MMO2735 - Post-medieval drainage system around Hangley Cleave (Monument)

A complex series of drainage ditches is visible as earthworks on aerial photograghs on moorland around the Hangley Cleave mine. Centred at approximately SS 7432 3672, the majority of the ditches cut across the contours of the slope, directing water from the higher ground in the south and the southeast towards Kinsford Water and its tributaries. The drains cover a vast area, approximately 35 hectares, and in several places appear to direct water around adits and other crucial areas of the mine indicating that they were probably constructed around the time that the mine was active between 1854 and 1857. However, given their resemblance to other linear drainage systems in and around the former Royal Forest, there is a possibility that they were constructed as land improvement drains prior to the opening of the mines. [1,2] 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]