Lynchet

A lynchet is a feature created by prolonged ploughing. It is a bank of earth which accumulates on the downhill side of an ancient ploughed field as the disturbed soil moves down the slope under the action of gravity. The plough erodes the top edge of the field and creates a negative lynchet. Lynchets are conspicuous in the square celtic fields and in the long rectangular fields, the so called strip-lynchets, laid out on sloping terrain in post-Roman and medieval times. Some examples of lynchets can be seen at Church Hill in West Wycombe or in Pimlocks Wood near Bradenham.