Monument record 0023300000 - SSE OF CHEARSLEY FURZE

Dimensions - Length 0200 m
FROM FIELD CORNER TERRACES RUN SW FOR C.200M. ON NW SLOPE IS AN AREA OF DISTURBANCE WITH CLEAR RIDGE & FURROW BEYOND & TO NE & SW. DIRECTIONS OF FURLONGS CLEARLY VISIBLE (B1).
TERRACES HAVE MAX HEIGHT OF 2M WITH WORKING PLATFORM 6M WIDE (B3).
PHOTOS (B4).
LYNCHETS UNUSUALLY NARROW: MAYBE C13/C14? (B5).

Cultivation terraces of probable medieval date are visible on historic aerial photographs and remote sensing data as extant earthworks and were mapped as part of the Aylesbury Vale Aerial Investigation and Mapping project (EBC18604). Located approximately 470m south of Chearsley Furze, Chearsley, and centred at SP 71170 11636. Linear earthworks of probable cultivation terraces can be seen extending for approximately 300m along a ridge; in 1946 scrubby vegetation covers part of the earthworks but later photographs show this has been cleared. Lidar visualisations and the most recent aerial photographs show the earthworks and also the presence of soil terracettes, natural features that form by soil creep processes, on the slopes. These cultivation terraces are surrounded by ridge and furrow earthworks as well as earthworks of trackways and boundaries and evidence of landslip deposits either where no ridge and furrow earthworks were created or where landslip deposits have obscured these earthworks, probably the former. The underlying solid geology of the ridge is Portland Group Limestone and Calcareous Sandstone with Kimmeridge Clay Formation Mudstone; landslide deposits are recorded at this location. (6-10)




"Chearsley, SSE of Chearsley Furze, SP 71251169. Cultivation terraces, assumed to be medieval, were discovered by Mr M E Davies, on a north westerly facing slope. At the foot of the slope, irregular earthworks suggest the site of a building" (B11 and B12).
From the corner of the field centred SP 71251169 terraces run south west for about 200.0m. At the foot of the north west slope, ground disturbance is visible with ridge and furrow beyond. An irregular earthwork, possibly an enclosure or building site, is visible at the base of the slope (B13).
The terraces descirbed by authy 3 have a maximum height of 2.0m with a working platform 6.0m wide. The ground disturbance at the foot of the slope is the result of stone extraction and the enclosure is doubtless probably associated (B14).

This record includes National Record of the Historic Environment Information provided by Historic England on 4 June 2025 licensed under the Open Government Licence.