MSO10362 - Post-medieval pond south of West Pinford (Monument)

A large, circular, water filled depression with a stony banked rim. The diameter of the feature is c.10 metres. Though this feature may be connected with mining the most likely interpretation is a bomb crater. [1] A small circular pond is visible on aerial photographs on West Pinford, Exmoor, north of Warren Farm. Centred at approximately SS 7939 4138, the pond measures approximately 11 metres across. It is recorded by [1] as a bomb crater, but this interpretation seems unlikely due to the distance from the main Exmoor Firing Range. A similar pond is visible 500 metres to the north east (see MSO7099). Both lie within extensive areas of 19th Century drainage, believed to have been constructed by the Knight family as part of their land improvement attempts, and it seems likely that the ponds formed part of this drainage system. [2,3] 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] The pond is not shown on the 25 inch 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map. [5] The pond is depicted and labelled on 2021 MasterMap data. [6]