Monument record MDO45307 - Post Medieval sheepfold on Launceston Down, Tarrant Launceston

A probable Post Medieval sheepfold is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs taken in 1943 but was being ploughed flat by 1953. The site comprises a large trapezoidal enclosure which is defined by fragments of narrow linear bank flanked on the outside by similarly fragmentary sections of narrow linear ditch. Some of the breaks in the defining earthworks are caused by 20th century bomb craters. The sheepfold is located at the head of a combe which extends to the east, where sheep could be funnelled in between the steeper hillsides. It is marked on the 1887 Ordnance Survey map and probably defines a Post Medieval sheepfold on the open common of Launceston Down. A probably associated dewpond is located 295m to the west (see MDO45304).

A probable Post Medieval sheepfold is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs taken in 1943 but was being ploughed flat by 1953. The site is centred at ST 9550 1084 and comprises a large trapezoidal enclosure. It is defined by fragments of narrow linear bank flanked on the outside by similarly fragmentary sections of narrow linear ditch. Some of the breaks in the defining earthworks are caused by 20th century bomb craters. The trapezium measures circa 275m long and is orientated roughly north / south. Its northern side measures 130m and its southern side 160m.

The sheepfold is located at the head of a combe which extends to the east, where sheep could be funnelled in between the steeper hillsides. The enclosure is marked on the 1887 Ordnance Survey map and probably defines a Post Medieval sheepfold on the open common of Launceston Down. A probably contemporary dewpond is located 295m to the west (see ST 91 SE 239 / UID: 1480742). <1-3>

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1:2500 scale, (1887) Dorset (Map). SWX1197.

<2> Royal Air Force, 13-JAN-1943, RAF/HLA/651 1137-1138 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18390.

<3> Royal Air Force, 20-APR-1953, NMR RAF/58/1090 F22 0126-0127 (Aerial Photograph). SDO19231.

<4> Bishop, Sharon, 2009, Tarrant Launceston 15 & Environs. Aerial Photograph Survey & Analysis, Object Number: MD002384 (Unpublished document). SDO12459.

<5> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1480762 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Jan 24 2023 10:52AM