Monument record 0110102001 - ASCOTT

Plan Form - RECTANGULAR
A PAIR OF EMBANKED DRY RECTANGULAR FISHPONDS, PARTLY INFILLED BY RECREATION GROUND TO N. AN OUTLET STREAM RUNS E FROM 1 LONG SIDE OF POND TO JOIN THE ARTIFICIALLY IMPROVED WATERCOURSE RUNNING N-S ACROSS THE SCHEDULED AREA. FURTHER OUTLET APPEARS TO RUN S FROM THE PONDS (B13,B18,B16).

Possible remains of two medieval rectilinear fishponds is visible on historic aerial photograph and remote sensing data as earthworks and was mapped as part of the Aylesbury Vale Aerial Investigation and Mapping project (EBC18604). Located within the grounds of former Wing Park and centred at SP 88447 22498, the earthwork remains comprise two rectangular adjoining fishponds or ponds, enclosed by earthwork banks, along with feeding waterchannels. Aligned NW-SE and end-to-end, the more northerly of the ponds is about 22 wide and 26.5 metres long and bounded by earthworks banks up to 7 metres wide. Immediately SE of this the pond is about 23 metres wide and 49 metres long. The SE end narrows to a linear ditch that extends a further 40 metres. To the E of the pond a linear ditch up to 10 metres wide extends ENE for about 90 metres. These may be modifications, repurposing the medieval ponds to serve the needs of the late medieval/early post-medieval formal gardens and designed landscape associated with Dormer’s Ascott house. It is notable that the putative site of the demolished medieval manor house in its terrace ground and rectangular platform some 260 metres to the E (HER MBC3320 / 0110100201) of the ponds shares the same NW-SE alignment as the fishponds, as do the abutting medieval blocks of ridge and furrow cultivation. These features are all angled a few degrees off from Dormer’s Ascott House’s NNW-SSE aligned formal gardens and designed landscape. On aerial photographs taken in 2022 and recent remote sensing data, the earthworks remain visible (19-22).