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Summary

Embankment enclosing an area of low-lying land that was reclaimed from the intertidal area in the late 19th century but not improved until the early 20th century. Earthworks of a curvilinear bank flanked by a ditch are visible on aerial imagery taken from the 1940s onwards and on visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2013 and 2019.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Earthworks of Reclamation embankment on east side of River Tamar, constructed in late nineteenth century

Other References/Statuses

• SHINE Candidate (Yes)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• DRAIN (XIX - 1850 AD (Between) to 1900 AD (Between))
• FLOOD DEFENCES (Built, XIX - 1850 AD to 1900 AD)

Full description

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

Much of the area in this location is shown as being occupied by the River Tamar. There are no features depicted in this location.

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

Embankment depicted, encirling southern end of low lying land within a loop of the River Tamar to the south of South Hooe, just above the High Water Mark of Ordinary Tides.

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

The land shown in this location has been reclaimed. The bank corresponds with an earthwork.

Royal Air Force, 1946 - 1949, Royal Air Force Aerial Photographs (Aerial Photograph). SDV342938.

A curvilinear bank is visible as an earthwork.

Environment Agency, 2000-2019, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) EA: Tamar Aerial Survey project area, LIDAR Environment Agency LAST RETURN 19-APR-2019 (Cartographic). SDV363954.

Curvilinear earthworks of banks and a ditch are visible.

NERC, 2013, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) Tellus: Tamar Aerial Survey project area, LIDAR Tellus LAST RETURN 01-JUL-2013 to 31-AUG-2013 (Cartographic). SDV363955.

Curvilinear earthworks of a bank and a ditch are visible.

Cornwall Archaeological Unit, 2017, South Cornwall Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey Desk-Based Assessment, 148 (Interpretation). SDV360825.

A large man-made embankment forms the eastern bank of the Tamar and encloses an area of low-lying land that was reclaimed from the intertidal area in the late 19th century but not improved until the early 20th century.

Ordnance Survey, 2018, MasterMap 2018 (Cartographic). SDV360652.

Embankment and drain shown.

Google, 2019, Google Earth Pro, EARTH.GOOGLE.COM 30-MAY-2021 ACCESSED 04-MAY-2021 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363088.

Curvilinear earthworks of a bank and a ditch are visible.

Davies, T., 2020, Tamar Banks, South Hooe, Plymouth, Devon. Results of Palaeoenvironmental Coring (Report - Evaluation). SDV364348.

Palaeoenvironmental coring work was undertaken as part of the mitigation scheme for wetland reclamation works on land at South Hooe. Two c. 3m deep cores were collected at the location of a proposed breach to the flood defence embankment. The cores contained a mixture of mineral and organic rich sandy and silty clays typical of salt marsh environments. The material has the potential for the examination of the development of the salt marsh and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction for the lower Tamar and a programme of radiocarbon dating and geoarchaeological and palynological assessment is advised.

Hegarty, C., Houghton, E., Knight, S. and Sims, R., 2020-2021, Tamar/Lidar; A Single Source Approach to Landscape Survey and Socially Distanced Community Archaeology Area 1 (AI&M project) (Interpretation). SDV363945.

Curvilinear earthworks of this late 19th century flood embankment are visible on aerial imagery taken from the 1940s onwards and on visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2013 and 2019. The visible earthworks follow the foreshore along a prominent meander of the River Tamar. They comprise a bank, circa 9 metres wide, which is flanked along its inner edge by a ditch, circa 5 metres wide.
The earthworks do not correspond with any features in this location on the mid-19th century Parish Tithe Map, which shows this area as being occupied by the River Tamar. By the late-19th century, however, land in this location had been reclaimed from the inter-tidal area and the bank is shown to closely correspond with an earthwork on this map. The area of reclaimed land is shown as unimproved rough ground and/or marsh.
The course of the flood embankment was evidently slightly altered during the second half of the 20th century, when its western extent at SX41446447 was diverted sharply towards the north. A short section of the original embankment, however, survives at SX41426458. The origin of the inner ditch or drain is uncertain, but has been transcribed and is included within the monument polygon for this record.
Earthworks and a watercourse labelled as ‘Drain’ are shown in this location on the 2021 Ordnance Survey MasterMap.

Ordnance Survey, 2021, MasterMap 2021 (Cartographic). SDV364015.

Earthworks and a watercourse labelled as ‘Drain’ are shown in this location.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8345 - Tamar/Lidar; A Single Source Approach to Landscape Survey and Socially Distanced Community Archaeology Area 1 (AI&M) (Ref: ACD2380)
• EDV8891 - Archaeological evaluation on the South Hooe Peninsula, Bere Ferrers
• EDV8892 - Palaeoenvironmental coring on the South Hooe Peninsula, Bere Ferrers

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