MMO2352 - 19th or 20th Century drainage system west of Prayway Head (Monument)

An area of post-medieval, probably 19th or even 20th Century drainage channels is visible as a series of earthworks west of Prayway Head, Exmoor. Centred at approximately SS 7637 4091 the system consists of a straight central channel running downslope from north to south with a number of branches connecting at both sides on 45 degree angles along its route. They appear to have been designed as land drains and channel water into the nearby Pinkery Canal or Lime Combe, and most likely date to the period of land improvement by the Knight family in the mid 19th Century. However, they may also be related to the 20th Century sheep dips which lie immediately south of the main channel. [1,2] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [3]