Monument record MDR13520 - Boundary ditch, west of North Lodge, Kedleston Park

A ditch on the north side of the park that begins as a marshy depression on the east side of the saw mill and continues in a north-easterly direction towards the Kedleston Road. It is approximately 480 metres in length, with a fairly even width of about 8 to 9 metres, and a depth averaging between 40 and 50 centimetres. The profile of the ditch is quite shallow with a slightly rounded bottom, which appears to have been deliberately cut. At its northeast end the ditch opens out and meets with a small stream that emerges from under Kedleston Road. This feature may therefore be a modern drainage channel, although its alignment suggests that it may once have joined up with the ditch in Hay Wood [SMR 27817]. There is an extensive area of ridge and furrow ploughing to the north of the ditch, which lay within the former manor of Little Ireton. The ditch may therefore mark the boundary between the manors of Kedleston and Little Ireton, at the same time also defining the southern limit of Low Field in Ireton Manor. (1)