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Summary

Post medieval features visible as earthworks in aerial photographs crossing the designed landscape; also the line of a historic parish boundary

Other Statuses and Cross-References

• National Monuments Record No.: SU 66 NE 63
  SU6706365581
• Pastscape Mon No or Hob UID: 1601642
  SU6706365581

Monument Type(s):

• PARISH BOUNDARY (Medieval to Cold War - 1066 AD? to 1970 AD?)
• PATH (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• TRACKWAY (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Full Description

The Silchester Iron Age Environs mapping project <1> recorded post medieval paths and trackways visible as earthworks on aerial photographs of the 1950s <2> to the south-west of St Benedict's School. This was the institution which used the mansion of Wokefield Park in the mid 20th century. It was suggested that these earthworks were garden features associated with the 18th and 19th century house.

A north-west, south-east oriented dotted line is shown on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1872 <3> joining areas of decorative tree planting to the south-west of the house. The Silchester Iron Age Environs project <1> interpreted this as a path or routeway but in fact it is labelled on the map as 'C Tk F', likely to be an abbreviation for Centre (of) Track of Fence. Later OS editions <4> clearly show that this was part of a longer administrative boundary, once sub-dividing the pre-1850 parts of Stratfield Mortimer parish between Wokefield tithing to the northeast and the rest of Stratfield Mortimer to the southwest <5>. There are also different land-uses either side of the line in the 19th century <3>, with the trees of the parkland on the north-east side but a field (numbered as 223) on the southeast side. By the later 20th century it seems likely both sides were used as a field <6><7>.

Two trackways running off both to the east and northwest of the path or boundary were also recorded from the aerial photographs <2>, measuring 60 m and 150 m in length, respectively. LiDAR imagery in the 21st century <8> indicates an informal path runs diagonally across the field, though not completely aligned with the recorded earthworks.

Sources and further reading

Related Monuments

Associated Excavations and Fieldwork

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