More information : SJ 6902 6015 (GCE). Three ponds lie in the east of the parish of Minshull Vernon within an area of neglected deciduous woodland known as Larch Wood. They are not depicted on current Ordnance Survey mapping. Larch Wood is situated some 50m south-east of the moated site at Minshull Vernon (SJ 66 SE 2). It appears in its present form on Ordnance Survey mapping of 1842 (1a), and remnants of willow and hazel coppicing are still visible throughout the wood. The ponds, which are roughly 10m in width, lie end-to-end measuring a total of 67m in length and survive to a maximum depth of 2m. They are probably post-medieval in date, although the remains of a channel which may have linked them to the nearby earlier moat were noted. No definite relationship was observable between the ponds and moat however, so any association between them remains purely conjectural. Poorly preserved broad ridge and furrow ploughing is also visible within the wood together with some possible field boundary remains, apparently cut by the ponds. These ponds are distinct from three amorphous hollows, probably marl pits, first shown on the Ordnance Survey map of 1875 (1b). Field observation of the ponds was conducted during the survey of the nearby moated site. (1) |