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Summary

One of three adjoining enclosures and five hut circles immediately south-west of Shadyback Tor. An enclosed hut circle settlement of probable Bronze Age to Iron Age date is visible as stony earthwork banks on aerial photographs of 1946 onwards, digital images derived from aerial photographs of 2002 onwards and visualisations derived from lidar data captured between 1998 and 2017. The enclosure contains at least one hut circle. It is one of at least six such enclosures incorporated into a later, probably medieval field system north and west of Trowlesworthy Warren House.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1020323: Prehistoric and historic archaeological landscape at Trowlesworthy Warren

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX56SE22
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 439169
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX56SE/48
• Old SAM Ref: 24232

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• ENCLOSURE (Constructed, Early Bronze Age to Late Iron Age - 2200 BC to 42 AD (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

Enclosure shown on 19th century map with two internal and three external hut circles associated with it.

Ordnance Survey, 1904 - 1906, Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map (Cartographic). SDV325644.

'Enclosures' shown on early 20th century map.

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1890, Devon County Council RAF/CPE/UK/1890 4290-4291 10-DEC-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV169268.

Curvilinear banks are visible as earthworks.

National Monument Record, 1976, SX5664, 1 (Aerial Photograph). SDV175071.

Photograph taken on 8th April 1976.

Price, D. G., 1977, Settlement at Trowlesworthy Warren, 44, Figure 1 (Article in Serial). SDV150433.

Enclosures, the walls are quite clearly defined and are composed of large stones reaching an average height of 0.8 metres with an average width of 2.5 metres. Three internal hut circles 7-8m diameter, and two external 7-9m diameter. Very stony interior. Large stones and some orthostats.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1977, SX56SE22, Enclosure A (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV231903.

(14/06/1977) An enclosed settlement, consisting of 3 adjoining enclosures, lies on a moderate, well drained, north-west facing slope at 250.0m. above O.D.
(a) SX 56586496. An ovoid enclosure 70m. by 55m. and 0.3 ha., is built of double orthostatic walling, 1.1m. wide, mostly in poor condition. Coursing on the south side suggests that this section is a later re-building.
The interior, partly cleared, contains 2 type 2 hut circles, one,
internal diameter 7.5m. wall 1.3m. thick; the other, very fragmentary, terraced into the slope. A type 2 hut circle, internal diameter 7.0m., wall 1.3m. thick in poor condition, with a south facing entrance, 1.1m. wide, is set into the slope immediately to the south of the enclosure where there are, probable Medieval or later field clearance heaps. 1:10 000 Survey on P.F.D.

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1985, Aerial Photograph Project (Dartmoor) - Dartmoor Pre-NMP (Cartographic). SDV319854.

Agglomerated enclosure of two elements visible with twelve attached hut circles visible.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP 140611 (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

(02/04/1995) at SX 56636496, SX 5659 6496 + SX 56576503. This agglomerated enclosure forms part of a partially enclosed stone hut settlement. At least 3 distinct enclosed areas are visible. The relationship between the enclosures is not clear but the ground plan would suggest that 'B' is primary, with the remaining two being added later.
Enclosure A survives as a 43m by 30m sub rectangular area surrounded by a 2m wide and 0.4m high partly faced rubble wall. One hut is attached to the inner face of the enclosure wall, another is attached to the outer face and a third is linked. A length of field boundary leads e from the se corner of the enclosure.
Enclosure B which is also sub rectangular in shape, measures 53m by 50m and is defined by a 2m wide partly faced rubble wall standing up to 0.6m high. Two huts lie within the enclosure, one is attached to the inner face and the other is free standing. A gap in the w length of enclosure walling may represent an original entrance. A length of field boundary leads west from the south-west corner of the enclosure.
Enclosure C, the northernmost within the group, includes a sub rectangular area measuring 67m by 56m and is defined by a 2m wide orthostat and rubble wall standing up to 1.5m high. There are no hut circles visible within this enclosure. Three lengths of boundary bank lead from this enclosure and these represent parts of fields added to the enclosure.

Butler, J., 1994, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Three - The South-West, 159, Map 51, Figure 51.3 (Monograph). SDV137656.

Shadyback Tor settlements include Prehistoic Enclosure'C' with two hut circles and an adjoining annexe to the northern hut.

Thackray, C., 1994, The Upper Plym Valley: the management of an historic landscape, 63, 102 173 a (Report - non-specific). SDV143510.

A sub-rectangular enclosure 'a' at SX56596498 seems to be the primary element in three interconnecting enclosures. It is 53 metres long by 50 metres wide with a wall 2 metres wide by 0.6 metres high. Composition of the wall varies consisting of boulders piled up on an earlier wall in the northern sector with smaller stones on the east side and the north-east sector resembles a lynchet.

Environment Agency, 1998-2017, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) EA: South Devon Coast to Dartmoor, LIDAR SX5664 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 31-MAY-2017 (Cartographic). SDV361470.

Curvilinear banks are identifiable as spread earthworks.

Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC, 1999-2017, Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery SX5664 03-MAY-2007 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363087.

Curvilinear banks are visible as earthworks.

Probert, S. A. J. + Fletcher, M. J., 2002, Plym Valley survey (Report - Survey). SDV350782.

(26/02/2001) Centred SX 56606501. Three adjoining enclosures and five hut circles immediately SW of Shadyback Tor. The enclosures are irregular in shape and cover areas of between 0.2 and 0.5ha with broad stony banks around 2.0m wide and 0.6m high. Two of the enclosures contain hut circles and a solitary hut lies immediately beyond the southernmost field bank. It seems most likely that these features formed a small part of an agglomerated settlement that formerly occupied most of the spur running W from Trowelsworthy Warren House. Several medieval or recent enclosures occupy part of the site as do pillow mounds and vermin traps. All the prehistoric features have been disturbed by stone gathering.
All the hut circles are terraced into the slope to provide level interiors though these and the walls are often obscured by later stone dumping. Two huts possesses identifiable entrances.
SX 56616499. This hut measures 5.1m by 5.5m internally with walls 1.2m to 2.5m wide and 0.6m high. Several low amorphous mounds adjoining the SW corner of this feature may represent annexes or additional huts.
SX 56646495.A well-built hut displaying evidence of double orthostat walls 2.0m wide and 0.6m high. It measures 6.2m N to S by 6.9m internally with an entrance in the SW margin. A small annex lies to the NW.
SX 56626498. A poorly preserved hut 5.3m in internal diameter with walls 1.0m wide and 0.4m high.
SX 56626495. Surviving as a crude circle of upright stones this hut measures 4.4m in diameter and adjoins the outer edge of the S enclosure wall.
SX 56606494. A relatively well-preserved hut beyond the S enclosure wall. It measures 6.1m N to S by 7.0m with a possible entrance in the SE. The walls remain 1.2m wide and 0.8m high.

Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC, 2015-2017, 2015-2017 Aerial Photographs (Aerial Photograph). SDV361462.

Enclosure visible on aerial photograph.

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording forms, UP-TR5 (Worksheet). SDV362781.

(03/07/2019) Condition of enclosure and huts assessed as very good; no damage agents recorded.

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording photographs (Photograph). SDV363073.

Site photographed during July 2019 visit.

Ordnance Survey, 2019, MasterMap 2019 (Cartographic). SDV362729.

Enclosure shown on modern mapping.

Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R., 2019-2020, The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping Survey. Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (AI&M, formerly NMP) (Interpretation). SDV362982.

Stony banks circa 3m wide are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs of 1946, digital images derived from aerial photographs of 2002 onwards and visualisations derived from lidar data captured between 1998 and 2017 defining a roughly D-shaped enclosure to the north-west of Trowlesworthy Warren House.
The enclosed area measures at least 53m across north to south, and circa 50m across west to east.
One banked circular hollow 6m across is clearly visible within the enclosure, abutting the inner edge of the eastern boundary bank at circa SX5660764981.
The visible earthworks are interpreted as the remains of a probable hut circle settlement of Bronze Age to Iron Age date, one of at least six such enclosures incorporated into a later, probably medieval field system north and west of Trowlesworthy Warren House.
The banked circular hollows within and adjacent to the enclosure are interpreted as possible hut circles.
The enclosure is abutted by, and probably predates, two similar if slightly smaller enclosures to the east and north.
The southern edge of the enclosure appears to have been incorporated into a later, possibly medieval field system (MDV14369).
South of this bank, a second hut circle is clearly visible as an earthwork. A third hut circles is recorded within the enclosure but is not identifiable as an earthwork on the sources available to the survey.
The hut circles are transcribed as part of the enclosure but are also recorded separately.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7369 - Survey of Granite Loading Bays at Trowlesworthy, Devon
• EDV8148 - The Upper Plym Valley: The Management of an Historic Landscape
• EDV8155 - Plym Valley Survey: EH Project (Feb 2001 - Dec 2002)
• EDV8098 - The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping (formerly NMP) Survey, Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (Ref: ACD2040)

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