Walldown enclosures

Reasons for Designation

English Civil War fieldworks are earthworks which were raised during military operations between 1642 and 1645 to provide temporary protection for infantry or to act as gun emplacements. The earthworks, which may have been reinforced with revetting and palisades, consisted of banks and interconnected trenches. Given the generally transitory nature of warfare during this period, limited time and resources meant that existing features were often enhanced or adapted for offensive or defensive purposes. Purpose-built and adapted fieldworks are recorded widely throughout England with concentrations in the main areas of campaigning. There are some 150 surviving examples of fieldworks recorded nationally. All examples which survive well are identified as nationally important.

Walldown enclosure is a good example of an existing earthwork adapted for military usage in the post-medieval period. It survives well and will retain archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to its initial construction, subsequent reuse and the landscape in which it developed.

Details

The monument includes the remains of two enclosures on Walldown, the later of which is banked and ditched and was used during the Civil War as a fieldwork. The enclosures are situated on the north eastern edge of a sandy ridge with good views to the north and east.

The earliest of the two enclosures was oval in plan and subsequently became partially overlain by a series of banks and ditches defining a polygonal area. Although disturbed, traces of the earlier enclosure are visible as short lengths of curvilinear banks and ditches. The later polygonal enclosure is much more clearly defined and consists of banks up to 2m in height, 4m in width and between 40m and 50m in length. On all but the eastern side of the enclosure the banks have an external ditch up to 1.5m in depth and there are also the remains of a counterscarp bank to the north east. A break in the south eastern bank and a corresponding causeway across the ditch both appear to be original and probably represent the entrance. A circular mound set against the eastern side of the enclosures is thought to be a viewing platform related to the recreational use of the area from the 19th century onwards, although it could be an earlier feature adapted for this purpose.

The substantial scale of the polygonal enclosure suggests that it was constructed for defence, whilst its shape indicates that it was intended to be used in conjunction with firearms. Documentary sources show that there was a considerable amount of military activity in the area during the Civil War, particularly in 1643 when a Parliamentarian garrision was established at Farnham. In response the Royalists are believed to have constructed a series of small defensive works on a line south east from Bentley. Given its form and situation the polygonal enclosure could belong to this period and if so would have functioned as a lookout. In addition, a document dated to 1789 mentions Waldon-lodge, a structure of oak bowers and brushwood situated on one of the `eminent prominences of the forest' which was renewed annually on the feast of St Barnabas and which might be an early reference to the monument.

All fence posts, benches, sign boards and the surfaces of all pathways 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. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

30287

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
White, G, The Natural History of Selborne, (1789), p.21
Corney, M, Walldown, Bordon, Hants, (1987)
Lyne, M, Proc of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society in Civil War Earthworks East of Alton, Vol. Vol 46, (1990), p.181-4

Other
Title: Ordnance Survey 6" Series Source Date: 1874 Author: Publisher: Surveyor:
Title: Ordnance Survey 26" Series Source Date: 1937 Author: Publisher: Surveyor:
Hampshire County Council, SU 73 SE 6,
Hopkins, D., Letter from David Hopkins to John Schofield, (1998)
Schofield, A.J., Letter from John Schofield to Andrew Saunders, (1998)
Graham, D., Letter from David Graham to Vince Holyoak, (1999)
Corney, M., Letter from Mark Corney to Mike Hughes, (1987)
Saunders, A.D., Letter from Andrew Saunders to John Schofield, (1998)

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