Reasons for Designation
Woodland has been managed since at least the fourth millennium BC in order to
produce timber and smaller wood for fencing, wattlework and fuel, including
charcoal. However, it is only for more recent periods that evidence for
woodland management survives in the woods themselves, generally in the form of
wood boundaries and features relating to woodland crafts.
Woods which are more than 100 years old often have some form of earthwork
boundary: ancient wood boundaries (pre AD 1700) are either sinuous or zig-
zagged; straight edged woods with slighter earthworks usually indicate a wood
boundary of later than AD 1700. Such boundary earthworks are usually in the
form of a wood bank with an outer ditch. This was traditionally set with a
hedge (to keep out livestock) and pollarded trees (to define the legal
boundary). The total width of the earthwork is usually between 6m and 12m.
Within the wood may be dividing banks and features relating to woodland
crafts, such as charcoal burners' huts and hearths, saw-pits for cutting
timber and roads and trackways providing access. The easy availability of
wood-based fuel often resulted in fuel-hungry industries such as ironworks,
limekilns, potteries, tileries and brickworks being sited within woods.
Quarries are often also located in woodland in order to minimise the loss of
more productive agricultural land elsewhere.
Varying in area from only a few hectares to several hundreds of hectares,
medieval woodlands were usually managed by the control of young trees
(underwood), which were periodically cut at ground level (coppiced) and
allowed to regrow from the bole or by suckering to produce poles. Standing
amongst the underwood were larger trees (standards), often oaks, which were
allowed to grow to maturity. Contemporary documentary sources such as
charters, maps, land surveys and estate accounts can confirm the age and past
management of some woodland.
During the post medieval period forestry plantations were introduced with an
increasing tendency to plant high forest using one or two species, and by the
end of the 19th century coppicing had fallen into decline with the loss of its
ancient markets, especially after the widespread introduction of coal for
household use and manufacturing. Since 1945 there has been a dramatic increase
in the destruction of old woodlands due to increased competition for land.
Although they are distributed throughout England, the highest densities of old
coppiced woodland survive in the south east, in Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and
Kent.
Details
The monument, which falls into four areas, includes a medieval woodland
boundary in Darenth Wood, situated on the south eastern side of the modern
town of Dartford. The irregularly-shaped, sinuous boundary survives in
earthwork form and encloses a wood of around 35.5ha, managed during the
medieval period and later as coppice with oak standards. The boundary has a
total width of up to 12m, with a rounded bank surviving to a height of up to
0.5m, flanked along most of its length by an outer ditch up to 0.5m deep. The
coppice has a smaller annexe to the south east shown by part excavation to
have been constructed at a slightly later date than the main enclosure. To the
north, slight traces indicate the former existence of a further annexe,
destroyed by the construction of the A296 road in 1921. Several small gaps in
the enclosure earthworks have been interpreted as representing original
entrances into the wood, although the boundary has also been partly damaged in
places by the construction of a modern road, by footpaths, vandalism and
tipping.
The woodland boundary was partly excavated in 1964 when its age was indicated
by pottery sherds discovered within the bank dating to the period AD 1200-
1250. At this time the manor of Darenth was held by the See of Canterbury.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
27012
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals Other
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.
End of official list entry
