Strip lynchets immediately south west of Woodcombe Cleve

Reasons for Designation

Strip lynchets provide distinctive indications of medieval cultivation. They occur widely in southern and eastern England, and are prominent features of the Wessex chalkland. Each lynchet or terrace has two components, consisting of a scarp or `riser' and flat strip or `tread'. The strip lynchets immediately south west of Woodcombe Cleve are a well defined and extensive set. They provide an important insight into local use of land during the medieval period and will contain both archaeological and environmental remains, providing information about the age of the lynchets and the landscape in which they were constructed.

Details

The monument includes a flight of eight medieval strip lynchets immediately south west of Woodcombe Cleve. They are cut into a steep north west facing chalk scarp to the south of the village of Sutton Veny. The lynchets comprise two elements; the steep `risers' or scarps cut into the hillside and the `treads', flat areas created for cultivation. The four lowest lynchets stretch around the base of the slope for a length of 340m. They have risers up to 3.8m high and treads 6m wide. To the east they end at a fenceline west of Woodcombe Cleve bungalow. Beyond this they have been levelled during the construction of the bungalow and are not included in the scheduling. There is a break near the middle point of the lower lynchets where a hollow has been dug into the hillside, probably to accommodate a small building. Higher up the slope where the gradient is more gentle, the treads are consequently larger, up to 30m wide with risers up to 3m high. Here the upper four lynchets are up to 260m long rising gently westward from Hill Road to the east and converging to a point at the top of the slope to the south west. Fragments of medieval pottery have been found at the eastern end of the upper lynchet. All fenceposts 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:

33527

Legacy System:

RSM

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.