MMO2333 - 19th Century pond on Dure Down (Monument)

A large pond is visible on aerial photographs as an earthwork on Dure Down, Exmoor. Centred at approximately SS 7554 4088 and measuring some 45 metres long it appears to be closely associated with a section of the Pinkery Canal, and may in fact be part of it. A stream runs from the pond downslope towards Tangs Bottom, indicating that the pond may have functioned as part of a water power system. The 1st Cdition Ordnance Survey map shows the pond as a separate structure, surrounding the end of Pinkery Canal. However, Pinkery Canal continues to the east, and is not depicted on the 1889 map, suggesting that either the full extent of the canal was not mapped or that it was still under construction at this time. Further survey will be required to establish the precise relationship between the two monuments, but it appears that the pond, like the canal, is most likely related to 19th Century drainage activities in this area. [1-3] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [4]