Monument record MBC48599 - Post medieval drainage ditch system and flood defence banks, River Thame, Cowley Farm

A post medieval drainage ditch system and flood defence banks 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 on the south bank of the River Thame about 700 metres N of Cowley Farm and centred at SP 75395 12457, a system of parallel and perpendicular interconnected linear ditches between 2.5 and 7 metres wide extends across the flood meadows adjacent the river about 708 metres SW-NE. At two points the ditches connect with the river as tail drains. Running parallel to the drain system and to its south is a linear earthwork bank about 4.5 metres wide that runs for about 350 metres, forming a barrier between the meadows and a block of medieval/post medieval ridge and furrow cultivation. This might suggest its function as a flood defence bank. On aerial photographs taken in 2023 and recent remote sensing data, the ditches and bank remain extant (1-4).