MSO6921 - Post-medieval sheepfold on Great Woolcombe (Monument)

A post medieval sheepfold is visible on Great Woolcombe, centred at approximately SS 7771 3756. It measures 41.5m square defined by an earthern bank 0.9m high topped by a grown-out beech hedge. There is also a broad external ditch 4m wide and 0.3m deep. A single entrance 2.3m wide is visible on the western end of the southern side of the enclosure. Elsewhere are modern breaks in the bank caused by animal erosion. A short length of bank runs from the southern side of the sheepfold near the entrance as far as the nearby stream, and was probably to control stock. The sheepfold was constructed by Frederic Knight in the mid 19th century as part of his land improvement measures on Exmoor. [1-4] A square enclosure is seen marked on the 1:2500 and 1:10560 Ordnance Survey maps. The edges of this feature are tree lined. [5,6] This structure is thought likely to have been related to sheep rearing operations undertaken by the Knight family in the 19th Century. [7] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [8]