Yeovil's Virtual Museum

Eighteen Acres Sleight

A large field in Preston Plucknett

 

Field's End was originally a Medieval large field along the north parish boundary of Preston Plucknett, lying to the immediate south of Thorne Lane and bounded by the parish boundary with Brympton in the west and Larkhill Lane in the east. To the south was another large Medieval field called North Field.

By the time of the 1763 Survey of the Manor of Preston, a large field called Eighteen Acres had been formed form part of each of the former Medieval fields mentioned above. The 1763 Survey recorded the area (in 'old' units) as 19 acres, 2 roods, 30 perches and noted that it was used as pasture for grazing livestock.

The 1846 Preston Tithe Map shows the field called Eighteen Acres or Eighteen Acres Sleight (Parcel 62). It was bounded on the north by Field's End (Parcel 65), to the west by Field's End (Parcel 63), to the south by Hurdle Corner (Parcel 61), Quarr Close (Parcel 59) and Long Close (Parcel 53). To the east it was bounded by the field access track known as Eighteen Acre Lane, which led to the field from Preston Road. In the northeast it was bounded by the two fields called Cold Thorn (Parcels 66 and 67).

The Preston Plucknett Tithe Apportionment of 1848 noted that Eighteen Acres was owned by Lady Georgiana Fane of Brympton d'Evercy and the tenant was Thomas Hawkins (who was a tenant of over 200 acres in over 40 parcels in the parish). The field measured (in 'new' units) some 20 acres, 1 rood and 30 perches.

The 1946 aerial photograph (see below) shows the field as undeveloped, but divided into two. It disappeared when the Abbey Manor estate was built in the 1980s and the site is now occupied by Forde Park, Arlington Close, much of Abbey Manor park and Preston Primary School.

 

For details on historic land measurement (ie acres, roods and perches) click here.

 

 

The main post-Medieval fields of Preston Plucknett. The original large Medieval field called Field's End is at top left, with North Field to its south.

 

Map based on the 1849 Tithe Map showing Eighteen Acres Sleight (Parcel 62) as the very large L-shaped field in the top left quadrant.

 

This is a 1946 aerial photograph showing Thorne Lane running across the top and Larkhill Lane (today's Larkhill Road) running diagonally across the top right quadrant. Eighteen Acres Sleight, by this time, appears to be divided into two fields left of centre in the lower left quadrant.

 

The 1849 Tithe Map superimposed over the modern Ordnance Survey map.