Details

The monument includes the buried and earthwork remains of a section of Offa's
Dyke in Cutt's Orchard, 230m south east of Brook House. Offa's Dyke generally
consists of a bank up to 3.5m high with an intermittent ditch to the west
and quarry pits to the east. In places Offa's Dyke was strengthened by
additional earthworks, namely a berm between the bank and ditch, and a
counterscarp bank on the western lip of the ditch.
This 50m long section of the Dyke is visible as a bank with shallow quarry
pits to the east. The bank runs north-south down the face of a hill slope
which falls from about 70m above sea level to 50m above sea level. The
bank is between 8m and 10m wide at its base and stands to a maximum height
of 0.5m. Quarry ditches are visible on the eastern side of the bank along
the entire length of this section, surviving to a maximum depth of 0.4m
and to a width of between 2m and 3m.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Offa's Dyke is the longest linear earthwork in Britain, approximately 220km,
running from Treuddyn, near Mold, to Sedbury on the Severn estuary. It was
constructed towards the end of the eighth century AD by the Mercian king Offa,
and is believed to have formed a long-lived territorial, and possibly
defensive, boundary between the Saxon kingdom of Mercia and the Welsh
kingdoms.
The Dyke is not continuous and consists of a number of discrete lengths
separated by gaps of up to 23km. It is clear from the nature of certain
sections that differences in the scale and character of adjoining portions
were the result of separate gangs being employed on different lengths. Where
possible, natural topographic features such as slopes or rivers were utilised,
and the form of Offa's Dyke is therefore clearly related to the topography.
Along most of its length it consists of a bank with a ditch to the west.
Excavation has indicated that at least some lengths of the bank had a vertical
outer face of either laid stonework or turf revetment. The ditch generally
seems to have been used to provide most of the bank material, although there
is also evidence in some locations of shallow quarries. In places, a berm
divides the bank and ditch, and a counterscarp bank may be present on the lip
of the ditch.
Offa's Dyke now survives in various states of preservation in the form of
earthworks and, where sections have been levelled and infilled, as buried
features. Although some sections of the frontier system no longer survive
visibly, sufficient evidence does exist for its position to be accurately
identified throughout most of its length. In view of its contribution towards
the study of early medieval territorial patterns, all sections of Offa's Dyke
exhibiting significant archaeological remains are considered worthy of
protection.

The section of Offa's Dyke 230m south east of Brook House survives well.
The bank will have preserved part of the original ground surface,
predating the construction of the monument, and along with the quarries
to the east will contain environmental evidence in the form of organic
remains which will relate both to the Dyke and to the landscape within
which it was constructed. The bank will also contain evidence relating to
the methods of construction of the monument and the building materials used.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Hoyle, J, Vallender, J, Offa's Dyke in Gloucestershire: Management Survay, (1997)

Source: Historic England