Monument record 2954 - Medieval Ridge and Furrow, Brynlow Field

Possible Medieval Ridge and Furrow, Brynlow Field. The northwest corner of this field is bordered by a boundary or drainage ditch along its southern edge and a raised lynchet (formed as a result of ploughing above this) between the pond and the southern margin of Windmill Wood. Due to its inaccessibility and possibly because of the mining activity in the area, this corner of the field has not been ploughed in recent times. As a result relict ridge and furrow survives over much of the area (approximately 1.5 acres). The ridges are in strips at about 5 metre intervals, the spacing indicative of early, possibly Medieval or early post-Medieval cultivation. This feature clearly pre-dates any mining carried out in this area. Today it is possibly the best example of ridge and furrow on the Edge. The strips are clearly visible on aerial photographs. The area was divided into three strips on the 1787 map but little evidence remains of these boundaries today (1).

<1> 1998, Alderley Edge Landscape Project Archive, 190 (Unpublished Report). SCH4334.