Rabbit Warren Walls Immediately South East of Painsford Mill

The Rabbit Warren Walls, located immediately southeast of Painsford Mill, are boundary walls that date from the 18th century or possibly much earlier. These walls are made of locally dressed slate rubble and enclose an irregular field on a hillside that slopes down to a meadow to the north. The walls at the east and west ends are the most intact, built in a horizontal coursing despite the steep slope, and rise to about 1.75 meters high. They retain their original coping, which features a slate course cantilevered out on the inside to prevent rabbits from escaping. The south wall at the top of the slope is missing its top courses and has a breach in the center. The north wall at the bottom in the meadow has been reduced to less than half its original height. In the northeast corner, there is a disused small quarry from which the slate was likely sourced. A conveyance from 1801 references the rabbit warren and the construction of a bridge just north of it, confirming that the rabbit warren was in existence by that time.