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Summary

Possible former field boundaries potentially of medieval origin were visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s onwards and digital images derived from lidar data as low, curvilinear and linear earthwork banks on the east facing slopes of the Corry Brook combe, to the north-east of Higher Corry Farm, Stockland.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• FIELD BOUNDARY (Early Medieval to XIX - 1066 AD to 1840 AD)

Full description

Devon County Council, 1838-1848, Tithe Mosaic, approximately 1838-1848 (Cartographic). SDV349431.

The earthworks do not correspond with any depicted field boundaries.

Environment Agency, 1998-2014, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution), LIDAR ST2401 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 30-SEP-2014 (Cartographic). SDV359177.

Turner, S.C., 2005 - 2006, Devon Historic Landscape Characterisation Mapping (Cartographic). SDV349122.

These relatively large, regular enclosures seem likely to have been laid out between C15th-C18th. Some curving boundaries may be following earlier divisions in the pre-existing medieval fields.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2016-2018, The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV359463.

Possible former field boundaries potentially of medieval origin were visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s onwards and digital images derived from lidar data as low, curvilinear and linear earthwork banks and flanking ditches on the east facing slopes of the Corry Brook combe, to the north-east of Higher Corry Farm, Stockland.
The earthworks do not correspond with any boundaries depicted on the Tithe Map for Stockland but appear to be aligned on elements the of extant field boundaries as shown on the historic maps, a field pattern that had been characterised by HLC as Barton Fields, a post medieval enclosure type that may be based on earlier enclosure. The relict banks are therefore interpreted as being former field boundaries of probable medieval origin that had been removed prior to circa 1840.
The former boundaries abut and probably overly and cut the earthworks of an earlier enclosure in the same field, recorded separately.

Smart, C., 2017, Higher Corrie Farm, Dalwood, East Devon: Geophysical Survey (Report - Geophysical Survey). SDV361121.

This report presents the results of geophysical survey (magnetometer) of land at Higher Corrie Farm, Dalwood, East Devon. The site comprises an irregular-shaped field northwest of the main farm complex. The purpose of the survey was to define the extent, nature and significance of any sub-surface archaeological remains whether corresponding to the recognised earthworks or not. The possibility of the site being once occupied by a Roman camp would have provided significant new evidence for the character of military movement through the south west of Britain in the middle decades of the first century AD. Unfortunately, there is little within the results of the survey to support this suggestion. Instead, the results suggest that the earthworks are related to the site of Higher Corry, which was deserted in the second half of the nineteenth century.

Parallel segments of weak positive and negative linear anomalies arcing
northwest to southeast on the western edge of the survey area (E) are likely to represent a former field boundary, although this boundary does not appear on any of the historic mapping consulted and must therefore predate the tithe map of 1845. It is worth noting that the pattern of earthworks suggests that this former boundary cuts through the rectangular enclosure and therefore probably post-dates it. There are other former field boundaries known either from the modelled LiDAR data and aerial photograph transcription, or historic mapping, which have left no magnetic trace. For example, the subdivision on the southern side of the field shown on the 1845 tithe map is invisible within this survey; either the boundary was ephemeral and had no ditch or there is insufficient magnetic distinction between its fill and the surrounding geology.

These lost boundaries, and those mapped by the ‘name’ NMP in adjacent areas, have the potential to inform us about the changing pattern of enclosure during the medieval period. As such, the buried and relict remains of the historic field system should be regarded as a valuable archaeological asset.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV349122	Cartographic: Turner, S.C.. 2005 - 2006. Devon Historic Landscape Characterisation Mapping. Digital.
SDV349431	Cartographic: Devon County Council. 1838-1848. Tithe Mosaic, approximately 1838-1848. Digitised Tithe Map. Digital.
SDV359177	Cartographic: Environment Agency. 1998-2014. LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution). Environment Agency LiDAR data. Digital. LIDAR ST2401 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 30-SEP-2014. [Mapped feature: #74788 ]
SDV359463	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R.. 2016-2018. The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project. Historic England Research Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:2
SDV361121	Report - Geophysical Survey: Smart, C.. 2017. Higher Corrie Farm, Dalwood, East Devon: Geophysical Survey. University of Exeter. Digital.
	Linked documents:1

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7508 - The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme (NMP) project (Ref: ACD1228)
• EDV7535 - Geophysical Survey: Higher Corrie Farm, Dalwood, East Devon

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