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The theft of Cornish culture |
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Page 6 of 7
Richard Angove, of the National Farmers Union, is mystified by this turnaround in attitude as one of the requirements of the ESA was that no fencing should be introduced to the moor. Now, the very same people are demanding that it should.
The effect on archaeology will be dire. Recently, the Trippet Stones on Bodmin Moor required expensive repair to remedy severe cattle damage and, of course, standing stones will be a magnet to cattle who need convenient scratching posts. Natural England alleges that ‘historical assessments’ have been prepared by our old friends ‘English’ Heritage – and yet they intend to place water troughs in areas of fragile archaeology, such as medieval ridge-and-furrow, that will be destroyed by such concentration of cloven hoof activity within a week. I now have copies of those assessments and, even on an initial scan, I’ve found that the inventories omit major scheduled monuments, such as the menhir near the summit of Watch Croft and the tor enclosure found in 2002 on Carn Kenidjack. This appalling neglect is intensely worrying.
The National Trust is a full partner in the HEATH Project (even though their counterpart in Wales has rejected such schemes) and, on the coast road under Carn Galva, the two intend to install cattle grids extending the width of the road from hedge to hedge. This will prohibit all passage by horse riders and those who enjoy the growing pastime of pony-and-trap driving.
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