MMO2775 - Possible medieval enclosure remains to northwest of Rockley (Monument)

Several low banks forming enclosures are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs. They appear to have a medieval or possibly earlier date of origin, and may indicate a deserted farmstead or shrunken hamlet.

McDonnell records low banks forming old field boundaries and the remains of rectangular buildings, shown well on aerial photographs taken in 1947. [1,2] Several low banks forming enclosures are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs west of Rockley Farm, Brayford. Centred at approximately SS 7026 3835, the banks form two rectangular enclosures adjacent to Rockley Lane. The enclosures are aligned approximately northwest to southeast, and therefore lie on an opposite alignment to the extant boundaries in the area. There is a possibility that these enclosures have been truncated by Rockley Lane to the north. The larger of the two, at SS 7026 3840, measures approximately 51 metres by 37 metres, while the smaller, at SS 7031 3841 measures approximately 25 metres by 10 metres. As stated above, however, both may have been truncated. Each of the enclosures is defined by a bank approximately 3.5 metres wide. The third enclosure, at SS 7023 3831 is formed by an almost curvilinear bank, and again lies on a different alignment, similar to the two rectangular enclosures to the north. This enclosure measures approximately 100 metres by 50 metres, and may have been subdivided internally. The bank itself is no more than 3 metres wide. The form of the three enclosures suggests a medieval date. None are depicted on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map, suggesting they had been abandoned some time before publication in 1890. It is possible that the remains represent a neighbouring farm to Rockley, now deserted, or that Rockley itself is the remains of a shrunken hamlet or other settlement. [3-5] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [6]