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Stock underpasses are narrow tunnels, usually constructed beneath walled track-ways or roads. As the name might suggest, they were built to allow stock, mainly sheep but sometimes cattle, to move from one field to another in safety, often to allow access to water. The height and shape of these passages varies, and it has been suggested that some are designed specifically for sheep rather than cattle.
An example of a stock underpass
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The underpasses are thought to have been created during the period of extensive enclosure that occurred during the later eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The underpasses are not usually visible from the road, but can frequently be identified by a small bump. Many are now blocked but some are still in use or, at the very least, are still accessible.
A more detailed account of the distribution and different form of the underpasses will help us better understand whether they are all from that period of enclosure and improvement.
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An example of a
