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Summary

Possible extractive workings of between medieval to post-medieval date are visible as a series of earthwork cuttings on aerial photographs of 1947 onwards, along Owleycombe Common.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Earthworks of historic extractive workings along Owleycombe Common ridge

Other References/Statuses

• SHINE Candidate (Yes)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• EXTRACTIVE PIT (Early Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1750 AD (Between))

Full description

Devon County Council, 1838-1848, Tithe Maps and Apportionments (Website). SDV349463.

Land parcel 1220 is recorded as ‘Common’, 1224 as ‘Furze close common’ and 1225 as ‘Hill close common’.

Devon County Council, 1838-1848, Tithe Mosaic, approximately 1838-1848 (Cartographic). SDV349431.

Post-medieval enclosures depicted on this map likely post-date the workings.

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

‘Old gravel pits’ and ‘Old marl pits’ are depicted in the vicinity here.

Royal Air Force, 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1974, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FP 1292-93 11-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356127.

The workings are visible as a series of cuttings.

Bluesky International, 2016, LiDAR DTM data (0.5m resolution) Blackdown Hills and East Devon AONBs: 3 transects, LIDAR ST1012, ST1112, ST1212 Bluesky International DTM 05-MAY-2016 & 27-JUN-2016 (Cartographic). SDV359714.

The workings are visible as a series of cuttings.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2016-2018, The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV359463.

Possible extractive workings of between medieval to post-medieval date are visible as a series of earthwork cuttings on aerial photographs of 1947 onwards, along Owleycombe Common. The irregular cuttings are broadly linear in shape, northeast to southwest aligned and stretch out to a length of approximately 1.4km along the north-western edge of Hackpen Hill, from Bowhayes Farm in the west to Sycamore Farm to the east. The workings appear to have deliberately utilised and exploited the natural topography here and have been cut into and along the steep northwest facing slope of the common. The earthworks are defined by steep and sharp edges and do not appear to represent part of the natural landform. The earthworks may be of some age. The Parish Tithe map depicts a series of post-medieval enclosures here which likely post-date the workings. Field names of ‘Common’ (1220), ‘Furze close common’ (1224) and ‘Hill close common’ (1225) all confirm the existence of the common by this time, which may suggest the workings pre-date establishment of the common. In addition, subsequent historic maps do not depict any earthworks here, so are not likely to be of 19th or 20th century date, although a number of ‘Old gravel pits’ and ‘Old marl pits’ are depicted in the vicinity here. The full extent of these workings was, however, slightly unclear given that they have been cut into a steep sloping hillside. As such only the face of these cuttings could be transcribed, although the extent of the area to the immediate northwest, which may represent an area of previous workings, was somewhat arbitrarily defined within the monument polygon Near identical earthworks are also visible along the southeast edge of this spur (MDV115831) and likely represent associated features. Further work, such as a site visit, is recommended to help clarify the nature of these earthworks. The earthworks remain clearly visible on digital images derived from lidar data captured in 2016.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV336179	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1880-1899. First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map. First Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Map (Digital).
SDV349431	Cartographic: Devon County Council. 1838-1848. Tithe Mosaic, approximately 1838-1848. Digitised Tithe Map. Digital.
SDV349463	Website: Devon County Council. 1838-1848. Tithe Maps and Apportionments. http://devon.gov.uk. Website.
SDV356127	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1947. RAF/CPE/UK/1974. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FP 1292-93 11-APR-1947.
SDV359463	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R.. 2016-2018. The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project. Historic England Research Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:2
SDV359714	Cartographic: Bluesky International. 2016. LiDAR DTM data (0.5m resolution) Blackdown Hills and East Devon AONBs: 3 transects. Not applicable. Digital. LIDAR ST1012, ST1112, ST1212 Bluesky International DTM 05-MAY-2016 & 27-JUN-2016. [Mapped feature: #75161 ]

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7508 - The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme (NMP) project (Ref: ACD1228)

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