Monument record MBC47260 - Extractive pits and trackways, Aston Clinton

Extractive pit and trackways of post medieval date are visible on historic aerial photographs and remote sensing data as extant cropmarks and earthworks and were mapped as part of the Aylesbury Vale Aerial Investigation and Mapping project (EBC18604). Located approximately 550m east of Aston Clinton Park, Aston Clinton, and centred at SP 88987 11221. The trackways join the road, near the Grand Junction Canal, with the chalk pits which are cut in to underlying solid geology of West Melbury Marly Chalk Formation, mainly used for beer stone, clunch and lime. The smaller pit is subcircular and measures approximately 26m across; the larger pit is irregular shaped and measures approximately 115x42m at its largest. The pits may have been dug to supply material for the construction of the house and garden features at Aston Park. These features show as cropmarks in the 1940s but are still visible as low, smooth earthworks on lidar visualisations. An extract of the pre-inclosure map of 1814 shows the northern end of this trackway joining what is now Stalebridge Road on modern maps. (1-5)