Linear earthwork S of village
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Scheduled Monument
- List Entry Number:
- 1002262
- Date first listed:
- 14-Jul-1966
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Scheduled Monument
- List Entry Number:
- 1002262
- Date first listed:
- 14-Jul-1966
Location
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- East Sussex
- District:
- Lewes (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Falmer
- National Park:
- South Downs
- National Grid Reference:
- TQ3584807520
Summary
Linear Earthwork on Falmer’s Hill, 1.1km SSE of Court Farmhouse.
Reasons for Designation
The linear earthwork on Falmer’s Hill, 1.1km SSE of Court Farmhouse survives well and will contain archaeological and environmental information relating to its construction and function. Despite the uncertainty concerning its identification it is clear that this earthwork is unusual in form and of substantial construction and for this reason must be considered as of importance. The presence of a stock enclosure, cross dykes and round barrow cemeteries in the vicinity, which form separate scheduled monuments, enhance its significance.
History
See Details.
Details
This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 31 July 2014. The record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.
The monument includes a linear earthwork situated on a north-east chalk downland slope between Falmer’s Hill and Loose Bottom in the South Downs, east of Brighton. The earthwork is denoted by a linear bank and ditch about 860m in length. The bank is up to 1m high and the ditch is up to 1.5m deep and 2.7m wide. It follows a straight course for nearly 400m from Falmer Road towards the south-east before curving to the north-east. It then runs for about 370m before turning north-west and continuing for a distance of about 80m. A section of the earthwork to the north has been destroyed during the widening of Falmer Road. The function and origin of the earthwork is unknown. The area of Loose Bottom is shown as a ‘Big Gun Range’, ‘practice ground of the 1st Sussex Volunteer Artillery’ on the 1873 Sussex OS Map (1:2500) with a gun platform and flag staff nearby. The earthwork is marked as an ‘Ancient Valley Entrenchment’ with a sheepfold close by on the 1911 Sussex OS Map (1:2500). It is recorded in one documentary source as of medieval origin, with evidence of a building nearby, and may have been used for corralling stock.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- ES 254
- Legacy System:
- RSM - OCN
Sources
Other
NMR TQ30NE74. PastScape 973823. ,
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 28-Jun-2026 at 16:19:14.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.