More information : (NZ 14000736) Earthwork (NR) (1) This feature is a dam, which in conjunction with sharply rising ground to the SW forms a large pond bay. The whole is of indeterminate age, but is situated above Ravensworth Castle (NZ 10 NW 1) and may have been associated with it. Published survey (25") correct. (2)
The dam is 45m long by 9.8m wide at the base and 2.0m at the top. It is 1.8m high to the south and 2.6m high to the north. The south face is formed by a stepped stone revetment wall, now partly robbed out. It has been breached towards the east end, probably on the line of a sluice. The dam lies on the line of a field boundary which is shown on maps of 1778 and 1841 (3a and b) but the dam itself is not specified or annotated on either. The date and purpose of the dam is unknown; possibly it was built to provide a steady water supply for a mill in the village and had no direct association with the castle. (3)
|