Monument record MBC46710 - Chalk pits in Ballad’s Wood, Aston Clinton

Chalk pits of post medieval/modern date are visible on remote sensing data as extant earthworks and were mapped as part of the Aylesbury Vale Aerial Investigation and Mapping project (EBC18604). Located within the boundaries of Ballad’s Wood, Aston Clinton, and centred at SP 89279 09385. Twelve extractive pits, ranging in size from 4x2m to 25x23m at their largest, are visible as earthworks in Ballad’s Wood on lidar visualisations. Mounds of excavated earth can be seen around the edges of some pits. The woodland at what became RAF Halton was felled to supply timber for the trenches in World War I (Adam p109), it is not known if this area was included in that; land use here appears to have been woodland since the late 19th century at least but the woodland looks thinner on an aerial photograph from 1945. The underlying solid geology is Lewes Chalk Nodular Formation, mainly exploited for flint nodules and lime. (1-4)