Monument record 0420802038 - South Lawn, Stowe

Dimensions - Length 62m, Width 27m.
PARCH MARKS NOTED ON LAWNS ON S FRONT IN DRY SUMMERS OF 1976 & 1990 INCLUDED THE DISTINCT OUTLINE OF BRIDGEMAN'S GREAT BASIN, APPROX 62 X 27M WIDE AT WIDEST POINT (15.5M WIDE AT NARROWEST). OTHER FEATURES NOTED PROBABLY INCLUDE BORDERS OF THE CENTRAL WALK (SEE REPORT & PLAN & COMMENTS ON OCTAGON LAKE) (B16).
It seems likely that some of the parchmarks noted in 1990 do indeed co-incide with the Bridgeman's plan of the formal garden from 1739. Others marks have been interpreted as cartwheel tracks and more modern pipe trenching. Archive material includes a plan (B18).
Geophysical survey carried out by MOLA Northampton in March 2020 and March 2021 identified a weak negative anomaly interpreted as the distinctively shaped edge of the pond on the South Front. A dog-legged row of closely-spaced ferrous anomalies between the site of the South Front Pond and the northern edge of Bridgeman's Canal [CASS 0420802070] is interpreted as a historic pipe supplying a head of water from the pond to the former fountain in the centre of Bridgeman's Canal (shown in an engraving of 1739). Other rows of similar anomalies radiating from the eastern end of the pond may be other historic water pipes. See report for detail (B85).