MEM23036 - Post-medieval leat at Ashcombe (Monument)

A leat of possible 17th or 18th Century origins ran from the head of Ashcombe Water to the rear of Simonsbath House, possibly originating as a reliable water supply to Simonsbath Farm. It was modified in the 19th and 20th Centuries to form part of the Ashcombe designed landscape.

Halfway up the western side of Ashcombe runs a shallow, artificial channel of slow moving water. This leat is said to have provided Simonsbath House and most of the village with a water supply until the relatively recent installation of a boar hole. At some point between the 1888 1st Edition and 1902 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey maps, an overflow channel was formed directing water back to the main stream at the southern end, running from c. SS 7726 3946. A leat on the western side of Ashcombe forms part of the designed landscape, taking water from Ashcombe Water at the north boundary of the Plantation and following the contour until it meets John Knight's boundary wall at SS 77263 39464. It originally ran a further 200 metres to the back of Simonsbath House but was diverted here in c. 1890. The leat may have origins in the 17th or 18th Century as a reliable water supply to Simonsbath Farm and may explain the irregular shape of John Knight's enclosure. It was clearly modified in the 19th and 20th Centuries, with some concrete structures constructed in the channel. By the time of the 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1902, it formed part of the circular walk around Ashcombe. [2]