MMO3180 - Possible post-medieval stock enclosure on Hawkridge Plain (Monument)

A small bank and ditch defined enclosure can be seen on aerial photographs of the 1940s onwards, centred in circa SS 8218 3197. The earthwork is irregularly shaped and encloses an area of about 900 square metres. It is situated on the lower slopes of Hawkridge Plain above Danes Brook, abutting the road to Lower Willingford Bridge, approximately 300 metres to the northwest. The enclosure is not marked on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1890, the area in which it is located depicted as an area of unimproved and perhaps boggy ground. This could support the interpretation that the enclosure post dates 1890 but it seems more likely that it is an earlier construction that has passed out of use by this time. Considering the proximity of the enclosure to the commons to the south, it may be the remains of stock enclosure of post-medieval date. [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]