More information : (SK 01503040) Chartley Park (NAT) (1)
(Centered SK 01503020) Boundary of Chartley Park shown. (2)
Chartley Park, c.900 acres, 300 deer. Little is known of its early history. The herd of wild cattle date from the time of Henry III. (3)
The medieval boundary of Chartley Park can be traced for about 3 1/2 miles.
'A-B'. Disused double-lynchet way 5m wide probably follows the line of the park pale.
'B-C'. Broad hedge bank intermittently alongside road.
'C-D'. Ploughed down bank with old trees and former parish boundary on line.
'D-E'. Park pale in fairly good condition continuously for 2 1/2 miles, consisting of a bank and ditch.
'E-F'. Ditch considerably enlarged by serving as a stream bed: followed by parish boundary. Traces of bank only visible.
Beyond 'F' there is no trace of a park pale. The wild cattle were transferred to Woburn about 40 years ago. (4)
From 'B-C' the old hedge bank has been destroyed by road widening.
There is no trace between C and SK 0245 2941.
From this point to a recently constructed farm road at c SK 02592986 the boundary of the park follows a ploughed down hedgebank with a maximum height of 0.4m internally and 1.1m externally and 4.0m wide. There are traces of a ditch averaging 0.3m deep. From the farm road to the corner of Hand Leasow Wood it is visible only as a slight scoop across a ploughed field.
From here to 'E' the boundary is defined by a ditch 4.0 to 5.0m wide and generally 0.6m deep except where it has been recently re-cut for drainage. Only a few short stretches of the bank remain with a maximum height of 0.5m and an overall width of 3.5m. (5)
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