Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN2856 Old Abbey Farm, Lincolnshire

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

Scroll left/right to view further images.

HER:  Lincolnshire 40096 (None)

NMR:  TF 16 SE 5 (351412)

SM:  1017880

NGR:  TF 19572 60991

X:  519572  Y:  360991  (OSGB36)

Summary

An enclosure lying 60m to the E of Old Abbey Farm, scheduled as a small multivallate hillfort similar to that at Tattershall Thorpe (Atlas no. 2851). Oval in form and surviving as the cropmarks of three concentric ditches and slight banks which it is said, can still be seen in low light. It lies at approximately 8m OD on land that was possibly marshland in the prehistoric period. It is aligned NW-SE measuring 120m by 90m with the width of the defences between the inner and outer ditches at least 30m giving an overall footprint of c. 1.0ha. As with the Tattershall Thorpe enclosure, it may have had a role in stock management. Alternatively, because its location is on what would have been marshy land prior to drainage, it has been suggested it may be a medieval or post-medieval duck decoy with an elaborate arrangement of water drainage ditches which extend from the enclosure although for this record we consider it to be a hillfort. A causeway has been identified across the outer ditch and middle ditch in the SE. Breaks can be seen in the middle ditch in the S and N. No break or causeway has been identified for the inner ditch. Recorded on aerial photographs since 1948. It is not recorded on OS mapping and has not been excavated and remains undated.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -23844  Y:  7007573  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -0.21419268925941803  Latitude:  53.132655225812876  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England; None

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Lincolnshire

Historic County:  Lincolnshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Woodhall Spa; Tattershall Thorpe

Monument Condition

On Heritage at Risk Register (2015).

Condition:
Extant   ✗
Cropmark   ✓
Likely Destroyed   ✗

Land Use

None

Current Use:
Woodland   ✗
Commercial Forestry Plantation   ✗
Parkland   ✗
Pasture (Grazing)   ✗
Arable   ✓
Scrub/Bracken   ✗
Bare Outcrop   ✗
Heather/Moorland   ✗
Heath   ✗
Built-up   ✗
Coastal Grassland   ✗
Other   ✗

Landscape

Hillfort Type

A level terrain fort on low lying ground at 8m OD

Type:
Contour Fort   ✗
Partial Contour Fort   ✗
Promontory Fort   ✗
Hillslope Fort   ✗
Level Terrain Fort   ✓
Marsh Fort   ✗
Multiple Enclosure Fort   ✗

Topographic Position

Position:
Hilltop   ✗
Coastal Promontory   ✗
Inland Promontory   ✗
Valley Bottom   ✗
Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop   ✗
Ridge   ✗
Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp   ✗
Hillslope   ✗
Lowland   ✓
Spur   ✗

Dominant Topographic Feature:  None

Aspect:
North   ✗
Northeast   ✗
East   ✗
Southeast   ✗
South   ✗
Southwest   ✗
West   ✗
Northwest   ✗
Level   ✓

Altitude:  8.0m

Boundary

The parish boundaries of Woodhall Spa and Tattershall Thorpe run to the E of the enclosure

Boundary Type:  Parish/Townland


Dating Evidence

Undated

Reliability:  D - None

Principal Activity:
Pre 1200BC   ✗
1200BC - 800BC   ✗
800BC - 400BC   ✗
400BC - AD50   ✗
AD50 - AD400   ✗
AD400 - AD 800   ✗
Post AD800   ✗
Unknown   ✓

Other Activity:
Pre Hillfort:   None
Post Hillfort:   None

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

Recorded on aerial photographs since 1948. General reference in Chowne et al. (1986). Field investigation in 1965 when the inspector noted that the land would have been marsh in prehistory. Recorded as part of the Lincolnshire National Mapping Programme. Scheduled.

Investigations:
Other (1965):   Field investigation
1st Identified Written Reference (1986):   None
Other (1999):   Scheduled
Other (None):   RCHME: Lincolnshire NMP

Interior Features

No internal features are known

Water Source

None

Source:
None   ✓
Spring   ✗
Stream   ✗
Pool   ✗
Flush   ✗
Well   ✗
Other   ✗

Surface

None

Interior Features (Surface):
No Known Features   ✓
Round Stone Structures   ✗
Rectangular Stone Structures   ✗
Curvilinear Platforms   ✗
Other Roundhouse Evidence   ✗
Pits   ✗
Quarry Hollows   ✗
Other   ✗

Excavation

None

Interior Features (Excavation):
No Known Excavation   ✓
Pits   ✗
Postholes   ✗
Roundhouses   ✗
Rectangular Structures   ✗
Roads/Tracks   ✗
Quarry Hollows   ✗
Other   ✗
Nothing Found   ✗

Geophysics

None

Interior Features (Geophysics):
No Known Geophysics   ✓
Pits   ✗
Roundhouses   ✗
Rectangular Structures   ✗
Roads/Tracks   ✗
Quarry Hollows   ✗
Other   ✗
Nothing Found   ✗

Finds

None

Interior (Finds):
No Known Finds   ✓
Pottery   ✗
Metal   ✗
Metalworking   ✗
Human Bones   ✗
Animal Bones   ✗
Lithics   ✗
Environmental   ✗
Other   ✗

Aerial

None

Interior Features (Aerial):
APs Not Checked   ✗
None   ✓
Roundhouses   ✗
Rectangular Structures   ✗
Pits   ✗
Postholes   ✗
Roads/Tracks   ✗
Other   ✗

Entrances

A causeway has been identified across the outer ditch and middle ditch in the SE. A further break can be seen in the middle ditch in the S and two in the N. No break or causeway has been identified for the inner ditch.

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
5:   Causeways

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:
1. Other Forms (South east):   Rampart destroyed, identified as a causeway across the middle ditch
1. Other Forms (South east):   Rampart destroyed, identified as a causeway across the outer ditch

Enclosing Works

Surviving as the cropmarks of three concentric ditches and slight banks which can still be seen in low light. It is approximately oval in form, aligned NW-SE measuring 120m by 90m with the width of the defences between the inner and outer ditches at least 30m.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   1.0ha.
Total:   1.0ha.

Total Footprint Area:  1.0ha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   Area estimated

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✓   None

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   3
SE Quadrant:   3
SW Quadrant:   3
NW Quadrant:   3
Total:   3

Morphology

Current Morphology:
Partial Univallate   ✗
Univallate   ✗
Partial Bivallate   ✗
Bivallate   ✗
Partial Multivallate   ✗
Multivallate   ✓
Unknown   ✗

Detailed Morphology:
Partial Univallate   ✗
Univallate   ✗
Partial Bivallate   ✗
Bivallate   ✗
Partial Multivallate   ✗
Multivallate   ✗

Surface Evidence

Very slight banks

Enclosing Works (Surface):
None   ✗
Earthen Bank   ✓
Stone Wall   ✗
Rubble   ✗
Wall-walk   ✗
Evidence of Timber   ✗
Vitrification   ✗
Other Burning   ✗
Palisade   ✗
Counter Scarp Bank   ✗
Berm   ✗
Unfinished   ✗
Other   ✗

Excavated Evidence

None

Enclosing Works (Excavation):
None   ✗
Earthen Bank   ✗
Stone Wall   ✗
Murus Duplex   ✗
Timber-framed   ✗
Timber-laced   ✗
Vitrification   ✗
Other Burning   ✗
Palisade   ✗
Counter Scarp Bank   ✗
Berm   ✗
Unfinished   ✗
No Known Excavation   ✓
Other   ✗

Other

Gang Working:
✗   None

Ditches:
✓   None

Number of Ditches:  3

Annex:
✗   None

References

Chowne, P, Girling, M, Greig, J. 1986. Excavations At An Iron Age Defended Enclosure At Tattershall Thorpe, Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, Vol. 52. 159-88



Terms of Use

This work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 and should be cited as:

Lock, Gary and Ralston, Ian. 2024. Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland. Available at: https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk


Document Version 1.1