MMO2656 - Post-medieval field boundary and ditch west of West Lodge (Monument)

A post-medieval field boundary and drainage ditch can be seen on aerial photographs as earthworks. Part of the field boundary is depicted on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map, as is the ditch, shown as an artificial watercourse.

A post-medieval field boundary and drainage ditch can be seen on aerial photographs as earthworks in a field to the west of West Lodge, Wootton Courtenay. Centred at approximately SS 9532 4279, the banks run east to west and north to south, forming a T shape and dividing the extant single field into three smaller enclosures. They were presumably removed to create a larger area, perhaps for grazing. The ditch, which runs alongside the north to south boundary, and measures some 105 metres in length, is depicted on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map as an artificial watercourse. It was most likely constructed for drainage, or to direct water from the nearby spring to the River Avill. Part of the field boundary is also depicted on the 1st Edition map, suggesting it was still in use at the time of publication in 1889. [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]