MEM22586 - Post-medieval drainage channel near Pinkworthy (or Pinkery) Pond (Monument)

A post-medieval drainage channel was visible as a linear earthwork 260 metres long during field investigation in 2012. This is likely of early 19th Century date and designed to remove water from the northern side of the Pinkworthy (or Pinkery) Pond dam.

A linear bank with a wet ditch on the upslope side was noted during a non-intrustive walkover survey of the proposed mire restoration area on The Chains, undertaken by South West Archaeology as part of the Exmoor Mires Project. The feature's low bank is c. 2 metres across and 0.5 metres high; the associated ditch is c. 1.5 metres across and 0.4 metres deep. This appears to run with the contour of the slope, but is not clearly a contour leat. This may be the same type of feature as MSO10477. The linear is interpreted as a relict field boundary. [1] The Historic Environment Officer for the Exmoor Mires Project undertook a non-intrustive walkover survey of the proposed mire restoration area on The Chains, which included this site. Noted was a linear earthwork running for 260 metres along the northern slopes of Pinkworthy (or Pinkery) Pond. To the southwest the feature consists of a 2.2 metre wide and 1 metre deep channel, with a substantial bank 1.3 metres high on the downslope side running for 35 metres, with a second bank 15 metres long and 1 metre high below it. The northern end consists of a silted channel which is not always visible. This feature is most likely of early 19th Century date and was probably designed to remove water from the northern side of the dam, either during construction or after. [2] A large scale metric survey of the Pinkworthy (or Pinkery) Pond environs was undertaken by Hazel Riley in 2012 as part of the Exmoor Mires Project. A linear earthwork was seen, which runs for some 260 metres on the northwest side of Pinkworthy (or Pinkery) Pond; this starts at the southwest corner of the pond and travels to a stream which flows into the northwest of the pond. The southwest part comprises a channel 2.2 metres wide and 1 metre deep, with a substantial bank 35 metres long, 1.5 metres wide and 1.3 metres high on the southeast (downslope) side. A second bank measuring 15 metres by 1.2 metres wide, with a height of 1 metre, lies below the first described to the southeast. The northern part of the feature comprises a silted channel and is visible intermittently. This is a leat designed to carry water away from the north face of the Pinkworthy (or Pinkery) Pond dam. The smaller, lower bank was built to help retain the channel. The leat is cut by a quarry (MEM22600). The leat dates to the early 19th Century and is directly associated with the construction of Pinkworthy (or Pinkery) Pond. It may have been built at the same time as the dam was constructed (by c. 1830) to divert water away from the building work, or after it was completed if waterlogging of the dam became a problem. [3]