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Summary

A probable former extractive pit of probably post-medieval to 19th century date was visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s onwards and digital images derived from lidar data as an earthwork pit on the west-facing slopes north-east of Pitney Farm, Broadhembury parish.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• EXTRACTIVE PIT (Post Medieval to XIX - 1540 AD to 1840 AD (Between))
• ORCHARD (Post Medieval to XX - 1540 AD to 1947 AD (Between))

Full description

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

The visible earthwork does not correspond with a depicted feature but the plot (116a) is listed as The Orchard.

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

The pit is depicted as an orchard.

Royal Air Force, 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1974, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FS 2453-2454 11-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356127.

A large and irregularly triangular earthwork pit was visible very sparsely planted with trees or scrub vegetation.

Environment Agency, 1998-2014, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution), LIDAR ST1004 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 30-SEP-2014 (Cartographic). SDV359177.

A large and irregularly triangular earthwork pit was visible.

GeoInformation Group Ltd, 2010, 1:625 2010 Colour (12.5cm resolution) (Aerial Photograph). SDV346026.

The pit earthwork was obscured by dense coniferous tree cover.

Ordnance Survey, 2016, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV359352.

The plot is depicted as woodland.

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

A probable former extractive pit was visible on digital images derived from lidar data as a roughly triangular earthwork pit approximately 90 metres by 95 metres in size, on the west-facing slopes north-east of Pitney Farm, Broadhembury parish.
The pit was not depicted on the Tithe Map for Broadhembury, the entire plot listed as an orchard. On the Ordnance Survey First Edition 25 inch map the plot was subdivided, with the largest subdivision corresponding closely to the shape of the pit, but depicted as an orchard. The second division was also depicted as an orchard but corresponds with orchard banks not visible within the pit, and has been recorded separately.
This might support the interpretation that the extractive pit had passed out of use prior to the mid to late 19th century and that the woodland was established on the site of the disused pit; the establishment of woodland on such otherwise agriculturally marginal former extractive sites is a recurring theme noted by the survey.
The area of the pit was only lightly planted with trees on aerial photographs of 1947 supporting the interpretation that the orchard within the pit had possibly been cleared in the first half of the 20th century, possibly to make way for a coniferous plantation; the earthwork is now largely obscured from view by dense plantation tree cover.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV336179	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1880-1899. First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map. First Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Map (Digital).
SDV346026	Aerial Photograph: GeoInformation Group Ltd. 2010. 1:625 2010 Colour (12.5cm resolution). 2010 Aerial Photographs. 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 FS 2453-2454 11-APR-1947.
SDV359177	Cartographic: Environment Agency. 1998-2014. LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution). Environment Agency LiDAR data. Digital. LIDAR ST1004 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 30-SEP-2014.
SDV359352	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 2016. MasterMap. Ordnance Survey Digital Mapping. Digital.
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

Associated Monuments: none recorded

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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