MMO1778 - Medieval enclosure south of Brendon (Monument)

Summary

Evidence of short lived enclosure activity, potentially of medieval date, is visible on aerial photographs as earthwork field boundaries and possible ridge and furrow.

Please read the Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record .

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

  • None recorded

Full Description

Evidence of short-lived enclosure activity, potentially of medieval date, is visible on aerial photographs as earthwork field boundaries and possible ridge and furrow, in rough ground approximately 150 metres to the south of Leeford Farm, Brendon. The earthworks are visible on a steep slope which climbs between 220 to 260 metres above Ordnance Datum, centred on circa SS 769 84799, and cover an area of almost 1.2 hectares. The boundaries are not marked on the 1:2500 scale 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1889 [3], but appear to abut, and may be contemporary with, a small sub-rectangular enclosure marked and still extant within this area. Narrow ridge and furrow within the areas defined by the boundaries may be evidence an attempts at agricultural improvement. The highest 10 metres of this area contains natural outcrops of bedrock which may have made such improvement uneconomic. A possible hollow way and flanking earthwork banks may cross under the line of the extant enclosure and might therefore be evidence for an earlier phase of organisation. On the available aerial photographs vegetation and poor lighting obscures the area between the westernmost linear earthwork and Cross Lane, which might contain further remains. Similar earthworks 200 metres along Cross Lane to the southwest may be part of the same phase of enclosure activity. [1-4] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [5]

Sources/Archives (5)

  • <1> Aerial photograph: Various. Various. Vertical Aerial Photograph. NMR OS/72065 075-076 (15 April 1972).
  • <2> Aerial photograph: Various. Various. Vertical Aerial Photograph. NMR OS/95026 089-090 (3 March 2007).
  • <3> Map: Ordnance Survey. 1868-1901. County Series; 1st Edition 25 Inch Map. 1:2500. 1889.
  • <4>XY Archive: 2007-2009. Exmoor National Park NMP: SS 74 NE. MD002168. [Mapped feature: #33083 ]
  • <5> Digital archive: Historic England. Various. National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE) entry. 1461635, Extant 9 December 2021.

External Links (1)

Other Statuses/References

  • Local List Status (Unassessed)
  • National Monuments Record reference: SS 74 NE128
  • NRHE HOB UID (Pastscape): 1461635

Map

Location

Grid reference Centred SS 7691 4798 (250m by 121m) Aerial Survey
Map sheet SS74NE
Civil Parish BRENDON, NORTH DEVON, DEVON

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Events/Activities (1)

Record last edited

Dec 9 2021 2:31PM

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