the brinker

Another photo from yesterday's Magor Marsh visit. This 2.5m high sculpture is of a brinker.

"a ‘brinker’ is a person who owns land on one side of a reen, wall or pill and is responsible for its maintenance. Traditionally, a brinker would use a scythe to clear vegetation to keep waterways open and prevent flooding.

Both men and women are listed as brinkers in the Court of Sewers records, held at Gwent Archives.

[This] figure is inspired by Anne Williams (died 1723), who owned land next to Monk’s Ditch in Whitson and Clift Reen in Goldcliff."

- https://www.livinglevels.org.uk/the-brinker