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Ancient Wealden culvert restored at Hole Park EstateDeep in Wealden woodland near Benenden, a £27,000 project is underway to restore an ancient stream crossing that once formed part of a now forgotten road system.The crossing, known as North America's Wood culvert, is of uncertain age but it is hoped that the archaeological dig that accompanies the restoration may provide clues. Some speculate that it dates from the Wealden cloth trade, in the Middle Ages, whilst others believe it forms part of a Roman road infrastructure about which little is known.
The existence of the ancient culvert has been known of for many years but its significance was not appreciated until a team of volunteers elsewhere in Benenden located, and subsequently last year restored, a very similar structure, known as Strawberry Wood Culvert. That project was completed in the summer of 2009 amidst much fanfare in a project involving Tunbridge Wells Borough Council and the High Weald Countryside unit. The existence of this second culvert placed a new light on the possible use that the Strawberry Wood Culvert had been put to as it showed that there was a coordinated project to build a road crossing approximately north-south across the High Weald; the two culverts are approximately a kilometre apart and are aligned, indicating that the same road would have crossed both of them.
The landowner of the culvert, CLA Kent committee member Edward Barham of Hole Park Estate, Rolvenden, is carrying out the restoration work of North America's Wood culvert which is 80% funded by Natural England. Enormous savings have been made on the expenditure when compared with Strawberry Wood culvert because the restoration work has been able to draw upon the experiences there and appropriate savings.
The same contractor who carried out the restoration of Strawberry Wood culvert, John Brander from Sissinghurst, is carrying out the works, which is expected to take three weeks.
Edward Barham said, "The local history of the Weald fascinates me. This is a wonderful project restoring and maintaining that, even if we do not yet know for certain who made this structure and why. With careful maintenance over the coming years the culvert will now be able to stand for centuries to come. I am particularly grateful for the support for this project given by Natural England, without whose funding it would not have proceeded."
The extensive Hole Park Estate has been in the Barham family for 99 years and the restoration of this culvert is one of the many landscape projects that the estate undertakes every year, looking after the beautiful landscape within the High Weald AONB in which it lies. Hole Park is perhaps best known to the public for its wonderful gardens which may been seen at www.holepark.com although the North America's Wood project lies approximately 1 kilometre from them, across the estate land. |
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