MMO2406 - Post-medieval field boundary on Trout Hill (Monument)

A curvilinear earthwork bank is visible on aerial photographs. It appears to connect at its southern end with the extant Knight boundary constructed after 1820 and may have been intended as a continuation of this, altered shortly after creation.

A curvilinear earthwork bank is visible on aerial photographs on the north end of Trout Hill, Exmoor. Centred at SS 7828 4202, the bank runs roughly north to south, apparently connecting at its southern end with the extant boundary constructed by the Knight family after their acquisition of the former Royal Forest. It measures over 500 metres in length, terminating at its northern end just south of The Warren, close to the propsed route of the Exmoor Mineral Railway. Unlike the extant boundary, the nearby drainage ditches are not cut by this feature, which suggests that this bank predates both the drainage system and the extant boundary. The bank it is not depicted on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map, suggesting it was abandoned prior to publication in 1889. The precise function of the bank is uncertain - it may have been intended as the original route of the extant boundary and altered shortly after construction. The close association with the Exmoor Mineral Railway suggests that it may have been intended as a branch line, although there is no documentary evidence for this. [1-3] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [4]