Linhay and Adjoining Fold Yard Walls 1.14 Kilometres North North-West of the Great Sluice

This is a linhay and associated fold yard walls located approximately 1.14 kilometres north-northwest of The Great Sluice, on Braunton Marsh. Constructed around 1815 to 1820, the linhay is built of shale rubble with a thin course of cob below the eaves. It was originally thatched but is now roofless. The structure is a long, open-fronted range of seven bays, supported by circular stone rubble piers which formerly held a tallet floor, of which only the beams remain. Two shallow buttresses are positioned on the rear wall.

In front of the linhay is a fold yard enclosed by a semi-circular front wall, which is partly open on the east side to a pier marking a gateway. The yard walls are constructed of stone rubble with upright stone capping and buttresses spaced at intervals along the outside. Within the fold yard, the remains of another open-fronted building survive as two short sections of wall and the base of a circular pier. This is the only true linhay on Braunton Marsh, the others being simpler cattle shelters.

Braunton Marsh was likely reclaimed from tidal waters of the River Taw in the Middle Ages; however, more extensive drainage occurred between 1811 and 1815 following an Act of Parliament. This was driven by Lords of the Manors who sought to enclose the marsh, which had previously been regularly flooded. 949 acres were reclaimed, with John Pascoe as the surveyor and James Green as the engineer. The adjacent Horsey Island was reclaimed between 1852 and 1857. These late enclosures are historically significant as Braunton’s Great Field, immediately north of the marsh, is one of only three surviving open field systems in England.