Exmoor is located on South West England's coast on the Bristol Channel and is also a National Park. The park actually covers two countries with 71% of it being in Somerset with the rest being in Devon. The evidence of the occupation of the area goes back the Mesolithic times. During the Neolithic period people began managing animals and growing crops on the cleared farmland that was once woodland. There is some evidence of Roman occupation but only the remains of two forts by the coast.
At Parracombe is Howell Castle which was built by the Normans to guard the area where the east to west and north to south routes for trade combined. This let goods as well as people move without hinderance and lead to the town's growth. There are also suggestions that it may have been built for the purposes of getting taxes from the River Heddon place bridging place as well as to possibly guard the silver mining in the Combe Martin area.
The castle was built sometime between the late 11th Century and early 12th Century. It was either built by the First Lord of Pracomeb, Martin De Tours, the man who married his widow, Will De Falaise or Robert FitzMartin. There are no records to prove who the builder was. Near footpath the earthworks of the castle can still be seen easily but it has no access for the public. The town's economy was supported by sheep farming and the trade of wool during the Middle Ages.
Merchants collected the wool that was spun on farms in the outskirts of town. Then it was woven, dyed, and finished in bigger towns such as Dunster. Larger estates started to develop in the 17th Century when the land started to be enclosed. The lead to the area being established into large fields of regular shape. The commons became overstocked with livestock during the 16th and 17th Centuries and the farmers that were not within close range were charged to keep them there. This lead to a disagreement over how many animals should be allowed and how the land should be enclosed.
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