Sponsors of the project.
Field patterns in the modern landscape occasionally preserve evidence of medieval open-field farming, for instance at Newtown and Freshwater. Other field patterns may be medieval assarts created when land was cleared from woodland or waste.
Chalk downland is a man-made habitat created by the grazing herds of farmers from prehistory until recent times. It often contains archaeological earthworks including Bronze Age barrows, prehistoric field systems and boundaries relating to medieval land use.
Collapsed tumuli on Mottistone Down
© MC
Heathland developed on acidic soils from prehistoric times, often as a result of human farming activity. Little heathland is left on the Island today but surviving remnants contain important archaeological monuments such as the Neolithic Longstone on Mottistone Common and the Headon Hill Bronze Age round barrow.
The longstone at Mottistone
© MC
Woodland in the north part of the Island often occupies land that has been wooded since at least medieval times, even if replanting has taken place. Two sites of particular interest are Parkhurst Forest, which was a royal hunting forest, and Combley Great Wood, which was owned by the monks of Quarr Abbey in the Middle Ages.
Parkhurst Forest medieval landscape
© RP
Valley-Floor Land was often managed as hay meadow in the past. Elsewhere there were areas of damp grazing marsh and woodlands containing alder and willow. Sometimes the willow was managed in withy beds and the young shoots used for basket-making. Traditional valley-floor land use still survives in places.
Alverstone watermeadows
© GT
Settlement on the Isle of Wight is surprisingly varied, including medieval towns and villages, scattered hamlets and farmsteads, 19th century seaside towns and modern housing estates. Newtown is a very well preserved example of a planned 13th century town. The failure of the town in the later Middle Ages preserved the original street plan and some of the house plots.
Newtown aerial view
© Anon
Coastal Land has provided many valuable archaeological discoveries, both from the Island's eroding cliffs and from inter-tidal deposits. There are surviving traces of past activities from Neolithic trackways to post-medieval salterns.
Hamstead Saltworks opposite Newtown
© Old-Maps
Parkland has existed on the Isle of Wight since the time of Domesday Book when Waching Park (near Parkhurst Forest) was recorded. Functional medieval deer parks gave way to ornamental landscape parks in the 18th century. The Island's grandest landscape park was at Appuldurcombe but the best preserved example is the 19th century parkland of Royal Osborne.
Roads and Tracks are a neglected part of the historic landscape, often representing the oldest surviving features in the modern landscape. The HEAP Project is working with the Isle of Wight Natural History and Archaeological Society to record historic lanes and tracks.
Dark Lane
© MW
Industry and Mineral Extraction. Sites can often cover quite extensive areas and can be of considerable antiquity, such as the medieval quarries around Binstead.
A separate topic report will be prepared for each historic landscape type. It is hoped that these reports will be published on the Isle of Wight Council's website. The HEAP Officer, Vicky Basford, welcomes information on all aspects of the Island's historic landscape. She is also happy to give presentations on the HEAP to local community groups. Vicky can be contacted on 01983 823810 or by email: vicky.basford@iow.gov.uk.