More information : TQ 2734 7993. ? Gravel Pits. An area of disturbed ground, comprising shallow hollows and scarps, on the gentle north-facing slope along the southern side of the Serpentine. The principal elements are:
TQ 2734 7993: a long, narrow, rectangular flat-bottomed hollow, measuring 80.0m east to west by 20.0m. The hollow is open on the north-west, has only slight scarps along the northern and eastern sides and is best defined on the south by a scarp 0.6m high. A channel, 30.0m long and 6.0m to 8.0m wide, enters the hollow at the north eastern corner.
TQ 2741 7993: an oval hollow, measuring c. 35.0m by 25.0m and 0.4m deep, approached from the east along a slight channel.
These hollows are probably former gravel pits situated alongside the original course of Rotten Row. Their siting suggests that they originated c. 1690 as a ready source of metalling for that road.
See survey plans at 1:1000 and 1:2500 scales with the archive. (1) |