| Summary : A possible pond or fishpond, probably medieval, surviving as earthworks within the precinct of Haughmond Abbey. Now dry, the outline of the pond survives as a sub-circular hollow up to 2 metres deep, 40 metres in length, and up to 25 metres in width. Its generally degraded appearance and rounded profile at the time of survey in 2002, contrasts greatly with the appearance shown on aerial photographs from 1969, which show it well-defined as a sub-rectangular pond with embanked sides and an outlet on the apex of the west side. The enclosing banks may have been based on earlier plough ridges.The form suggests it was probably a monastic fishpond, and its current appearance may be the result of deliberate landscaping soon after the aerial photographs were taken. All traces of the enclosing banks have been lost, but the outlet channel survives as a degraded cutting, and there is a fairly wide inlet on the north-east on the probable line of the stream. There is also a section of channel 10 metres to the north of the pond, which may also have fed water from the south to the inlet. |
More information : (SJ 5417 1550) Possible fishpond.
Between January and December 2002, English Heritage carried out a detailed analytical field survey of the environs of the standing buildings of Haughmond Abbey (Event record 1384572) (1). The survey, which covered an area of 19ha, was intended to inform the site's management and to put into context the findings of the small-scale excavations carried out between 1975 and 1979.
For further details, see Archaeological Investigation Report AI/10/2003, which includes photographs, plans at various scales, interpretative diagrams and a full textual description and analysis. (1)
Scheduled. (2) |