MMO2346 - Post-medieval drainage system north of Blackpitts (Monument)

A substantial post medieval drainage system is visible on aerial photographs as a number of earthworks on the eastern edge of Exe Plain. It may have been deliberately enhanced by localised peat cutting (MMO2310).

A substantial post-medieval drainage system is visible on aerial photographs as a number of earthworks on the eastern edge of Exe Plain, west of the B 3223. Centred at approximately SS 7630 4217, the drainage system consists of a central gutter running north to south downslope into an unnamed tributary of Farley Water. Several additional gutters connect with this central branch. At some stage the drainage ditches have been widened by peat cutting in the area (MMO2310), and it is possible that the peat was extracted in a further attempt to drain the area. The system most likely dates to the mid 19th Century and the land improvement attempts by the Knight family, but have clearly been recut and reused, possibly into the 20th Century. [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]