MSO6775 - Sharcott deserted farmstead, Exford (Monument)

A few buildings are shown on the 1962 Ordnance Survey map. [1] Banks forming small rectangular enclosures are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs. It is noted on the Ordnance Survey as "Sharcott" and may be a deserted farm site. [2-4] A deserted farmstead is alleged at Sharcott. [5] The earthworks are no longer visible on 2008 aerial photography. [6] Sharcott Farmstead is shown on the Tithe Map for Exford. It consists of a linear farmhouse at SS 8567 3964 and two outbuildings at SS 8567 3967 and SS 8566 3965. The site is labelled 442, with a garden plot to the northeast (at SS 8568 3967) labelled 441 and various enclosures around the site labelled 439, 440, 443 and 444a. The associated Apportionment document states that the farmstead is both owned and occupied by Thomas and John Greenslade and describes these plots as below: 439: Calves Plot (Pasture) 440: part of Meadow (Pasture) 441: Garden 442: Sharcott Homestead 443: Plantation 444a: Mowbarton (Barton). [7] By the time the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map was surveyed, the outbuilding at SS 8567 3967 had been extended to the south and the farmhouse also appears to have been enlarged. A further small square building was also constructed at SS 8565 3963. Most of the enclosures shown on the Tithe Map are also still in place. This layout is repeated on the 2nd Edition map but since this was published, the enlarged outbuilding has been redeveloped and echoes its earlier footprint but the small square building has either been demolished and rebuilt on a larger scale, or extended to the south. [8-10] The transcription of the aerial photographs studied during the CRAAGS survey is available to the HER. This shows that the earthworks are mainly centred around the existing farmstead (often reflecting historic field boundaries and enclosures), with some stretching out to the neighbouring fields and lanes. The mapping for the site has been adjusted accordingly. [2, 11] The farmstead was seen from a distance in February 1997 as part of the Exmoor Farmsteads survey. The house frontage was thought to date to the late 17th or early 18th Century, with the rear of the property much altered in the late 20th Century. The site and some of the enclosures were thought to have some antiquity. [12] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [13]