Sheffield Lakeland Landscape Conservation Action Plan

Sheffield Lakelands –
Archaeological Woodland Surveys
23. Windy Bank
23.1 Introduction
23.1.1 Windy Bank is centred on NGR 425704, 392379 and comprises a single
compartment with an area of approximately 5ha. The woodland is bounded to the
north and east by Windy Bank and to the south and west by agricultural land. The
underlying geology is mapped as sandstone of the Huddersfield White Rock
Formation with a band of mudstone and siltstone of the Marsden Formation. There
are no recorded superficial deposits (British Geological Survey 2017). The
topography of the woodland slopes from approximately 220m aOD in the west to
approximately 200m aOD in the east.
23.1.2 The woodland was surveyed on 8 th December 2017, Survey conditions were largely
moderate apart from the northwest portion of the woodland which was poor due to
the density of ground vegetation. These conditions restricted movement and visibility
in this portion of the woodland.
23.2 Archaeological and Historical Background
23.2.1 There are no designated or undesignated heritage assets within the site or its
immediate environs.
23.2.2 The 1855 first edition of the OS depict the site as split between eight fields and
bound to the south by Set Lane. The 1893 OS map depicts an embankment along
the western boundary of the site. This embankment is depicted on subsequent
editions of the OS and little further change is visible within the area until the
woodland was planted in 1947.
23.2.3 The woodland survey only identified a single north-south aligned bank within the site.
It is likely that this bank represents a former field boundary (Plate 37). The survey
also recorded a series of former gateways which provided access into the area. The
identified assets are listed in Table 23 and illustrated in Figure 22.
23.2.4 It is possible that additional unidentified features are present within the northwest of
the site but were unrecorded due to the poor survey conditions in this section of the
woodland.
23.3 Discussion
23.3.1 The bank identified within the southwest of the woodland corresponds with a former
field boundary depicted on historic OS maps. No other assets were recorded within
the survey area.
Management Recommendations
23.3.2 It is recommended that the bank is retained wherever possible during any future
forestry works within the woodland.
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