Monument record 0252500000 - AREA AROUND LOWER FARM

'EARTHWORKS' REPORTED AROUND LOWER FARM (NOW DERELICT). FIELD VISIT: 2 BUILDING PLATFORMS AT NGR BUT NOT POSSIBLE TO DETERMINE WHETHER THESE ARE PREDECESSORS OR OUTBUILDINGS OF LOWER FARM,THE DOMESTIC ACCOMODATION OF WHICH HAS NOW BEEN DEMOLISHED(BI1).

The remains of a medieval/post medieval farm building demolished in the 20th century is visible on aerial photographs as cropmarks and was mapped as part of the Aylesbury Vale Aerial Investigation and Mapping project (EBC18604). Located on the site of former Lower Farm and centred at SP 75141 13807, the cropmarks comprise a rectangular ditch up to 1 metre wide encloses an area about 12.3 metres NW-SE and 13.5 metres SW-NE. There are two gaps in the ditched enclosure on the SW and NE facing sides. An oval macula about 2 metres at its widest is centred in the enclosure. To the SE of the enclosure, sections of two parallel linear ditches extend up to 15 metres SE. These cropmarks are the remains of farm buildings of Lower Farm that are still extant on aerial photographs taken in 1948, but which have been demolished and levelled by 1969. The cropmarks visible on aerial photographs taken in 2010 are likely the result of the farm buildings’ wall footings still in situ. The project would not usually record such recent activity that is also documented on OS map editions. However, the morphology of the cropmarks might easily be misinterpreted as having much earlier origins without access to historic mapping or historic aerial photography. In the field to the SW are six parallel sections of ditch emerging SE-NW from the field boundary. These appear to match the alignment of the block of medieval/post medieval ridge and furrow cultivation earthworks in the field to the SE on the other side of the field boundary and so are likely associated with the former field system. Similarly, a block of ridge and furrow cultivation is visible to the SW of the ditches on aerial photographs taken in 1948. On aerial photographs taken in 2023 and recent remote sensing data, all these features have been levelled (2-7).