MMO2781 - Medieval strip lynchets southwest of Muxworthy Cottage (Monument)

A pair of linear cropmarks are visible on aerial photographs in a field southwest of Muxworthy Cottage, Brayford, and have been interpreted as the remains of medieval strip lynchets. Centred at approximately SS 7079 3754, the cropmarks are visible as an S shaped line of darker growth measuring 150 metres long by 2 to 3 metres wide. They run roughly north to south, curving from east to west and therefore appearing to follow the contours of the slope. They are similar in size and form to the earthwork strip lynchets visible to the east (see MMO2780), and lie on the same alignment as both the strip lynchets and the extant field boundaries. There are no boundaries at this location depicted on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1890, indicating that they were most like removed and ploughed out some time prior to publication. Like the strip lynchets to the east, they lie parallel to the extant boundaries, which suggests that the pattern of fields around Muxworthy has changed little since medieval times, with the strip lynchets evolving into boundaries or being removed to create larger fields over a period of years. [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]