Monument record WNN 021 - A 'D' shaped enclosure of unknown date is visible as an earthwork about 175m to the south of Staverton House, Wantisden parish

A 'D' shaped enclosure of unknown date is visible on aerial photographs as an earthwork located about 175m to the south-east of Staverton House in Wantisden parish, centred on circa TM37045289. On photographs of December 1943 the enclosure appears to be formed by a bank about 2m wide and to be surrounded by a slightly narrower ditch (S1). It is approximately 32 x 30m in size. However, due to the scale of these photographs no detail of entrances can be seen. The enclosure can also be seen on July 1946 prints but despite the smaller scale of the print, the lusher vegetation of summer obscures details of the site (S2). This area cannot be seen clearly on aerial photographs again until July 1972, by which time the area has been ploughed and is under cultivation (S3). This has resulted in the destruction of any upstanding earthworks. It may be possible however, to see a very faint trace of the ditch as a cropmark when the photographs are viewed stereoscopically. Although it seems unlikely, in this location it must be considered that this feature may have been constructed for military practise purposes during WWII (see WNN 017 and WNN 019 for nearby military features). It seems more probable however that it is archaeological in nature and may date from the prehistoric period.