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Summary

Prehistoric standing stone which has fallen just to the west of Higher Mattocks Down Farm

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1016972: Standing stone immediately west of Higher Mattocks Down

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: 34786
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SS64SW/4
• Old SAM Ref: 32217
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SS64SW8
• SHINE Candidate (Yes)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• STANDING STONE (Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

Polwhele, R., 1793-1806, The History of Devonshire, 63 (Monograph). SDV21030.

Risdon, T., 1811, Choreographical Description of Devon, 1580-1640, 345 (Monograph). SDV20653.

Lysons, D. + Lysons, S., 1822, Magna Britannica, 307 (Monograph). SDV323771.

Chanter, J. F. + Worth, R. H., 1905, Stone Monuments of Exmoor and its Borders, 382-386 (Article in Serial). SDV64619.

Mattocks Down. A standing stone. A fallen stone about 18 metres inside the hedge of the third field eastwards of the big stone some 180 metres away. Not shown on Ordnance Survey map. The right-hand extremity is somewhat pointed and may have been a conical top. Lies in a shallow depression. White quartz. Two stone circles once here, plans extant. Stones used in hedges and foundations of Long Lane Cottage.

Chanter, J. F. + Worth, R. H., 1906, The Rude Stone Monuments of Exmoor and its Borders, 538 (Article in Serial). SDV64405.

Palmer, M. G., 1937, Standing Stones of the Ilfracombe District, 490 (Article in Serial). SDV64392.

A fallen stone of white quartz. Original site not known. Other details: Plate 64, Figure 3.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1950 - 1972, SS64SW8 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV345892.

Standing stone at SS60324393 with an estimated weight of 7-8 tons. No other stone in the immediate vicinity. The stone is 3 metres long by 1 metre wide. Parts of the north side have been broken off. Impossible to decide whether or not this stone was ever an archaeological feature.

Fowler, M. J. F., 1993, Standing Stones of Exmoor, 165 (Article in Serial). SDV65409.

Fallen standing stone some 3 metres long and 1 metre wide. Lies on the edge of a hollow diameter 20 metres and depth 1.5 metres from which stone may have been taken.

Gerrard, H., 1998, 149860 (Site Visit). SDV64395.

At SS60344388. Standing stone 35 metres west of Higher Mattocks Down Farm.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 1999, Standing Stone immediately west of Higher Mattocks Down Farm (Schedule Document). SDV345889.

Standing stone immediately west of Higher Mattocks Down Farm situated in an elevated upland location overlooking the valley of a tributary to the River Yeo. It survives as a recumbent standing stone which measures 2.8 metres long, 1.1 metre wide and 0.6 metres high and rests in a slight depression. It is very rough in appearance and a small piece 1.3 metres long, 0.5 metres wide and 0.5 metres high has weathered and fallen to the north. Standing stones are Prehistoric ritual or ceremonial monuments with dates ranging from the Late Neolithic to the end of the Bronze Age for the few excavated examples. Despite the fact that the standing stone is now recumbent, it remains in its original position, is associated with nearby dispersed bowl barrows, and attests to the archaeological significance of this area. Any remaining socket, which, given the size of the stone, is likely to be close by, will retain archaeological and environmental information, as will the depression in which the stone now lies. Other details: Monument 32217.

Vulliamy, C., 2004, Untitled Source (Personal Comment). SDV321671.

Within a field of permanent pasture. The stone is lying down, in two main pieces with several much smaller ones, with poaching evident.The shallowness, and the presence of two pieces of tile beside the stone suggest that earlier poached hollows could have been filled with rubble. It stands on the south side of a clear round hollow the size of a barrow. There is also a raised and flattened ridge running east from the lip of the hollow. Quarrying is a possible explaination for the hollow. Other details: Photograph.

National Monuments Record, 2010, 34786 (National Monuments Record Database). SDV345893.

Possible Prehistoric standing stone at SS60324393 . The stone which in now recumbent, is of white quartz measuring 3 metres long and 1 metre wide. Parts of the north side have been broken off.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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