MDE20817 - Medieval or post-medieval peat cutting site on Ilkerton Ridge (Monument)

Low banks forming three sides of a regular enclosure are shown on aerial photographs on Ilkerton Ridge. [1-3] SS 7213 4458. This rectangular embanked enclosure is the remains of a fishpond measuring 56.7 metres northeast to southwest by 26.2 metres between the centres of a turf bank 2.5 metres wide and 0.7 metres high. It is situated about 325 metres above Ordnance Datum on the top of a flat heather covered ridge at the southern end of Ilkerton Ridge. There is no bank at the southeast corner and although the area is very wet the pond is dry. This fishpond is shown on the 1840 Tithe map annotated 'water'. There is a note beside it to the effect that it was 'intended for a Fishpond but not finished, commenced about 20 years ago'.'now 1840'. So it must have been constructed about 1820. No further information was found regarding its builders. [4,5] The rectangular cut feature described above is clearly visible on aerial photographs. It lies in an area of heavy 19th and 20th Century peat cutting, and the surrounding bank described above may be an illusion created by the cutting. Its regular form and shape indicate that it was constructed prior to the beginnings of the peat cutting activity, and it is clearly separate; however, it seems likely that the peat cutting will have disturbed the feature somewhat. [6,7] The feature described above is almost certainly the result of peat cutting. The site was visited in 2016 and the 'sides' of the enclosure appear to be an arrangement of cuts. Although it is marked on the Tithe Map, it is not marked on the 1889 Ordnance Survey 1st edition map [8] or subseqent maps. The position of a fish pond on high moorland, in peat, seems unlikely even though the map evidence cited above suggests otherwise. [9] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [10] SS 7211 4456. Part of a large area of peat cutting was noted on the southern side of Ilkerton Ridge during field survey following a wildfire in 2022. The feature is recorded as a fish pond on the tithe map, but this is not the case. [11]