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Summary

A curvilinear ditch, probably the remains of a leat of medieval to post-medieval date, is visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s onwards and images derived from lidar data captured between 1998 and 2014 as an earthwork following the contours on the west-facing slopes of Crownhill Down. The leat has been largely destroyed by modern open cast mining.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: 1355403
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 1355403
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX55NE/165

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• LEAT (Early Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1750 AD)

Full description

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

Leat shown on 19th century map running north to south on the west side of Crownhill Down. Map object previously based on this Source.

Ordnance Survey, 1904 - 1906, Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map (Cartographic). SDV325644.

Not shown on early 20th century map.

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1890, RAF/CPE/UK/1890 FP 1126-1127 10-DEC-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV169268.

A curvilinear earthwork ditch is visible.

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

Leat shown on aerial photograph. Map object based on this Source.

AMAX, 1982, The Hemerdon Project. Archaeological Sites (Plan - measured). SDV149232.

Devon County Council, 1982, Untitled Source (Plan - measured). SDV337246.

Leat running right across Crownhill Down from SX56106000 to SX56195923. On north side of the tinworks, the leat runs above road, but crosses to below road on south side. Shown as a drain on modern maps.

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1985, SX55NE (Cartographic). SDV337243.

Leat shown on aerial photograph interpretation. Map object based on this Source.

Environment Agency, 1998-2017, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) EA: South Devon Coast to Dartmoor, LIDAR SX5659-SX5660 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 31-MAY (Cartographic). SDV361470.

A curvilinear earthwork ditch is visible.

National Monuments Record, 2002, 1355403 (National Monuments Record Database). SDV343953.

A well-defined but dry and silted leat follows a contour across Crownhill Down from SX56136006 where it emerges from cultivated land to SX56175917 where it re-enters enclosed land. It almost certainly provided water for the Bottle Hill Tin Mine to the south. Other details: NMR Number SX55NE29.

Fletcher, M., 2002, The Archaeological Landscape of Crownhill Down and Ridding Down: Survey Report, 5-6 (Report - Survey). SDV343412.

Other details: Figure 3 and Crownhill Down Survey. Map object based on this Source.

Ordnance Survey, 2009, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV341569.

Shown as a 'Drain' on modern mapping.

Google, 2019, Google Earth Pro, EARTH.GOOGLE.COM 22-JUN-2018 ACCESSED 04-JUL-2019 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363088.

The earthwork has been largely destroyed.

Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R., 2019-2020, The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping Survey. Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (AI&M, formerly NMP) (Interpretation). SDV362982.

A curvilinear ditch is visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s onwards as an earthwork on Crownhill Down.
The ditch is under 2m in width, embanked along much of the western, downslope side and is visible as an earthwork following the contours on the west-facing slopes of Crownhill Down for approximately 1km. The visible earthwork corresponds to a channel depicted on the Ordnance Survey First Edition 25inch map
The ditch crosses, and therefore post-dates, and area of medieval tin streamworking at circa SX56365947, and is probably the remains of a leat associated with a later phase of tin mining.
The leat remains visible as an earthwork on images derived from lidar data captured between 1998 and 2014 but has subsequently been largely destroyed by modern open cast mining.
A second, shorter leat is recorded circa 160m to the west.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4559 - Archaeological Landscape of Crownhill Down and Riddding Down
• EDV8098 - The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping (formerly NMP) Survey, Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (Ref: ACD2040)

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