Monument record 3254 - Possible Romano-British Settlement, north of West Wood

A complex of variously sized and shaped Iron Age and/or Roman ditched enclosures, boundary ditches and trackways is visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs. Located in fields north of West Wood, the settlement cropmarks extend over an area about 790 metres SW-NE and 591 metres SE-NW. The main settlement focus appears to be a linear ditch that extends 670 metres SW-NE from which at least fourteen ditched enclosures of varying sizes that extend to the SE facing side, being either rectilinear, subrectangular, oval, and subcircular. To the NW facing side of the linear boundary ditch is attached a D-shaped ditched enclosure, adjacent to which is a rectilinear enclosure. Cutting across the SW end of the settlement cropmarks is a curvilinear double-ditched trackway, which extends for about 356 metres. To the south is a subrectangular ditched enclosure. Other linear and curvilinear ditches are also visible. The south-western part of the settlement cropmarks were identified during the Northamptonshire NMP project and further cropmarks were identified during the Bedford Borough NMP project. The cropmarks were interpreted as medieval/post-medieval in date by the bedford Borough NMP project.

{1-4} A complex of medieval and/or post-medieval irregular ditched enclosures, boundary ditches and trackways is visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs and was mapped as part of the Bedford Borough NMP project. Located in fields north of West Wood and centred at SP 99367 63595, the settlement cropmarks extend over an area about 790 metres SW-NE and 591 metres SE-NW. The main settlement focus appears to be a linear ditch that extends 670 metres SW-NE from which at least fourteen ditched enclosures of varying sizes that extend to the SE facing side, being either rectilinear, subrectangular, oval, and subcircular. To the NW facing side of the linear boundary ditch is attached a D-shaped ditched enclosure, adjacent to which is a rectilinear enclosure. Cutting across the SW end of the settlement cropmarks is a curvilinear double-ditched trackway, each ditch about 1.6 metres wide that are spaced between 10 and 14 metres apart, which extends for about 356 metres. A further part of the same double-ditched trackway may be about 135 metres to the ENE, spaced about 24 metres apart and extending about 126 metres. To the south and centred at SP 99203 63192 is a subrectangular ditched enclosure about 3.25 metres wide, which encloses about 24.5 by 17.5 metres. Other linear and curvilinear ditches are also visible.

<1> Bedford Borough Council HER, 1996, Georeferenced composite layer of vertical aerial photographs taken in 1996. Held by Bedford Borough Council HER (Archive). SNN111739.

<2> Oblique Aerial Photograph, NHC 16676/13 29-JUL-1996 (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN111738.

<3> Oblique Aerial Photograph, NMR 26079/06 24-JUL-2008 (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN111738.

<4> Oblique Aerial Photograph, NMR 27155/035 11-JUL-2011 (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN111738.

<5> Bedford Borough Council HER, Undated, Bedford Borough NMP (Archive). SNN113023.

Record last edited

Feb 7 2025 2:37PM