Learning Enquiry:

Why did John create a pond on Exmoor?

A learning enquiry linked to the area of moorland around the Pinkery Centre and Pinkery Pond, located on Exmoor National Park.

This document is one of many free web-based resources produced as part of the Moorland Classroom project. To explore the whole resource, including maps, video

content and ‘how to’ guides please visit:www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/moorland-classroom

Learning Aims

Pupils will be supported in and outside of the classroom to:

Recognise, describe and explain the moorland and landscape of Exmoor and develop a sense of how and why it has changed in the past, how it might be changing now and how it might change in the future.

Gain an insight into the thinking and ambitions of industrialists who came to Exmoor in the 19th century to exploit its natural resources through modern technology and to ‘improve’ what they saw as wasteland by converting the moor to farmland.

Understand and explain some of the ways in which the moorland environment of Exmoor is managed and restored to maintain its distinctive character and richness as a unique ecosystem for future generations. One particular example provided is the Exmoor Mires Project.

Appreciate that the National Park works to enable people to enjoy the splendour of the environment whilst also seeking to conserve and improve that environment for future generations.

Collect and interpret a range of primary fieldwork data through practical fieldwork which enhances their understanding of the biodiversity of Exmoor, approaches to management and restoration and also enables them to gain a sense of the wildness and remoteness of the Exmoor landscape.

Apply a range of cross–curricular subject knowledge and skills to the achievement of all of the above.

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Learning and teaching activities and curriculum progression

1. Introducing Pinkery PondAsk the pupils to think of a pond, any pond that they have seen recently, and then in pairs tell them to make a list of all the reasons that someone might want to create a pond e.g. in the garden or a farmer on his land etc. Take feedback and make a list on the whiteboard. Now show the pupils Pinkery-2-JKnight. Explain that John was a very rich industrialist in Wolverley in the county of Worcestershire who had made a fortune from manufacturing iron in massive works like the one shown in the picture. In 1820 he bought a huge area of Exmoor (10,262 acres) and by 1826 owned over 16,000 acres. Does this additional information about John help with thinking about why he might have built a pond?

Now distribute Pinkery-1-Map. Ask the pupils to locate Pinkery Pond in square 7242. If each grid square is a square kilometre then estimate the length and width of the pond in metres.

Explain that John Knight lived in Simonsbath over 4km away. Is there any evidence from the map as to what the purpose of the pond may have been? The pond was created by damming the River Barle which is only a large stream at this point.

Next give out Pinkery-3-Pond_Photos. Ask the children to explain how the pond was created. Thousands of tonnes of rock and earth were used to create a dam across the River Barle so that the water built up behind to create the pond. Now show the pupils Pinkery-4-Dam. This is the stream which is allowed to flow out from beneath the dam. Why is this needed? To ensure that the water in the pond does not rise so high that it overflows the dam wall and to keep some water flowing down stream. Encourage the pupils to look at Pinkery-5-Barle and to orientate with the map (Pinkery-1-Map). The photograph was taken from the top of the dam wall just above where the compensation water stream is allowed to flow through. Both the stream and the path can be seen. Now challenge the pupils to use the photograph and the map together to answer the following questions:

o Estimate as close as possible, the 6 figure grid reference for the point on the map where you think the photograph was taken. (723423)

o In which direction was the camera pointing when the photograph was taken? (S or SSW)

o What is the name of the hill on the horizon of the photograph? (Bill Hill)o Estimate how many metres it is along the footpath from Pinkery Pond

to the road B3358? (1900m)

o What is the name of the farm that the footpath travels through on its way to the road? (Pinkery)

Next distribute all of the photographs in Pinkery-6-Pond1913. Explain to the pupils that in 1913 a particular event happened at Pinkery Pond. Can they

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work out from the images what was happening? Who can be seen in the photographs and what are they doing? Are they all working or are some just watching? What clothes are they wearing? How have they travelled to the pond? Take feedback and discuss with the pupils. In 1913 the pond was drained (by releasing two clay plugs set within pipes inside the dam wall) to allow the water to flow out of the pond into the river the other side of the dam. This was done because it was feared that a local man who had gone missing had fallen into the pond and drowned. No body was found however!

2. Issues with farming on the moor

Ask the pupils to look again at Pinkery Farm in grid square 7241. How many fields are there on the farm? (12) What colour are the fields shown on the map? (white with black lines showing the hedges between each) Now look at Pinkery-7-Farm and Pinkery-8-Fields. What is growing in the fields and how are the fields being used? (The fields are described as ‘improved pasture’ involving the ploughing up of the open moorland to create fields with bank hedge boundaries to control the movement of sheep and beef cattle). The very important thing for the pupils to understand is that the farm’s fields were once open moorland that remained moorland until the arrival of steam driven tractor engines in the 1850s.

The open moorland of Pinkworthy to the north of the farm remains as open moorland. Photographs of the moor at Pinkworthy are shown in Pinkery-9-Pinkworthy. Ask the pupils to look carefully at these photographs and to compare them with the ‘improved’ pasture fields in Pinkery-8-Fields. In what ways is the open moorland different from the improved pasture particularly in terms of what is growing and soil conditions? Why do the pupils think that the farmer did not ‘improve’ or plough up the moorland at Pinkworthy? ( too exposed and very poorly drained with bogs all year around).

By the 1830s John Knight owned a number of farms on the open moorland, including, including Simonsbath Barton (7639) and Cornham (7439). He set about improving the moorland to create open fields that he hoped would be able to grow crops but at least allow cattle and sheep to graze as at Pinkery Farm. At that time two things were required to enable this to happen and they are shown in Pinkery-10-Plough and Pinkery-11-Lime. Can the pupils identify the two things? First there is a mechanical steam-driven plough powerful enough to cut deep into the peat beneath the moorland and capable of doing the same amount of work as hundreds of labourers and second huge quantities of lime. Because the soils on Exmoor are so acid nothing would grow until this acidity was reduced and alkalinity increased. As well as increasing the pH of acidic soil (the higher the pH the less acidic the soil) the lime also provides a source of calcium and magnesium for plants, improves water penetration in acid soils (and reducing surface water in bogs) and

assists plants with the uptake of major nutrients such as nitrogen,phosphorous and potassium.

It was essential for John Knight to get hold of it if his dream of creating huge areas of farmland from the moorland was going to be realised. There are many science related experiments that can be carried out to change the pH of

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soils and to monitor the impact of doing this on plants life. See http://www.ehow.com/how_8370761_raise-levels-soil-science-projects.html or Pinkery-13-PH.

The need for John Knight to get hold of huge quantities of limestone to spread on the fields of his three farms after they had been ploughed is probably (although historians are not certain) the most likely reason why he created Pinkery Pond. Show pupils Pinkery-12-Feature and tell them that this is a photograph of a feature taken very close to Pinkery Pond 723422. Challenge them to say what they think it is. It is in fact the beginning of a canal that was dug to carry water all the way from Pinkery Pond to the top of the hill at Little Ashcombe 784407. But why would John Knight have wanted to do this? The construction alone involved over 200 mostly Irish labourers. His dream was to construct at the top of Ashcombe Hill a watered powered funicular railway to lift up wagons of limestone from just below Warren Farm (a height of about

70m). His plan was to build a railway from Porlock Bay where ships carrying the limestone from South Wales would dock and unload to connect with the bottom of the funicular railway below Warren Farm. Sadly neither of his plans were ever achieved. To accompany this, pupils can do an individual science/design technology investigation to describe and explain how the water powered incline funicular railway at Lynmouth and Lynton works: see http://www.cliffrailwaylynton.co.uk/how-it-works/ This would have been very similar to what John Knight had in mind to lift up wagons of limestone.

Pinkery on location: fieldwork opportunities to support the Pinkery Learning Enquiry

Equipment ChecklistIn addition to the usual materials for writing and drawing, the following specialist equipment is required to support the fieldwork activities:

Fieldwork Activity 1 & 3 – Litmus paper, Soil sample glass jar with cover, Distilled water, Plastic storage bag, Soil testing kit (optional).

Fieldwork Activity 2 & 3 – A metre square quadrat or improvised alternative (e.g. string and pegs).

DirectionsPinkery Farm is now the Pinkery Outdoor Education Centre owned by Exmoor National Park Authority –

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Coaches can park close to the entrance to the centre on the B3358 at 724405. If travelling by coach, pupils can disembark here and walk along the road to the entrance to the Pinkery Centre and then walk approximately 0.5km up the path to the main buildings.

If travelling by minibus then it is possible to drive up the track, but permission to park the bus at the centre needs to be obtained in advance.

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The circular walk beginning at the centre is approximately 3.5km (4.5Km if pupils walk to and from the road) The route is exposed and can become very wet which means sensible outdoor clothing and footwear is essential. Due regard needs to be paid to the fact that weather conditions on the moor can change rapidly which means groups need to be prepared for all eventualities.

Suggested route and fieldwork plan: 1. Proceed north towards Pinkery Pond, along the public footpath, leaving the

centre on your right and progressing into the field with the wind turbine. If you do the full circular walk the view from the bank, with the gate and the field behind, (Pinkery-14-Route1) is where you will finally emerge at the end of your loop.

2. The ‘wind turbine’ field is a good example of ‘improved’ moorland. The moorland has been ploughed up and the field planted to permanent pasture for cattle and sheep.

Fieldwork Activity 1 - Testing the pH level of the soil The soil in this first field would have been treated with lime at some time to reduce its acidity. Carry out a pH soil test to see if this is true using Pinkery-15-Soil_Test as a guide. The same test can be used in each of the fields that are passed through towards the open moor.

Fieldwork Activity 2 - Quadrat sampling of vegetation cover In the first field five different areas can be selected for vegetation cover sampling using a meter square quadrat. Quadrats normally consist of a square frame, the most frequently used size being 1m2 (see picture below).

To record percentage cover of species in a quadrat, look down on the quadrat from above and estimate the percentage cover occupied by each species and bare soil or rock.

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3. Now commence your journey up the valley. Pass through the picket gate in a hedge bank (Pinkery-16-Route2).

4. Walk on a short distance and repeat both the soil pH testing and the quadrat vegetation sampling here. Something that is apparent is the gradual transition to moorland. In particular sedges (Pinkery-17-Sedge) and molinia grass (purple moor grass) (Pinkery-18-Molinia) begin to appear. In summer evidence of the molinia grass being cut to provide animal fodder can be seen in the surrounding fields (Pinkery-19-Fodder). In the winter dead loose dead leaves cover the area which gives rise to the term white moorland (Pinkery-20-White_Moor).

5. Just before the post with the yellow top (Pinkery-21-Route3) cut up right for about 50 yards until John Knight’s unfinished water canal is reached. Encourage the children to stand at the end of the canal and to speculate how they think the water from the dam might have reached the canal – an aqueduct? (Pinkery-22-Canal).

6. Return to the path as it moves up the valley towards the dam. At this point it is possible to see the emerging compensation stream of the River Barle as it emerges from the base of the dam wall and back down the valley below the dam (Pinkery-23-Route4). The path emerges through a five bar gate overlooking Pinkery Pond. Walk across the dam wall, on your right.

7. Over the dam wall and up the hill lies the path to Wood Barrow a distance of 400m. Once again this walk is over unimproved moorland with molinia.

Fieldwork Activity 3 - Testing the pH level of the soilAt points across the open moorland pH soil samples can be analysed as this should be the most acid of all the environments crossed as it is unimproved moorland with a much greater variety of plants (Pinkery-24-Plants) which will be revealed in the quadrat survey samples.

8. Wood Barrow is a Bronze Age burial mound dating from about 4,000 years ago. The barrow lies just beyond Wood Barrow Gate (Pinkery-25-Gate and Pinkery-26-Wood_Barrow).

Fieldwork Activity 4 - Examining WoodbarrowThe Bronze Age on Exmoor is dated between 2,000BC and 700BC – in other words between 4,000 and 2,300 years ago. The greatest change from the earlier Mesolithic and Neolithic periods was that people were living in settled communities and were clearing areas of woodland in order to farm the land and growing crops and keeping livestock such as cattle – they were no longer nomadic hunters and gatherers. Ploughs were pulled by domesticated cattle (oxen) and it was also around this time that wild breeds of cattle (aurochs) became extinct. Crops such as early varieties of wheat were sown into fields and harvested and stored. People lived in roundhouses, usually just two or three in each settlement, sometimes within a small compound or enclosure and surrounded by both arable fields and managed grassland for animal pasture.

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Not much evidence of roundhouses remains on the ground today on Exmoor but are often clearly seen on aerial photographs (see Pinkery-27-Aerial_Wood_Barrow).

The Bronze Age on Exmoor is associated with the building of barrows and the construction of stone settings. Barrows are round mounds where the dead were buried or their ashes placed after cremation. Barrows were also considered to have been sacred places associated with rituals and practices, making them an active part of the landscape rather than ‘cemeteries’ used only for burial purposes. Although stone circles and stone rows are found throughout the country, stone settings are unique to Exmoor – over 60 in total. Many barrows survive on Exmoor (over 400) largely because there has been much less ploughing of the land over the last 4,000 years compared with more lowland locations.

The Bronze Age signifies the appearance of Bronze to make items such as axe heads, daggers and decorative torcs, brooches and beads. There are also distinctive pottery types associated with the Bronze Age and on Exmoor the pottery discovered is of the Trevisker Ware type and includes urns, beakers and pots. Whilst at the barrow ask the pupils to stand around the perimeter and estimate its diameter by pacing out the distance – approximately 29m. Also approximately how high is the barrow today? Given the diameter and present day height they have estimated, how high do they think it might have been when constructed? Ask the children to look in at the

centre of the barrow. Here an irregular pit has been dug about 8m across and 0.7m deep. Why do they think this was dug? The answer could be that it was dug by robbers. What would they have been hoping to find?

From the barrow encourage the pupils to look around 360 degrees (Pinkery-28-360_View). From how far away would Wood Barrow have been seen? Is it in prominent position? Why might that be? Explain to the pupils that the barrow was not just a grave for bodies and ashes of the dead. It was also a very important symbol to the people of the Bronze Age living on and around what is now Pinkery – their link to their ancestors and an important place probably for rituals and celebrations. What rituals and celebrations might the Bronze age people have organised 4,000 years ago around Wood Barrow? Ask the pupils to think about what would have been important in the lives of people then - changes in the seasons perhaps e.g. the arrival of Spring, the birth of children as well of course as burial rites.

9. From Woodbarrow if not returning the same way, turn South and follow the county boundary for 500m when you will pass into the next field. Continue for another 500m and bear left, just beyond a small, very wet valley. This will take you East towards Pinkery and down to the stream and gate you observed as you left Pinkery. Pass through the gate and cross the stream.

The Exmoor Mires Project The area immediately to the right here, which will be very wet and boggy, is part of the Exmoor Mires Project (Pinkery-29-Mire). Mires are areas that naturally create peat. Over hundreds of years many areas of peatland on Exmoor have been dried out because of drainage ditches that were dug for

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farming or peat-cutting. Until quite recent history (even during the 20 th

Century) peat was harvested by local people and used to fuel their fires, just like wood or coal.

Now the mires - or peatlands - are being made wet again through ditch-blocking which keeps rainwater on the moors for longer, helping to keep them and the rivers in better health. The holding up of rain water in the uplands will help to maintain stream flow during dry periods and help reduce erosion and regulate the risk of flooding. Action to conserve the mires will also improve water quality which will help fish such as trout and salmon which are common in the rivers which drain Exmoor (such as the River Barle and the River Exe). The variety of wildlife will also be increased in rewetted bogs. Restoring peatlands will also have an impact on reducing climate change because peat absorbs carbon from the atmosphere – plant material which is rich in carbon is effectively preserved in the waterlogged conditions of the peat soil. Destruction of peat means the ‘stored’ carbon is lost to the air, as the plant material breaks down.

Having observed this area from the path which goes up the side of the hill the pupils can discuss how they think the old drainage ditches are blocked up to hold the water. What would they do to make this happen? Back in class theycan then use Pinkery-30-Ditches to draw and describe all the ways in which this is done. This resource is kindly provided by and copyright of the Exmoor Mires Project.

10. In good weather the route to the pond is your choice and should you want to extend your day by 3km, Woodbarrow to the West is an easy walk with views to Wales and a real sense of open landscape. From Woodbarrow the return is South following the Devon/Somerset boundary along the bridleway for a mile. The ‘Mires’ described above are in the boggy area on your left after the first gateway. You will see Pinkery and the wind turbine on your left but it is important to go beyond the boggy area (South) to slightly raised ground that skirts this very wet area. Staying on this higher ground the track will emerge for you to drop down to the river Barle and the gateway. This area is very wet and if you are not wet yet you have done well. Watch out for tiny pink carnivorous ‘Sundew’ plants in this boggy area. Pinkery is now above you to the East.

11.Summary: Pinkery (Grid ref: SS 723 411). Back up facilities and exterior toilets at the Centre. Coach parking to Goat Hill Bridge only (Grid ref: SS724 405), minibus parking at Pinkery. Route: Pinkery, Pinkery Pond (Grid ref: SS 723 423), Wood-barrow (Grid ref: SS 717 424), turning South follow the bridleway along the county and forest boundary to Broad Mead, cutting back west via the ‘mires’ just South of East at (Grid ref: SS 717 413) crossing stream, passing through gate and aiming at the wind turbine.

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Learning outcomes

Through the range of learning and teaching activities the pupils have opportunities to:

Recognise and identify Express views and ask questions Respond to simple questions Observe and describe Select appropriate information Undertake simple subject based tasks Use simple subject vocabulary Compare and contrast Offer reasons Use basic subject skills Use secondary evidence Communicate views and opinions Use appropriate subject vocabulary Understand natural patterns and processes Understand human patterns and processes Demonstrate understanding through explanation Use a range of subject skills Suggest enquiry questions and investigate them Use primary evidence Select information to answer an enquiry Identify, describe and explain patterns, processes, links and

relationships Reach conclusions and make judgements Reach substantiated conclusions consistent with the evidence which

draw on the application of attitudes and values Critically evaluate both the enquiry process and conclusions reached

for validity and trustworthiness

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