Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Two probable enclosures a two circular mounds are visible as earthworks on 1940s RAF vertical aerial photographs. These features are thought to be agricultural in origin and are likely to be of medieval or post-medieval date, at least one of the mounds is likely to be a hay stack stance. The features appear to have been plough-levelled as no earthworks are visible at this location on recent aerial photography.

Monument Types

• BANK (EARTHWORK) (Unknown date)
• ENCLOSURE (Unknown date)
• MOUND (Unknown date)
• STACK STAND (Unknown date)

Full description

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Two probable enclosures a two circular mounds are visible as earthworks on 1940s RAF vertical aerial photographs [1].

The larger of the two probable enclosures is defined by a c.12m wide bank which runs for c.100m SE-NW then turns through a right-angle and runs for a further c.120m. The other sides of the probable enclosure may be formed by field boundaries shown on historic Ordnance Survey mapping [2]. The other probable enclosure lies c.30m south of the larger feature and is also rectilinear in plan. It consists of a single bank, c.2m wide, forming three sides of an enclosure, each side is c.6m long, the fourth side is formed by a field drain. These features are thought to be agricultural in origin and are likely to be of medieval or post-medieval date.

The mounds lie to the west of the small enclosure, the larger measures c.15m in diameter whilst the smaller measures c.6m in diameter. The smaller mound is interpreted as a hay stack stance, a mound 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 in the Sandwich area, see Related Monuments. They appear to represent an integral part of the medieval or post-medieval farming landscape in this area. It is possible that the larger mound is also a hay stack stance but it seems rather large when compared to those found in adjacent parts of the county.

The features appear to have been plough-levelled as no earthworks are visible at this location on recent aerial photography [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 (Map). SWX11831.

<3> Next Perspectives consortium via English Heritage, 2003, 2007, Next Perspective PGA georeferenced aerial photograph data, Tile ref: PGA_TR3457_2007-04-22 (Graphic material). SWX15711.

<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