Site record MDR12431 - Hollow Way in Lodge Plantation, Calke Park, Ticknall

Hollow way in Lodge Plantation, Calke Park, Ticknall, of unknown date. This is a broad ditch which begins on the edge of Ticknall's former open-field system and continues in a southerly direction along the length of the plantation. It begins where it meets with the former carriage drive to Calke Abbey. The point at which the two meet is probably the site of an ancient gate which is referred to in the Ticknall Enclosure Award of 1765. A small group of stones on the east edge of this gap may well have been part of a wall built in connection with the gate. The hollow way in this area is visible as a broad grassy ditch up to 6.7m wide between a grassy bank to the west, 5.2m wide, which may have been a headland, and a grassy bank to the east which slopes down towards Middle Lodge. The hollow way continues south for a distance of about 90m before entering into Lodge Plantation where it runs along the centre of the plantation. Its width here varies between 6m and 12m and its depth increases up to about one metre. Initially it is clearly defined by low earthen banks but as it continues to the south it becomes less obvious and at its southern end, after continuing for about 240m through the plantation, the banks open out and fade away, leaving an open area which is relatively clear of trees. It is unclear whether the hollow way is related to a series of banks and ditches that have been identified further south within the same plantation. (1) Part of this feature may have been identified and recorded during a watching brief carried out in 2018. It was identified as a depression filled with a redeposited natural and subsoil-like sediment. (2)