> Seaman, B H, 1970, Field Investigator's Comments, F1 BHS 02-FEB-70 (Notes). SNN111541.

<7> Royal Air Force, Vertical Aerial Photography, (RAF CPE/UK/1994 4166-7) (Photographs). SNN104890.

Record last edited

Sep 27 2024 11:11AM