More information : [Name centred SU 456558] CHAPMAN'S DELL [OE] (1)
In Saxon charters of the 8th and 10th centuries the
bound '...to chapman's dell..' occurs.
O.G.S Crawford identified this as '...probably a pit still to
be seen at the junction of the modern parishes of Crux Easton,
Woodcott and Highclere. It closely resembles the so-called
'amphitheatres' which are frequently found near Romano-British
villages.
A kind of sunken way can be seen entering it from the west and
leaving it on the east. It is surrounded by a bank. Place-names
compounded with 'CHAPMAN' are almost invariably associated with
prehistoric roads or earthworks.
Grundy was of the opinion that it might be the old chalk-pit on
the south boundary of Crux Easton, just west of Sidown Ridge.
The natural point for this feature is at the Junction of the
three parishes 'and a visit to this point makes the decision
quite clear [that is, the author accept O.G.S Crawford's siting]. (2)
[SU 45575588] Earthwork - Chapman's Dell. (3)
Early reference to an earthwork at the north-east of Lower
Woodcott Down [not named] (4)
SU 45525588 - Just outside the north-west corner of Thorndown
Plantation at the head of a small steep-sided coombe forming
Lower Woodcott Down, is the earthwork identified by O.G.S.
Crawford. It has been formed by digging back into the slope and
making a narrow-topped, steep-sided, bank on the downhill side
creating an oval-shaped area, approx. 45 by 60 m., overall.
A fieldway - a hollowing accompanied by slight banks - enters
the eathwork at its north-west and south-east ends. On the
north-west this field way fades out in a pasture and on the
south-east it stops at the edge of the plantation though its
southern bank appears to turn to merge into a lynchet running
south along the side of the plantation.
A large lynchet rests on the bank of the earthwork and is
contemporary with, or later than the earthwork. The lynchet
forms part of a large field system of so-called 'Celtic' type
visible over a large area of the surrounding country - Hants 8
SE 21.
The earthwork and its immediate area are under grass, in a
pasture. Apart from slight cattle-treading the earthwork is
well-preserved.
There appears to be no modern survival of the place-name,
Chapman's Dell, hereabouts. The element Chapman of the name
probably relates to the nearby trackway - the so-called 'Old
Way' - which passes the earthwork on the north; under five
miles away, to the south-west, CHAPMANSFORD is a place-name on
the Harrow Way - Hants 16 SE. (Dr. Grundy's identifiction of
the place-name refers to a disused chalk-pit at SU 44455690
which appears to be of comparatively recent origin.)
Dr. Crawford's identification of this as a circus seems
perfectly valid in view of its close similarity to known
examples. However, there are two other identical earthworks
nearby, Hants 9 SW 26 and 4, and the former has been suggested
to be a dug pond and compared with Park Brow, Cissbury -Sussex
51 SE 13 - a catchment pond, which, before excavation, was
thought to be a circus.
No more definite identification, other than the alternative
attribution, can be made by this investigator. (5)
Surveyed at 1/2500. Description of 27-2-57 stil correct. (6)
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