Monument record MDO43098 - Deserted medieval settlement, Elston, Sydling St Nicholas

Linear and curvilinear banks and scarps are visible as earthworks on 1940s aerial photographs and current Lidar imagery to the northeast of Sydling St Nicholas. The features are probably the upstanding remains of a deserted medieval settlement of Elston (NRHE Hob UID 199261). They were digitally plotted during the Dorset Upper Frome AIM project.

Linear and curvilinear banks and scarps are visible as earthworks on 1940s aerial photographs and current Lidar imagery to the northeast of Sydling St Nicholas (1, 2). The features are probably the upstanding remains of a deserted medieval settlement of Elston (NRHE Hob UID 199261). The features visible on aerial photographs dated to 1947 appear to comprise a series of banked holloways and terraces (1). This includes a large curvilinear scarped terrace with its western boundary edging the crest of the slope above the Sydling Water valley to the west (1, 2) In addition to these are a series of broad curvilinear banked boundaries to the east and south that are probably field boundaries; visible on current Lidar imagery (2). These may be of medieval date and contemporary with the medieval settlement; they are on the same alignment as the adjacent historic field pattern so this seems plausible. They could however include older features of potentially prehistoric date. The field system appears to continue on the south side of the road to the south. The OS 1st Edition map records the earthworks as the site of a 'British Settlement' but this may be erroneous (3). The features underlie a modern rifle range MDO43099) that appears to be falling into disuse by 1947 (1). They were digitally plotted during the Dorset Upper Frome AIM project. The features are still largely visible on Google Earth imagery, with some under tree cover.

Record last edited

Feb 23 2021 2:44PM