Lynchets S of Stavordale Wood
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Scheduled Monument
- List Entry Number:
- 1002823
- Date first listed:
- 19-Dec-1958
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Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Scheduled Monument
- List Entry Number:
- 1002823
- Date first listed:
- 19-Dec-1958
Location
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Dorset (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Abbotsbury
- National Grid Reference:
- SY 56422 84584
Summary
Part of a medieval field system 750m south-west of West Farm.
Reasons for Designation
The distinctive medieval strips fields were produced by areas of unploughed land being left between allotments and the shape was determined by the action of ploughing which always turned the soil to the right and thus produced an undulating S-shape. The size of the strips was roughly an acre (0.405ha) which represented a day's work with a plough and the length was determined by the distance an ox team could plough before needing a rest, a furlong (201.2m). Along particularly steep slopes this medieval cultivation techniques produced distinctive strips separated by often steep scarp slopes called lynchets ultimately producing more level cultivation terraces. The part of the medieval field system 750m south west of West Farm survives well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating t its construction, development, social organisation, agricultural practices and cultivation techniques and overall landscape context.
History
See Details.
Details
This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 13 January 2016. This 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.
This monument includes part of a medieval field system situated on the steep south facing slopes of a coastal ridge overlooking Cowards Lake and the sea at the northern end of Chesil Beach. The part of the field system survives as an extensive series of parallel and narrow lynchets which follow the contours of the hillside. The lynchets measure up to 3m high and the cultivation terraces created behind these vary in width from 6m up to 25m wide.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- DO 383
- Legacy System:
- RSM - OCN
Sources
Other
PastScape Monument No:-450555
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 10-Jun-2026 at 20:06:58.
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.