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Summary

Traces of ridge and furrow visible within relict field boundaries which survive as low earthen banks, on the southern part of Woodbury Common.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Earthwork mound of prehistoric barrow or 19th century landscaping feature at Yettington Intakes

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SY08NW/58

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• FIELD SYSTEM (Unknown date)

Full description

Vancouver, C., 1808, General View of the Agriculture of the County of Devon, 96, 293 (Monograph). SDV294343.

Brighouse, U. W., 1981, Woodbury: A View from the Beacon, 251, 126 (Monograph). SDV129476.

Griffiths, D. M., 1982, Field System (Worksheet). SDV341791.

Visited on 21/01/1982. Field boundaries (some of which are shown on Ordnance Survey 6 inch maps) occur on the south part of Woodbury Common, surviving as low (0.5 metre to 1 metre) earthen banks. Within these fields, where vegetation is low, or has been burnt off, are traces of ridge and furrow. Part of the system has been quarried away by Blackhill Quarry and obscured by later plantations. Unlikely to be medieval or earlier, although there is some evidence for occasional medieval use of Woodbury for outfield cultivation, in areas of 10 acres of land at a time. In the late 18th and 19th century, Lord Rolle was interested in reclaiming the common. Not marked on Ordnance Survey drawings of 1801 in the Westcountry Studies Library, nor on the Tithe Map. Other details: Plan.

Map object also based on this source.

Conservation Section, 1982, Field System on Woodbury Common (Ground Photograph). SDV341794.

Photograph taken at SY03378529 approximately. Other details: 531/19.

Exeter Archaeology, 1999, Archaeological Assessment of Thorn Tree Plantation, near Blackhill Quarry, Woodbury, 5 (Report - Assessment). SDV336320.

Relict field boundaries survive as low earthen banks, with some traces of ridge and furrow still discernible. Some documentary evidence exists for occasional use of Woodbury Common for outfield cultivation from the medieval period upto the Napoleonic Wars. Other details: Site 13.

Exeter Archaeology, 2003, East Devon Heathlands Archaeological Survey, 8, Part 1; 72, Part 2: Gazetteer, Site No. 578 (Report - Survey). SDV101648.

In 1982 the SMR recorded that relict field boundaries survive in the south part of Woodbury Common as low earthen banks, 0.5 metre – 1 metre high. Traces of ridge and furrow was discernible in some areas. Some of the banks had been quarried away by Blackhill Quarry; others are obscured by a plantation at grid reference SY 031 860. A mound 1.5 metres high, situated opposite a gap in a field bank was recorded at grid reference SY 0341 8517. A spread of stones and a slightly raised area crossing the track was recorded at grid reference SY 0329 8514. There is medieval documentary evidence for the occasional use of Woodbury Common for outfield cultivation, the practice of which continued into the 18th-century. Cultivation ceased after the Napoleonic wars.

During the field survey some banks were noted in this general area, some of which appear as odd isolated features on the modern Ordnance Survey map (i.e. site 142) and others which are not shown on current or early Ordnance Survey maps (i.e. site 145). Much of the ground is under dense gorse and heather, patches of which are impenetrable. No ridge and furrow was noted in this particular area.

Exeter Archaeology, 2003, East Devon Heathlands Archaeological Survey, Site No. 578 (Archive - Survey). SDV358490.

Exeter Archaeology, 2003, East Devon Heathlands Archaeological Survey, Site No. 578 (Report - Survey). SDV359019.

Exeter Archaeology, 2003-2004, East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Archaeological Survey, Site No. 2646 (Archive - Survey). SDV351568.

See description in East Devon Heathlands Archaeological Survey 8, Part 1; 72, Part 2: Gazetteer, Site No. 578 - SDV101648.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4422 - Archaeological Assessment of Thorn Tree Plantation near Blackhill Quarry, Woodbury

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