MMO3012 - Medieval or post-medieval packhorse roads north of Red Stone Gate (Monument)

Earthworks visible to the north of Red Stone Gate, at circa SS 8192 3937, may be the remains of packhorse routes of medieval or post-medieval date. Located on the crest of a major topographical feature, the earthworks may be evidence of a major communications route along the ridge from Winsford Hill in the southeast. The possible routes take the form of sinuous hollow ways between 2 to 5 metres wide, climbing Red Stone Hill to the west for over 400 metres. The main body of the earthworks are located immediately within the parish of Exmoor. Rat Combe to the north and the combe of a tributary to Pennycombe Water to the south may have created a pinch point on this ridge for traffic accessing the former Royal Forest, perhaps even a point where access was regulated. The earthworks appear to have been largely levelled by 1973. [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]