See important guidance on the use of this record.

If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.

Summary

Possible earthworks south of Pickwell visible on images derived from Lidar data captured in 2007 may be the remains of medieval strip fields or settlement, though caution must be exercised as they are not visible on other available aerial photographs.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• FIELD SYSTEM (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Full description

Morris, J., 1985, Domesday Book: Devon (Part Two), 3, 39 (Monograph). SDV249.

Details for Pickwell include: Ulf held it before 1066. Land for 5 ploughs. In lordship 1 plough and 1/2 virgate, with 1 slave; 4 villagers and 5 smallholders; Meadow 12 acres, pasture 100 acres, 13 pigs.

Environment Agency, 2007, LiDAR data JPEG image (1 metre resolution), LIDAR SS4540NE Environment Agency D0079039 01-APR-2007 (Cartographic). SDV350317.

Numerous possible curvilinear earthworks are visible.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S., 2011-2012, North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV349018.

Images derived from Lidar data captured in 2007 appear to show numerous slight undulations in the ground surface within this pasture field. Most do not form a coherent pattern and are likely to be the negative earthworks of natural drainage features, modern trackways or perhaps areas of denser vegetation due to modern agricultural operations. However, some appear more substantial and coherent, including five possible curvilinear field boundary banks and what appears to be a curvilinear trackway either eroded in the centre or banked at either side. The curvilinear banks are parallel and spaced at intervals of 22 to 45 metres, the individual banks between 3 and 5 metres wide, and consistent with an interpretation as medieval strip fields, although caution must be exercised as these possible features are only discernable on the Lidar images. The possible raised trackway terminates to the south at an agricultural building, and may be a modern feature associated with access to this structure from Pickwell Barton. However there has been a manorhouse at Pickwell since at least the Tudor period (MDV11905), and it is possible that adjacent fields had been landscaped in the post-medieval period. Pickwell is recorded in the Domesday book, with 4 villagers and 5 smallholders, and the possible earthworks could be the remains of medieval cultivation or early even settlement here. The possible earthworks are slight and further work is necessary to establish their origin; a site visit would be useful in the first instance to discuss the effects of recent management of the field. Further survey, such as the manipulation of the raw Lidar data or geophysics, could then be a suitable next step if there was still doubt over the character of the possible features.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV249	Monograph: Morris, J.. 1985. Domesday Book: Devon (Part Two). Domesday Book: Devon (Part Two). 9. A5 Hardback. 3, 39.
SDV349018	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S.. 2011-2012. North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. ACD383/2/1. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV350317	Cartographic: Environment Agency. 2007. LiDAR data JPEG image (1 metre resolution). Environment Agency LiDAR data. Digital. LIDAR SS4540NE Environment Agency D0079039 01-APR-2007. [Mapped feature: #62801 ]

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6132 - North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty NMP Project (Ref: ACD383/2/1)

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.