Both aerial photographs and field surveys show low earthworks in the fields to the north-east and south-west of Doddershall House, near Quainton. Documentary evidence reveals that these are the remains of the village of Doddershall, which dates back to Saxon times and is recorded in Domesday Book in 1085.

The village was destroyed in the years following 1495, when the lord of the manor evicted all his tenant villagers and turned the village's open fields over to sheep farming. Its site is unscheduled and has never been excavated.

However a report for Cardinal Wolsey in 1517 says that 24 cottages were pulled down and 120 people made homeless. Today shallow earthworks show where once were streets.

The north-eastern section of the deserted village site is already bisected by the former Great Central railway line, now used for goods trains only. The planned HS2 high-speed rail line will run parallel to this existing line, which will be used for access to the HS2 construction site.

The twin-track line itself will be 75 metres wide, destroying a half-mile section of village earthworks. This is the minimum because road access required for construction is not yet known.

A PLOT OF THE DESERTED VILLAGE EARTHWORKS in the fields to the north of Doddershall House. The dotted lines across the top-right corner show the planned route of HS2. The line itself will be much wider and destroy more of the earthworks.