Medieval strip lynchets 370m south of Greater Lane Farm

Reasons for Designation

Strip lynchets provide distinctive indications of medieval cultivation, representing a means to increase the land available for cultivation by the construction of terraces on steep slopes. The fields thus formed were used as a part of the strip tenurial system of medieval land division. They occur widely in southern and south eastern England, and are prominent features on the Wessex chalkland. Each lynchet or terrace has two components, consisting of a scarp or riser and flat strip or tread. They can be up to 600m in length, and whilst many systems include only two or three lynchets, some have five, six or more. The strip lynchets 370m south east of Greater Lane Farm are a particularly well preserved set providing an insight into medieval farming practice in this area. Due to their prominent position at the top of the scarp they are a significant landmark in the local landscape.

Details

The monument includes the unploughed portion of a flight of medieval strip lynchets situated on the crest of the north west facing scarp of Picquet Hill. The hill is a promontory of Upper Chalk on the northern edge of Salisbury Plain above the village of Edington which commands impressive views across the clay vale of West Wiltshire. The five lynchets within this scheduling are orientated from south west to north east running for a total length of 400m. The risers or scarps are up to 5.8m high while the treads are between 4m and 11m wide. The upper lynchet is the shortest, being extant for a length of 75m before crossing a fenceline beyond which it has been ploughed. Here it is visible only as a soilmark and is not included in the scheduling. The lynchets follow the contours of the slope apart from the lower two which curve down the slope to the south west. This is interpreted as a means of accessing the fields. This set of lynchets is one of a series along this section of the scarp, some of which are the subject of separate schedulings. These lynchets are shown as individual plots on an 1841 tythe map of Edington. All fence posts and cattle troughs are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

33521

Legacy System:

RSM

End of official list entry

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