Monument record MBC43503 - Medieval and/or post medieval ridge and furrow cultivation, plough headlands and boundary ditches in Stewkley parish.

An almost contiguous swathe of medieval and/or post medieval ridge and furrow cultivation, plough headlands and boundary ditches, remnants of the former common open-field system, is visible on historic aerial photographs and remote sensing data as earthworks and was mapped as part of the North Buckinghamshire Aerial Investigation and Mapping project (EBC18304). Located across the northern-eastern part of Stewkley parish and centred at SP 85579 26151, these blocks are aligned mostly SW-NE, with only a few blocks aligned SE-NW. In the very small blocks around Stewkley village, the alignment varies from SW-NE to W-E. Almost all the ridge and furrow cultivation blocks are visible as extant earthworks on aerial photographs taken in the 1940s, but aerial photographs taken in 2019 and recent remote sensing data indicate that some blocks have been plough-levelled due to changes to post-war agricultural regimes from the dominance of permanent pasture as described in the 1925 Victoria County History to more arable cultivation (1-12).

An almost contiguous swathe of medieval and/or post medieval ridge and furrow cultivation, plough headlands and boundary ditches, remnants of the former common open-field system, is visible on historic aerial photographs and remote sensing data as earthworks and was mapped as part of the North Buckinghamshire Aerial Investigation and Mapping project (EBC18304). Located across the western part of Stewkley parish and centred at SP 84326 26543, these blocks are aligned either SW-NE or SE-NW. Almost all the ridge and furrow cultivation blocks are visible as extant earthworks on aerial photographs taken in the 1940s, but aerial photographs taken in 2019 and recent remote sensing data indicate that many of the earthwork blocks remain extant, whilst others have been plough-levelled due to changes to post-war intensive agricultural regimes (13-23).

Contiguous blocks of medieval and/or post medieval ridge and furrow cultivation remnants of the former common open-field system, is visible on historic aerial photographs and remote sensing data as earthworks and was mapped as part of the Aylesbury Vale Aerial Investigation and Mapping project (EBC18604). Located along the SE facing border of Stewkley parish and centred at SP 85397 24131, the ridge and furrow blocks are part of a much more extensive swathe of contiguous cultivation earthworks that extend right across the parish. All blocks are visible as extant earthworks on aerial photographs taken in the 1940s but, on aerial photographs taken in 2022 and recent remote sensing data, most of the blocks have been plough levelled, apart from a few remaining blocks W of the old RAF Wing airfield and north of Warren Farm (24-28).

Contiguous medieval and/or post medieval ridge and furrow blocks, with plough headlands, furlong boundaries and banks, the remnants of the former common open-field system, are visible on historic aerial photographs and remote sensing data as earthworks and were mapped as part of the Aylesbury Vale Aerial Investigation and Mapping project (EBC18604). Located across the southwestern corner of Stewkley parish and centred at SP 83582 24143, the contiguous blocks of cultivation earthworks are set out on a general SW-NE or SE-NW alignment. On aerial photographs taken in 2022 and recent remote sensing data, just over half of the ridge and furrow blocks recorded remain extant earthworks, with the remaining two thirds having either been plough levelled or are visible as cropmarks ( 29-38).