MEM24557 - Post-medieval drive in Yearnor Wood (Monument)

A drive runs from the north side of Ashley Combe, over a tunnel, then along the top of the cliffs before turning to run along the side of Culbone Combe, eventually running past Culbone Cottage and the churchyard. It was surveyed in 2017-8.

Drive 4 is the lowest of the drives through the woods. It runs from the north side of Ashley Combe, over Tunnel 1, then along the top of the cliffs for some 1.2 kilometres before turning to run along the side of Culbone Combe, where it crosses the stream via a bridge to run past Culbone Cottage (MSO10663), along the north side of the churchyard to join Drives 2 (MEM24555) and 3 (MEM24556) at Culbone Lodge (MSO10664). Like Drive 3, Drive 4 is also largely inaccessible due to vegetation and landslips but between SS 85101 48395 and SS 85256 48370 c 57 metres can be reached. Here, the drive is characterised by a drystone retaining wall on the upslope side and a substantial drystone wall on the cliff side. The retaining wall, built of pitched, small stone blocks, is 1.2 metres high, the level path is 2.7 metres wide and the cliff side wall is 0.9 metres high and 1.2 metres wide. The tithe map of 1841 [1] shows that only a small part of the designed landscape was laid out by this time. The road from Worthy to Porlock, marked on the 1804 map [2], is clearly marked on the tithe map; Drive 4 appears to follow its route, perhaps indicating that this older route was the starting points for the design of the drives and paths through the woods. [3]