MMO2027 - Post-medieval extractive pit or quarry east of Rowley Down (Monument)

A large post-medieval extractive pit or quarry is visible on aerial photographs as an earthwork to the east of Rowley Down, Parracombe. Centred at approximately SS 6568 4343 the quarry measures approximately 160 metres long and up to 30 metres wide. The linear form of the quarry suggests it may have been following a mineral seam, but it is not clear what was extracted at this site. The quarry is depicted on the 1st and 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey maps and annotated as "old quarry," suggesting that it was abandoned prior to publication in 1889. It may have been abandoned in favour of Lawns Quarry, located approximately 200 metres to the northeast, which was in operation into the 20th Century. [1-4] The feature is also depicted on the 1963 Ordnance Survey map. [5] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [6]