Monument record MDO41345 - Probable post medieval trackway, Dudsbury, Ferndown Town

A scarped and ditched curvilinear feature to the west of Dudsbury is visible on 1940s aerial photographs. The feature is presumed to be a historic trackway, probably of post medieval origin, although it is possible that some elements may be earlier in date, given their proximity to the Iron Age hillfort to the east. The feature was digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

A scarped and ditched curvilinear feature to the west of Dudsbury is visible on 1940s aerial photographs (1). The feature comprises a deep curvilinear scarp at its southwest end and a long curvilinear ditch which respects the south side of the scarp and continues northeast and then east towards a historic field boundary recorded on the OS 1st Edition map (2). The feature is presumed to be a historic trackway, probably of post medieval origin, although it is possible that some elements may be earlier in date, given the proximity to the Iron Age hillfort to the east; the scarped earthwork possibly mirrors a similarly curved earthwork to the southeast that extends west from the west entrance to Dudsbury, creating a funnel effect to the southwest (1). These earthworks are poorly defined on aerial photographs and may simply be due to the natural underlying geology, but it is possible they are associated with the Iron Age hillfort in some way. The site is within Dudsbury Golf Course on Google Earth imagery and the feature is no longer visible. It was digitally plotted from 1940s aerial photographs by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

Record last edited

May 11 2022 10:52AM