MEM25812 - Medieval to post medieval leat and possible fishpond north of Holwell Castle, Parracombe (Monument)

A rectangular feature adjacent to the River Heddon was identified during LiDAR and aerial photography survey, associated with a leat which was found during a site visit to survive in good condition with stonework present, implying later readaptation and continued use.

As part of a consultation in 2026, the landowner alerted the HER to the presence of an extensive leat, stone lined in some areas, following the contour line in a sinuous fashion. This was confirmed during a site visit. [1] The leat may have originally connected with the well known "Mill Leat" to Parracombe Mill, which is located in the neighbouring parcel at a similar level, but it is currently truncated by a stream which crosses its path to enter the River Heddon. There is a column at the point at which the leat and stream meet surviving in the stream area, possibly suggesting the leat at one time was used as an artificial watercourse to cross the stream. This is likely late in the history of the leat's usage, as it is marked as extending to this length and crossing the stream on historic OS mapping. [2] During LiDAR assessment, a rectangular feature adjacent to the leat was noted. The arrangement of features suggested that this may have been a source of water for the leat, placed close to a meander of the River Heddon. It is also visible on 1946 aerial photography. [3, 4] The rectangular shape of the feature suggested it may have been a medieval fishpond associated with nearby Holwell Castle, rather than the more commonly known later circular or sub-circular ponds of the post medieval period. While monastic examples are better known, there is nonetheless plentiful evidence for domestic fishponds at small defensive sites that later became manorial, as at Welton in Lincolnshire, where the fishponds are now Scheduled. A better comparison may be the 11th century motte and bailey castles at Hamstead Marshall, Berkshire, with fishponds laid out along the River Kennett. Beaudesert Castle, in Warwickshire, is a further example of this practice. In a more local example, the fishponds at Barlynch Priory are a useful comparison. The design of the ponds with the contour leat is strikingly similar to the leat and feature at Parracombe [5] It is suggested that the leat may therefore have originally formed an outflow for the fishpond, later reused and redeveloped as the initial section of what later became Mill Leat. The length of the leat, when added to the previously known Mill Leat, is 375m, not as extensive as other examples on Exmoor but nonetheless significantly distant from the mill. The ease of reusing an earlier leat may explain this length for a mill race, when there are other seemingly more convenient points at which water could have been removed from the Heddon for the mill's use. [6]