Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

A bank and four shallow circular mounds are visible as earthworks on 1940s aerial photography. The bank lies immediately south of a saltmound and follows a sinuous course, roughly parallel to the Stour, for c. 380m and is visible in two sections. It may be related to the control of water to the saltern or flood banking associated with the reclamation of land from marsh in the Wantsum Channel. The mounds are interpreted as hay stack stances. The features appear to have been subsequently plough-levelled as recent aerial photography does not show earthworks in this area

Monument Types

• BANK (EARTHWORK) (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
• STACK STAND (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)

Full description

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A bank and four shallow circular mounds are visible as earthworks on 1940s RAF vertical aerial photography [1].

The bank follows a sinuous course, aligned roughly WNW-ESE, for c. 380m. It is visible in two sections as it is bisected by a drain belonging to the current field system. The bank runs roughly parallel to the Stour and immediately south of a saltmound (TR 26 SE 4). It is likely to be medieval in date and may be related to the control of water to the saltern or be derived from flood banking associated with the reclamation of land from marsh in the Wantsum Channel. This feature was not visible on the Ordnance Survey 1877 edition [2].

The mounds lie between the bank and the Stour; a mound lies immediately north of the ends of the western section of the bank, whilst the other two have similar locations relative to the eastern section of the bank. Each mound measures c.5-6m in diameter. They are interpreted as hay stack stances, mounds for the drying and storage of hay in the damp environment of a riverside meadow. Similar features have been recorded across the floor of the Stour Valley between Upstreet and the coast and this part of the valley has a particularly dense concentration. They appear to represent an integral part of the medieval or post-medieval farming landscape in this area.

The features appear to have been subsequently plough-levelled as recent aerial photography does not show earthworks in this area [3].

A transcription of the features recorded from aerial photography exists within a GIS layer held by this HER [4].

<2> Ordnance Survey, 1858-73, Ordnance Survey 1:2500 1st Edition : 1872-1897, 1877/1:2500 (Map). SWX11831.

<3> Google Earth (Graphic material). SWX15704.

<4> Wessex Archaeology, 2009-10, South-East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey - Aerial Photographic Transcriptions (Digital archive). SWX15705.

<4> Wessex Archaeology, 2011, South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey - (SE RCZAS) Phase 1: National Mapping Programme Report (Unpublished document). SKE25955.

<4> Cornwall Council Historic Environment Projects and Gloucestershire County Council, 2011, South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Components 1&2: Results of NMP Mapping (Unpublished document). SKE25954.

Sources and further reading

Related records