Nature at Molland
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Catch Meadows
Running along the slopes of many of the steep pasture fields are parallel irrigation channels or 'gutters'. In winter, the moorland spring water is warmer by several degrees than the land and when run over the meadows in autumn and spring, stimulates the grass to grow. Thus it provided an 'early bite' of new grass for fattening lambs. Water was brought from springs on the moor into the highest channel. This was stopped at the furthest end by a sod of turf. The water spilled over and flowed downhill. Before it could form channels, it was 'caught' in a second parallel channel and the process repeated several times until the whole slope was irrigated. The water was returned to the stream or diverted into another gutter to be used further down the valley. In some instances, the gutter passed through the farmyard collecting manure on the way. This fertilised the pasture at the same time as watering. The gutter also provided water for the farm itself. The main gutter for West Molland runs through Gatcombe Wood and old leases specify the right of the lord of the manor or tenant of West Molland access over Gatcombe land to maintain his watercourse.
Lazy Beds
Today Molland Moor appears a remote and wild place. Intensively exploited by prehistoric man, the geology and heavy rainfall have created nutrient poor soils which support a heathland community Sometimes (in error) called Molland Common, this area was the waste of the manors where, at the lords discretion tenants could graze stock, dig for peat, turves or stone and also cultivate crops. The right of tillage originated in the medieval period when parts of the manorial commons were enclosed using earth banks topped with frith and stakes. These were allowed to fall down after two or three crops, usually of rye. The rent for tillage was 6d per acre in 1700. The remains of these banks can be seen running across the moor. Turf cutting for fuel has left long rectangular depressions in the ground. These can be seen at Cussacombe and on Moorhouse Ridge. Root crops were also grown using 'lazy beds' which were parallel ridges 1 to 1.5 metres wide and separated by a narrow furrow. These are best seen on winter afternoons when the sun strikes the ground at a low angle casting long shadows.
Settlements
Molland is a central village which expanded during the Courtenay occupation. The London Inn still retains its eighteenth century atmosphere and a variety of goods can be bought from the Village Stores cum Post Office nearby. Each manor had its own mill where the tenants had to grind their corn. These were at Bottreaux and Wade Mills. Little of the machinery survives, although the leats of the mill race can still be traced on the ground. The church dates from the 13th century and retains intact many Georgian features such as box-pews, a three-deck pulpit and the Royal coat of arms over the chancel entrance. An examination of an Estate survey of 1820 would show that some farms have since disappeared. Many were deserted during theagricultural depression of the 1930s. A couple of sites have been deserted, rebuilt and deserted again over a period of 400 years such as at New Dyke and Moorhouse. The buildings were originally constructed of cob walls (mixture of mud, manure and straw) supported by a timber cruck frame with straw or reed thatch roofs. An example of this type of building can be seen at Cophall although the thatch has been replaced with tin, The cob barns lie against the road. During the post-medieval period (after 1600), many farms were rebuilt using stone which was quarried locally. These quarries can be seen along Cramp Lane and the road south out of Molland village. Today there are over a dozen deserted farm sites; Luckisses on Cussacombe still retains its walls and stone features. Others such as 'mans on Molland Moor' remain in field name only.
Moorland
The combination of deer, ponies, cattle and sheep maintain the heather and species rich vegetation on the moor Control of grazing is vital to avoid coarse grasses becoming dominant and erosion of the thin soil. This is achieved by removing stock from the moor during winter and carefully controlling livestock numbers during the summer. Buzzards haunt the valleys with their mewing cry, looking for rabbits and other small mammals. Red deer can often be seen on the 'moor especially at dusk when they come to the streams to drink. The estate has embarked on an integrated programme of conservation management to maintain and enhance the wildlife and landscape of Molland Moor.
Hedgebanks
The hedge banks are the oldest man-made features in the landscape which are still serving the same purpose for which they were built. Those in the valleys and along the roads support a wide range of herb and shrub species, hazel, oak, ash, hawthorn and field maple are usually found in the older hedges. Wild strawberry and raspberry are frequent. The hedgerows on the moorland have earth banks topped with beech, a feature of the 18th and 19th century agrarian improvements on Exmoor. Traditionally the hedges were cut or 'made up' every 7 years. Turves or 'clats' were cut from the adjacent field to repair the banks. This was called 'clatting up'. The shrubs were 'steeped down' by cutting two thirds through the base of the stems and folding down along the bank. Surplus branches were removed and used for firewood.
Woodlands
The woodlands along the valleys were originally oak with hazel, ash and rowan. They were traditionally managed by coppicing for firewood and the oaks cut as timber for the manors. The coppiced underwood was also converted to charcoal for use in kilns and fires. In the 1940s many woods were replanted with conifers. As these are harvested, some woods will be replanted with deciduous trees and managed as coppice with standards. A number of woods are managed for game which provides a valuable income for the local community.
Industrial Molland
The underlying rocks consist of mud and calcareous sandstones of the Devonian period (415-3 70 million years ago), fissured by later volcanic activity which led to the deposition of important minerals such as tin, lead, copper, zinc and silver. These minerals were sporadically mined at Molland when the market price rose high enough to warrant the expense of digging the deep shafts. The first mines were dug during the Elizabethan period at Danes Pit on the Bremley crossroads. In the eighteenth century the mining rights were leased by the Throckmorton’s to a number of mining companies and shafts were sunk at Bremley. The remains of Molland Iron Mine can be seen on the hillside above Ford. The Bremley and Gourte mines were exploited for copper. Trial adits were dug all over the parish. A good example can be seen at Latchgate on the side of the hill. Lime was also dug on the Estate. One pit now filled in was sited on the opposite side of the road to the Chapel. The lime rock was either spread onto the fields to improve fertility, or the rock was burnt in kilns and then used as a fertiliser. A kiln can be seen at Zeal Quarry. The lime rock was fed into the top of the kiln, a fire lit below and the rock burnt. The resulting material called quick lime was then bagged up and transported by pack horse or cart to the fields.