Monument record MBC47986 - MEDIEVAL/POST MEDIEVAL FIELD BOUNDARIES, MIDDLE BLACKGROVE FARM

Probable medieval and/or post medieval field boundary ditches 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 east of Middle Blackgrove Farm in fields N and S of Berryfields Road and centred at SP 77518 18495, a curving ditch about 4 metres wide extends W-ESE for about 350 metres in the field N of the road. From this ditch, five ditches up to 4 metres wide extend perpendicular roughly SSW for (W-E) 3 metres, 12 metres, 97 metres, 89 metres 106 metres and 7 metres in both the field N and S of the road. Berryfields Road bisects these features W-E, leaving a 10 metres wide gap in the third, fourth and fifth ditches and probably truncating the full extent of the first and second ditches entirely. A seventh ditch is about 13 metres long and extends S rather than SSW. On recent remote sensing data dated 2019, only part of the main curving ditch remains visible, with significant land use changes seemingly having removed the other ditch features (1-2).