MMO2816 - Post-medieval quarry pits on Bye Hill (Monument)

Two quarry pits of probable post-medieval date are visible on aerial photographs as earthworks on Bye Hill, centred on circa SS 8925 3562. The pits are irregularly shaped with no entrance track immediately apparent. The easternmost pit, which measures over 35 metres long and circa 11 wide, corresponds with a quarry marked in this location on the on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1890. The western earthwork, measuring circa 27 metres long and up to 11 wide, also corresponds with a elongated pit marked on the historic map, but this feature is annotated. It seems probable, however, that this is also a quarry, albeit one which may have passed out of use. The particular purpose of the pits is unclear, but these two are the only examples of confirmed quarries depicted on the historic map in this area. A further 8 smaller pits recorded distributed over the summit of Bye Hill may be evidence of mineral prospection. Most of these smaller pits appear to have been levelled by the 1970s. [1-4] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [5] The quarry and associated access tracks are marked on the Ordnance Survey 1st Edition mapping of c 1890 [6] Tracks are marked on the Winsford Tithe Map but no quarry is described or depicted. [7]