Monument record 0012201000 - NW OF OAK FARM

Summary

Deserted medieval settlement recorded in field survey and known from earthworks seen on aerial photographs and documentary and cartographic sources

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Map

Type and Period (1)

  • DESERTED SETTLEMENT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Description

AP SHOWS EXTENSIVE SHRINKAGE: HOUSE PLATFORMS & COMPLEX OF HOLLOWAYS (B3), ESPECIALLY IN FIELD AT SP8455 1415 (B4).
SEWER PIPE CUT THROUGH A NUMBER OF HOUSE PLATFORMS FRONTING A STREET LYING TO THE N. NO STRUCTURES NOTED BUT MUCH MED POTTERY RECOVERED (B6).
POSS FURTHER AREA OF SETTLEMENT REMAINS N OF CANAL. PRE-ENCLOSURE MAP SHOWS A LARGE IRREGULAR AREA BOUNDED BY SMALL FIELDS, WHICH COINCIDES WITH 'WORLD'S END GREEN' SHOWN ON JEFFERY'S 1788 MAP OF BUCKS (B7).
AYLESBURY NORTHERN LINK ROAD ASSESSMENT HAS PICKED UP IRREGULARITIES, POSSIBLY HOUSE PLATFORMS AT THE PERIPHERY OF THE SITE. FURTHER WORK IS NEEDED TO CLARIFY THE REMAINS (B8).
1st edition 1-inch OS map shows 'Worldsend Green' south of the canal, with buildings lying either side of a track (now Ivy Lane) running towards Puttenham. Area shown coincides with earthworks (B9).
Walkover survey carried out by RPS Clouston in July 1998 confirmed the presence of settlement earthworks in field 3 and ridge and furrow earthworks in field 10. See report for detail (B10).
Evaluation trial trenching carried out by Oxford Archaeology in September 2011 in RPS' field 3, identified remains of ridge and furrow cultivation across the field and a 0.3m thick layer of limestone rubble and roof tile fragments in trench 3. None of the surviving earthworks or recorded cropmarks were found to correspond to excavated features, and it is suggested that these relate to post-medieval or modern cultivation and that the focus of settlement lay to the south of the canal. See report for detail (B11).

A shrunken settlement of medieval date is visible on historic aerial photographs and remote sensing data as extant earthworks and was mapped as part of the Aylesbury Vale Aerial Investigation and Mapping project (EBC18604). Located north of Oak Farm, Broughton, and centred at SP 84658 14150. The area to the north of Oak Farm is located in a gap between areas of ridge and furrow field systems and contains linear ditches, of possible plot or field boundaries and routeways, and raised earthworks of probable building platforms visible on lidar visualisations. Some areas around the earthworks have become less well defined and others have been obscured by the construction of farm buildings in the late 20th century. Some of the features can be identified by lines of trees, but not forming boundaries, on historic mapping. The northernmost extent of the area has been redeveloped for housing since 2017 and was investigated in advance of this; no evidence of medieval settlement was recorded. The construction of the canal in 1814 would have disrupted existing field boundaries as well as the inclosure of the parish of Bierton in 1780 and may be why these features fell out of use and are not shown on historic mapping. Earthworks closer to the Oak Farm, south of the canal, are more characteristic of plot boundaries, house platforms and a trackway, that may be associated with the settlement at World's End Green, shown on the Ordnance Surveyors’ Drawing of Aylesbury. Other ditches may be later field boundaries or drainage ditches; the underlying geology is Gault Upper Greensand Formation and the soils loamy and clayey with impeded drainage. (18-24)

Sources (21)

  • <3>SBC131 Bibliographic reference: A/PS ST JOSEPH (COPIES AT BCM).
  • <4>SBC5171 Bibliographic reference: FARLEY M E,OCT 1972,FIELD VISIT.
  • <6>SBC5145 Verbal communication: FARLEY M E,FEB 1973,FIELD VISIT.
  • <7>SBC8524 Bibliographic reference: MILES P R 1981 BIERTON (UNDERGRADUATE DISSERTATI ON) P39 & FIGS 5,8,10 (COPY IN CAS FILE 2615).
  • <8>SBC878 Unpublished document: Buckinghamshire County Museum Archaeological Service. 1996. AYLESBURY NORTHERN LINK ROAD ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT STAGES 1 AND 2.
  • <9>SBC19684 Map: Ordnance Survey. OS 1st edition 1-inch map.
  • <10>SBC23807 Unpublished document: RPS Clouston. 1998. Land at Broughton Stocklake: An Archaeological Desk Based Study.
  • <11>SBC24119 Unpublished document: Oxford Archaeology. 2011. Land at East of Aylesbury, Broughton Crossing, Biert: Archaeological Evaluation Report.
  • <12>SBC17925 Aerial Photograph: 05/04/57. CUC UE 23. SP\846142. Yes.
  • <13>SBC17924 Aerial Photograph: 05/04/57. CUC UE 22. SP\846142. Yes.
  • <14>SBC20703 Aerial Photograph: Michael Farley. 2001. 2001 oblique AP by Mike Farley. SP84651430. Yes.
  • <15>SBC20702 Aerial Photograph: Michael Farley. 2001. 2001 oblique AP by Mike Farley. SP84501420. Yes.
  • <16>SBC17285 Aerial Photograph: 01/01/75. BCM A1/5/13. SP\845140. Yes.
  • <17>SBC17926 Aerial Photograph: 05/04/57. CUC UE 24. SP\846142. Yes.
  • <18>SBC27401 Aerial Photograph: Historic England. 1943. RAF/AC275 V 5001 07-Mar-1943.
  • <19>SBC27402 Aerial Photograph: Historic England. 1943. RAF/AC289 V 5078 08-Mar-1943.
  • <20>SBC27348 Aerial Photograph: Historic England. 1945. RAF/106G/UK/683 RP 3007 23-Aug-1945.
  • <21>SBC27403 Aerial Photograph: Historic England. 1967. RAF58/8419 V 131 14-Nov-1967.
  • <22>SBC25062 Digital archive: Environment Agency. Environment Agency LiDAR data. LIDAR SP8413 Environment Agency 1m DTM Composite 2020 date accessed 09-Mar-2023.
  • <23>SBC25062 Digital archive: Environment Agency. Environment Agency LiDAR data. LIDAR SP8414 Environment Agency 1m DTM Composite 2020 date accessed 09-Mar-2023.
  • <24>SBC26899 Digital archive: Wikimedia. 2024. Boyce. 1813. Ordnance Surveyors Drawing of Aylesbury (British Library OSD 155 serial 108) 1813-14 2 inch to the mile (1:31,680 scale).

Location

Grid reference Centred SP 8466 1422 (479m by 733m)
Civil Parish BIERTON WITH BROUGHTON, Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire

Finds (3)

  • SHERD (13th Century to 16th Century - 1200 AD to 1599 AD)
  • SHERD (Post-Medieval - 1540 AD to 1798 AD)
  • ROOF TILE (Post-Medieval - 1540 AD to 1798 AD)

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Events/Activities (5)

  • Event - Survey: (EBC13947)
  • Event - Survey: (EBC13951)
  • Event - Survey: Aerial investigation and mapping project (Ref: 9179) (EBC18604)
  • Event - Intervention: Evaluation trial trenching (Ref: BRWOE 11) (EBC17482)
  • Event - Survey: Site visit (EBC17356)

Record last edited

May 29 2025 10:37AM

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