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Grim's Ditch is a linear earthwork monument consisting of two sections located in Portobello Wood, Holies Shaw and High Holies Wood Gap in Berkshire. The monument comprises a substantial bank and ditch aligned roughly north to south, characteristic of Iron Age defensive or boundary works dating to the later prehistoric period. The two recorded sections represent surviving portions of what may have formed part of a more extensive system of linear earthworks in the region. Such ditches, whether serving territorial demarcation or defensive purposes, are common features of the Iron Age landscape in southern Britain, though the precise function and chronology of this particular example remain subjects of archaeological study.
Grim's Ditch: two sections in Portobello Wood, Holies Shaw and High Holies Wood Gap is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1006982. View the official record →
Grim's Ditch is a linear earthwork monument consisting of two sections located in Portobello Wood, Holies Shaw and High Holies Wood Gap in Berkshire. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1006982.
Grim's Ditch: two sections in Portobello Wood, Holies Shaw and High Holies Wood Gap is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1006982.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Dovecote 60m north of Place Manor Cottage (1.4 km), Grim's Ditch: section 1 mile long E from Southfield Shaw to Streatley parish boundary (3 km), Dovecote at Manor Farm, South Stoke (4.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Grim's Ditch: two sections in Portobello Wood, Holies Shaw and High Holies Wood Gap's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Grim's Ditch: two sections in Portobello Wood, Holies Shaw and High Holies Wood Gap stands on White Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Maastrichtian. The rock here is chalk.