MMO2156 - Post-medieval leat on Goat Hill (Monument)

A probable post-medieval drainage gutter or leat is visible on aerial photographs as an earthwork on Goat Hill, Exmoor. Centred at approximately SS 7267 4052, the leat runs east to west for approximately 480 metres, along the path of the 410 metre contour line. It appears to drain into a leat depicted on the Ordnance Survey map at its eastern end (approximately SS 7299 4045), which in turn drains into an unnamed tributary of the River Barle. This leat is broadly similar to the leat known as Pinkery Canal, visible approximately 800 metres to the northeast, but its precise function is unclear. It seems probable that it was associated in some way with the agricultural improvement activities carried out by the Knight family in this area. A substantial area of post-medieval peat cutting is visible immediately to the north, close to the summit of Goat Hill, and it is equally possible that the leat was related to this activity. The leat is not depicted on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1890, which indicates it may have been constructed after this date, or abandoned prior to it. [1-4] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [5]