Potash Minehead, Doves Nest Farm, North York Moors Heritage ...

© Cotswold Archaeology
Potash Minehead, Doves Nest Farm, North York Moors: Heritage Desk-Based Assessment
CA-ref Significance Impact
and preliminary assessment suggests that
Doves Nest Farmhouse has been much
altered from its original form and retains no
particular historical / architectural merit. It
is therefore considered to be of limited
archaeogical significance.
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Pond. This site is extant within Whinny
Wood. Originally, it may have been
installed as part of a wider programme of
water management in this area, which is
naturally boggy and prone to flooding.
Ponds such as this are of very limted
archaeological significance.
On the basis of the current design, it is
proposed to retain this feature. As such, it
will not be harmed by the development.
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Embanked boundary. This site survives as
an overgrown earthen bank c.1.0m in
height. It forms the boundary between
Haxby Plantation and the Belt Plantations
to the south. Post-medieval field
boundaries such as this are common, and
this example, while well-preserved, is
considered to be of limited archaeological
significance.
Under the current design proposals, the
majority of the earthwork would remain
unaffected, being as it stands within
plantation woodland that will be left in
place to screen the proposed welfare
compound. There is some possibility for
limited impact during upgrading of the
present access road, linking the welfare
compound to the B1416 to the south.
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Possible ring cairns. It is possible that the
cluster of circular earthworks identified
within Haxby Plantation during the field
survey, may represent prehistoric funerary
monuments. If so, then they would be of
archaeological interest and would likely be
considered significant heritage assets.
However, the true nature of these
earthworks remains uncertain, and they
may equally represent features of much
lower significance such as Post-medieval
quarry / extraction pits.
On the basis of the current design, these
earthworks (which are also associated with
an active badger sett) will be preserved in
situ within Haxby Plantation woodland. The
earthworks will therefore not be harmed by
the proposed development.
Table 5.1
Known archaeology within the proposed minehead
Potential archaeology: significance and impact
5.4 Given the lack of evidence for activity within the proposed minehead boundary prior
to the Post-medieval period, the potential for encountering significant unknown
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