Monument record MBC47988 - U shaped ditched enclosure, Lower Farm

A U shaped ditched enclosure of probable medieval date 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 in a field about 850 metres ESE of Lower Farm and centred at SP 78718 17465, a three-sided moat-like ditch backs onto a watercourse. The WSW facing side of the ditch is 7 metres wide and extends NNW-SSE for 57 metres: the SSE facing side is up to 10 metres wide and 91 metres WSW-ENE: the ENE facing side is 7 metres wide and 72 metres SSE-NNW. This encloses an internal area about 73 x 54 metres, with the stream enclosing it on the NNW facing side. Medieval ridge and furrow appears within and around the feature on three sides, suggesting that it pre-dates the last iteration of the ridge and furrow cultivation. Its location abutting the watercourse might point to a function other than a moat; possibly it was a fishpond given its close proximity to the deserted settlement of Quarrendon III whose southern boundary is only 100 metres to the NE. Aerial photographs taken in 1944 show that the feature is covered in five hale ricks, suggesting that its existence may have been recognised as a well-drained area. On aerial photographs taken in 2023 and recent remote sensing data, the features remain extant (1-4).