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Summary

A possible relict field system is visible as curvilinear earthwork banks on images derived from lidar data captured between 1998 and 2021. The boundaries might be medieval or post-medieval in date but could have earlier origins.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• FIELD SYSTEM (Early Bronze Age to Late Medieval - 2200 BC? (Between) to 1539 AD? (Between))
• (Former Type) FIELD BOUNDARY (Early Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1750 AD)

Full description

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

No field boundary is depicted in this exact location.

Environment Agency, 1998-2014, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution), LIDAR ST2801 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 30-SEP-2014 (Cartographic). SDV359177.

A curvilinear earthwork bank is indistinctly visible.

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

A curvilinear earthwork bank, up to 9 metres in width, is indistinctly visible on images derived from lidar data captured between 1998 and 2014. It manifests in a similar way to a relict field boundary depicted on the Tithe map circa 130 metres to the east in an area characterised as post-medieval enclosures based on medieval strip fields. It is therefore tentatively interpreted as the remains of a medieval or post-medieval boundary bank that went out of use prior to the mid-19th century.

Environment Agency, 2021, University of Exeter Understanding Landscapes Project - Lidar visualisation (Cartographic). SDV366001.

Curvilinear banks are visible as earthworks.

Hegarty, C., 2025, Comment on Unlocking Landscapes project and related lidar and aerial photograph interpretations (Interpretation). SDV366411.

Curvilinear banks are visible as earthworks on images derived from lidar data captured in 2021, defining a possible relict field system. The banks appear to enclose irregularly shaped plots extending over approximately 16 hectares of the east-facing slopes below Castle Cross. A possible curvilinear enclosure centred on circa ST 29016 02001 may comprise the easternmost part of this field system. The field system incorporates the bank previously recorded as potentially medieval or post-medieval in date, but the irregular morphology might support an earlier, possibly prehistoric origin.

Horner, B., 2025, Lidar interpretation (Personal Comment). SDV366415.

Relic field boundaries in fields south and east of Castle Cross, Membury.

Sources / Further Reading

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 ST2801 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 30-SEP-2014.
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
SDV366001	Cartographic: Environment Agency. 2021. University of Exeter Understanding Landscapes Project - Lidar visualisation. Environment Agency LiDAR data. Digital. [Mapped feature: #143782 ]
SDV366411	Interpretation: Hegarty, C.. 2025. Comment on Unlocking Landscapes project and related lidar and aerial photograph interpretations. Not Applicable.
SDV366415	Personal Comment: Horner, B.. 2025. Lidar interpretation. Not Applicable.

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)

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