Monument record MKE127617 - Dew pond (or sole pond), visible on 1st and 2nd edition OS map

Dew pond (or sole pond), visible on 1st and 2nd edition OS map. Recorded during 2024 Kent Downs National Landscape Historic Ponds project.
Preservation:Pond on historic maps but not visible on current OS (ghost pond)
Pond shape:Rectangular
Site type: Dew pond (or sole pond)
Description: Small pond next to the threshing barn at Obriss. Seen on 1st and 2nd edition OS and 1m LiDAR.
Recorded date: 13/01/2025 (1)

A borehole survey was carried out at the site in 2025 in advance of proposed restoration works. A single borehole was drilled up to 0.59m in depth in the centre of the pond which identified a sequence of deposits. The sequence comprised an active wetland surface overlying water lain pond fill, overlying three deposits of clay. At least two of the deposits were of Weald Clay. "The origins of the farm date to c. 1550 AD, though later elements have been added… It is therefore possible that the pond dates to this period or later. However, the pond was ‘cleaned’ in the 1990s, which may suggest that the earlier sediments were removed and the sediment recovered in [the borehole] may date to the last c.30 years" (from the report, 2).

<1> Kent Downs AONB Unit, 2025, Historic Ponds Project dataset (Digital archive). SKE58454.

<2> Archaeology South - East, 2025, A Geoarchaeological hand auger survey for the Kent Downs Heritage Ponds Project, Kent: Initial Report (Unpublished document). SKE58660.