MEM25545 - Possible medieval or post-medieval hollow way on South Regis Common, Challacombe (Monument)

A possible hollow way is visible as a rush-filled hollow that runs NW-SE across a slope at the western edge of South Regis Common. The feature was observed during a site visit on behalf of the South West Peatland Partnership in February 2023.

A possible hollow way is visible as a rush-filled hollow that runs NW-SE across a slope at the western edge of South Regis Common. The feature is 2.9m - 3.4m wide and 0.5m – 0.6m deep. It cuts across several slightly narrower N-S gullies or flushes that run directly downslope towards an unnamed watercourse. The feature was observed during a site visit on behalf of the South West Peatland Partnership in February 2023 [1]. The feature is like others recorded on the former commons that are thought to have been eroded by the movement of livestock across the commons towards summer pastures on the Royal Forest [2]; such routeways may have their origins in the early medieval period [3]. The feature is located approximately 120m to the south of South Lane, a route onto the common that is thought to have been established in the medieval period [3]. South Lane runs from Challacombe towards the edge of the Royal Forest. Given that the feature lies so close to South Lane, it is probable that it would have formed as a route onto part of the former common from Challacombe, rather than across the common towards the Royal Forest. The feature is likely to pre-date the enclosure of South Regis Common at the end of the nineteenth century and is not plotted on any historic mapping. It is first recorded by RAF aerial photography taken in 1947 [4]