Discover the Downs from Above

So what can we see?

Farming – Dewponds for sheep

Dewponds are man-made drinking pools for animals, and are situated across the South Downs on ridges, hilltops and within combes.

Historically, sheep had a prominent place in farming not just for the wool and meat they provided but also for their role in manuring the arable fields, a system known as sheep and corn farming.

Devil’s Dyke and all the fun of the fair

Devil’s Dyke and its commanding viewpoint has been attracting people for millennia. The location of a defensive hillfort in the Iron Age, by the Victorian era it drew crowds of tourists.

The expansion of the railway in the mid-19th century opened up many places to the wider public, including Sussex. The countryside and coast near Brighton became of a place of refuge and recuperation to the middle classes as the health and recreational value of the seaside was recognised. The first holiday destinations were born, and activities and attractions were developed to amuse those with money and time on their hands.

In its heyday, Devil’s Dyke boasted lawns, tea pavilions, two bandstands, a 7-ton replica naval gun and even a zoo amongst its attractions. The Dyke Hotel, built around 1831, and the surrounding ridge was home to an adventure park with fairground attractions occupying much of the interior of Devil's Dyke hillfort. There were a series of fairground adventure rides, including a rollercoaster and an aerial ropeway where thrill-seekers traversed the Devil’s Dyke in a metal cage suspended from a wire strung between two metal pylons on either side of the valley. Shadows of these attractions can be seen on the lidar images.

Second World War – Shoreham training camp and agriculture

In September 1914, thousands of troops arrived into Shoreham Station, much to the shock of the local residents. Bad weather meant many soldiers were billeted in local houses overnight until a vast tented encampment was established in Buckingham Park and Oxen Fields. Thousands more men arrived over the following days and the construction of a hutted camp began in earnest on Slonk Hill. The remains of the First World War training camp at Shoreham survived as earthworks into the 1940s and are recorded on Second World War RAF aerial photographs.

Following the outbreak of the Second World War, the growing military presence on the Downs led to roads being closed and farms evacuated. The chalk upland eventually became a training ground and staging post for the D-Day invasions in 1944. The Downs were slowly opening back up to the public before the end of the war, as the threat of invasion lessened. By 1947, with rationing ongoing, many areas of traditional grass downland were converted to arable fields to provide food for the nation.

Routes and tracks - the movement of people

The traces of many tracks, hollow ways and paths cross both the Weald and the Downs. These represent fragments of a complex network of routeways from many periods which are remnants of historic human, and stock, movement through this area.

A feature of the northern face of the South Downs and the opposing south face of the North Downs are deeply incised tracks and paths. In this part of the country, they are known as ‘bostalls’ – a Sussex name for incised routes, probably drove ways, which lead up the steep northern scarp of the South Downs from the Weald onto the open Downs. These were used to move sheep and other livestock to and from pastures to market, and routes to the coastal region.

Industry - Chalk Pits

Historically, Sussex is known for an abundance of raw materials that fed many industries. In the medieval period the Weald became a centre for ironworking and glassmaking and later for brick and tile making. Chalk extraction and lime burning have also left their mark on the landscape.

Offham, to the north of Lewes, operated a large chalk pit from 1809-1890. At its peak of production, Offham chalk pit had four lime kilns, which processed the chalk into lime which was transported away by river.

Settlements and agriculture

The location of early settlements and land farmed by our ancestors can be seen as cropmarks and earthworks across the Downs. Soil accumulated along the field boundaries during ploughing leaves raised banks known as lynchets. Later prehistoric or Roman lynchets, such as those on Balmer Down, survive up to 3m high but many others have been almost completely levelled. Many of these earthworks may be difficult to see on the ground but can be more easily identified on lidar images.

What the archaeologists are saying

National Trust Heritage Officer and Changing Chalk’s lead for the Downs from Above project, Gary Webster commented: “This mapping gives us a unique way to understand the Downs, and our heritage on them. Not only are new features being discovered, but the true character of existing features are being recognised for the first time. This new data is a great resource, both for amateurs and experts alike, to get onto the downland and really see what is just below their feet. We hope it will inspire a host of new projects in the area, allowing us to delve deeper into our shared past.” 

National Trust archaeologist, James Brown added: “Not only has ‘Downs from Above’ mapped new archaeological sites for us, it has enhanced previously-known sites, giving us a better understanding of how they relate to each other and overlay each other revealing a story of how humans have adapted the Downs for their needs. This improved understanding allows our teams on the ground to better manage our sites balancing the preservation of nature and heritage to preserve it and celebrate it with our visitors.”

Matthew Oakey, Aerial Survey Principal at Historic England, commented: “The airborne laser scanning (lidar) was particularly valuable in identifying low earthworks of the extensive prehistoric and Roman field systems that cover the Downs. Later evidence for agriculture was seen in the remains of sheep farming that formed a key part of the medieval and post-medieval economy of the area. Enclosures to protect the sheep and ‘dewponds’ to water them are scattered across the Downs. Chalk pits and quarries for local lime are a remnant of the long-gone industrial past. We found that 1940s aerial photographs provided an amazing snapshot of 20th-century military activity on the Downs, as well as showing how the area looked when it was open grassland for sheep before large scale conversion to arable in the post war period.”

Want to get involved?

If this has inspired you to find out more and explore the heritage of the Downs, virtually and on the ground, why not get involved?

To get involved in investigating this landscape alongside a team, or have questions about how to use this data, contact Gary at gary.webster@nationaltrust.org.uk.