MSO6921 - Post-medieval sheepfold on Great Woolcombe (Monument)

A post medieval sheepfold is visible on Great Woolcombe, centred at approximately SS 7771 3756. It measures 41.5m square defined by an earthern bank 0.9m high topped by a grown-out beech hedge. There is also a broad external ditch 4m wide and 0.3m deep. A single entrance 2.3m wide is visible on the western end of the southern side of the enclosure. Elsewhere are modern breaks in the bank caused by animal erosion. A short length of bank runs from the southern side of the sheepfold near the entrance as far as the nearby stream, and was probably to control stock. The sheepfold was constructed by Frederic Knight in the mid 19th century as part of his land improvement measures on Exmoor. [1-4] A square enclosure is seen marked on the 1:2500 and 1:10560 Ordnance Survey maps. The edges of this feature are tree lined. [5,6] This structure is thought likely to have been related to sheep rearing operations undertaken by the Knight family in the 19th Century. [7] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [8] The heritage asset was assessed for inclusion on the Exmoor Local Heritage List in February 2024. It was noted that it's age is moderately distinctive for the 19th century Exmoor shepherding and is of a distinctive design being a large square enclosure. It is deemed to have high historical association with the Knight Estate and named Scottish shepherds. It's evidential value is not complex but otherwise poorly documented so physical remains are significant. It was deemed to have moderate social communal value being a landmark, and to have high collective value being one of a group of sheep folds or stells developed on the Knight Estate in the former Royal Forest . It was decided to add the asset to the Local Heritage List. [9]