Flood defence comprising a curving ditch and bank earthwork features located to the west of North Stream in the Lydden Valley, SE of Worth. The drain and associated bank are visible on OS historic mapping Epoch 1 [1] from 1877. The mapping does not show that the drain and stream connecting, but it is likely that when the water level in the stream rose, the drain could be opened and the excess water would feed into it. The bank on the western side of the drain would have minimised flooding to the fields.

This feature has been mapped from military aerial photographs taken in April 1946 [2]. By July 1977 [3] the bank and ditch have been levelled and it is replaced with a modern drainage and pumping station. The levelled earthworks of the original drain and bank are visible as cropmarks in August 1985 [4].

A transcription of the features recorded from aerial photographs exists within a GIS layer held by this HER.

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1862-1875, Ordnance Survey 1:2500 1st Edition : 1862-1875, OS Historic Mapping Tile Ref: 18TR3454, 18TR3455, 18TR3554, 18TR3555 (Map). SWX11831.