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This is a structure in a woods near where I live. It is the subject of quite a bit of curiosity as to what it is. Does anyone have any ideas? Previous suggestions have included an Ice House, something war related, or even a shrine of some sort, but no-one seems to know for sure. attachment.php?attachmentid=42236&stc=1&d=1546091709 (Edit: I thought the glitches regarding removal of Line Breaks & Image Inserts / Advanced Editing had been fixed. Apparently not)

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Well, I would go with the "Shrine of some sort."

Perhaps the land once belonged to a monastery or something, before the days of the Reformation.

Too small for an Ice house and I'm not convinced that the bricks look right for a pre-reformation structure - a bit of privacy for the Victorian gamekeeper when he was caught short?



There's a workaround for the editor line problem rather than a fix and that is to change to the standard editor in your setting rather than the advanced editor.

Housing to a statue?

Some kind of wartime structure? You don't say where you live but old brick wartime bunkers and air raid shelters can be found in most parts of the country in places where it is no longer immediately obvious why they would be built.

It's located in Westwood, on the boundary location between Weston & Netley (also the boundary between Southampton & Hampshire). On the other side of the road is the Southampton Water, facing across to the Fawley Oil Refinery. As can be seen by the dog, the scale of the thing means it is less than 1 metre high, so its purpose is fairly limited. It's certainly not big enough to get anyone into, and doesn't appear big enough, or suitably designed to house anything, yet it appears to have been constructed intact & obviously for a very specific purpose, which seems to elude everyone.

A coke oven, perhaps. For making coke on a small scale.

FourPart;1521760 wrote: It's located in Westwood, on the boundary location between Weston & Netley (also the boundary between Southampton & Hampshire). On the other side of the road is the Southampton Water, facing across to the Fawley Oil Refinery. As can be seen by the dog, the scale of the thing means it is less than 1 metre high, so its purpose is fairly limited. It's certainly not big enough to get anyone into, and doesn't appear big enough, or suitably designed to house anything, yet it appears to have been constructed intact & obviously for a very specific purpose, which seems to elude everyone.


Well, I'm sticking with my original guess. Perhaps more recent than the Reformation, though.

I see that sort of thing housing statues of various religious figures all the time.

LarsMac;1521790 wrote: Well, I'm sticking with my original guess. Perhaps more recent than the Reformation, though.

I see that sort of thing housing statues of various religious figures all the time.


That was my chain of thought, as in a shrine.

spot;1521800 wrote: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klondyke_Coke_Ovens


Surely far too small for that purpose

Bryn Mawr;1521808 wrote: Surely far too small for that purpose


Also no sign of charring.

...not been able to get onto the site for a while. Don't know why except I associate it with problems we've all been having (so I gather)¦



My guess is water. it's not pre-reformation - the bricks are too thick. It's Victorian probably and my guess is water related. Either there is/was a spring or a tap there, or piping associated with a tap, would be my guess.

edit: I'd say Edwardian rather than Victorian. It looks too fragile. But still guessing!

edit edit: The other thing is that shape is a pure Roman niche. They stuck statues, springs, you-name-it in niches that looked like that. Both Edwardians and Victorians used it as a sign of sophistication. This one is stuck out on its own. That looks like Edwardian showing off to me - either picnics or shooting parties.

nb: I am not certain about any of this. It's best guess.

Clodhopper;1521812 wrote: ...not been able to get onto the site for a while. Don't know why except I associate it with problems we've all been having (so I gather)¦



My guess is water. it's not pre-reformation - the bricks are too thick. It's Victorian probably and my guess is water related. Either there is/was a spring or a tap there, or piping associated with a tap, would be my guess.

edit: I'd say Edwardian rather than Victorian. It looks too fragile. But still guessing!

edit edit: The other thing is that shape is a pure Roman niche. They stuck statues, springs, you-name-it in niches that looked like that. Both Edwardians and Victorians used it as a sign of sophistication. This one is stuck out on its own. That looks like Edwardian showing off to me - either picnics or shooting parties.

nb: I am not certain about any of this. It's best guess.


Sounds good to me

Could you detail your problems getting onto the site in the request for feedback thread?

FourPart;1521743 wrote: This is a structure in a woods near where I live. It is the subject of quite a bit of curiosity as to what it is. Does anyone have any ideas? Previous suggestions have included an Ice House, something war related, or even a shrine of some sort, but no-one seems to know for sure. attachment.php?attachmentid=42236&stc=1&d=1546091709 (Edit: I thought the glitches regarding removal of Line Breaks & Image Inserts / Advanced Editing had been fixed. Apparently not)


Here you go.

http://www.iwalkalone.co.uk/?p=42914

FourPart;1521743 wrote: This is a structure in a woods near where I live. It is the subject of quite a bit of curiosity as to what it is. Does anyone have any ideas? Previous suggestions have included an Ice House, something war related, or even a shrine of some sort, but no-one seems to know for sure. attachment.php?attachmentid=42236&stc=1&d=1546091709 (Edit: I thought the glitches regarding removal of Line Breaks & Image Inserts / Advanced Editing had been fixed. Apparently not)


Where exactly are you located geographically in this pic? It's an outdoor oven or opening to a larder ...how far did it go back into the mound behind it? Defo looks like a beehive oven though.

magentaflame;1521873 wrote: Where exactly are you located geographically in this pic? It's an outdoor oven or opening to a larder ...how far did it go back into the mound behind it? Defo looks like a beehive oven though.


It's in here, in the middle of the woods, on the border of Weston & Netley, on the Southampton side of the Southampton Water:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.88266 ... 384!8i8192

The mass of earth behind it appears to be more a case of natural accumulation of debris over the years, rather than design. It doesn't go any further down than is seen, and there are no scorch marks as one would expect to see from any fires having been made inside.

Had anybody thought of digging around the base, particularly the front part, to just see how tall it actually is. The Easter Island Moai statues come to mind, when they dug down below the heads to find huge bodies ! Maybe a contact with the "Time Team" in the UK could make suggestions (useful ones) and maybe even come and have a look themselves ?