The Cress Well

The Cress Well Shepherd Hut is named after the springs and pond a little below and to the left of the hut. The name of the farm, ‘Kerswell’, came from ‘Cress Well’. The springs emerge from a rock face at the top of the pond which was quarried perhaps hundreds of years ago.

Beneath the face is a rock-cut channel with side slabs of local slate, the first four of which are original. It is likely that water cress, rich in Vitamin C and minerals, was grown here to supplement the diet of the farmers.

The purpose of the large pond, restored in 2013, is unknown but was probably to ensure a water supply for livestock and was possibly used to wash farm carts. It may also have been used to feed other cress beds below the massive earth dam.