The pond in February 2022, with a coating of duckweed

Brentor’s village pond can be found  in the Eastcott Memorial Field, opposite Christchurch.  It can be accessed through a gate on the corner of Church Lane.  The Field is owned by Brentor PCC for the benefit of the village.

The pond was created as part of the ‘Pocket Park Project’ suggested by the Brentor Community Council in 1990 and completed by the spring of 1993 with help from grants and local fundraising.  Dartmoor National Park carried out the excavation and landscaping of the area.

From Brentor News in 1990

From Brentor News, September 1992

Volunteers maintaining the pond in September 2019

The pond is regularly maintained, thanks to volunteers who wade and rake and barrow away what seems to be acres of weeds. This maintenance ensures an open water pond to encourage palmate newts and common frogs, hawker and darter dragonflies, damselflies and great diving beetles to breed freely – it would otherwise revert to marshland.

A palmate newt on the road near the pond

In the summer of 2021 local pond-lovers were concerned about the lack of water flowing through the pond.  This had never happened before – the pond relies entirely on the run-off of rain water from small streams in the church field.  There was less rain, so less water flowed through the pond.

Another concern has been the abundance of wild water cress, water weed and algae.  This cannot be cleared when frog and toad spawn are present, so this can only be done in the autumn and winter months. There are vocal critics in the village who are both pro and against pond clearance, so it is hard to please everyone, but without it there would be no pond at all!

Damselfly

From Brentor News September 1995

The pond always needs volunteers to assist with its maintenance.  Working parties will be advertised on this website.