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Summary

At the northern end of a double stone alignment is a circular stone setting 7 metres in diameter consisting of eight stones up to 1.3 metres in height. There is no trace of a cairn within the circle

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1012114: Double stone alignment with a terminal stone setting south of Great Trowlesworthy Tor

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX56SE38
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX56SE/19/2
• Old SAM County Ref: 560A
• Old SAM Ref: 10664

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• (Former Type) CAIRN? (Constructed, Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC to 701 BC)
• STONE SETTING (Constructed, Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

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

'Stone Circle (Remains of)' shown on 19th century map.

Worth, R. N., 1892, The Stone Rows of Dartmoor, 401 (Article in Serial). SDV237176.

Page, J. L. W., 1895, An Exploration of Dartmoor and its Antiquities, with some account of its borders, with some account of its borders, 273 (Monograph). SDV344985.

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

'Stone Circle' shown on early 20th century map.

Worth, R. H., 1941, Retaining Circles Associated with Stone Rows, Dartmoor, 231-2, Figure 3 (Article in Serial). SDV251083.

Visited on 17th May 1941. Plan of retaining circle with detailed measurements. Suggests that tallest stone has been interfered with.

Worth, R. H., 1946, The Stone Rows of Dartmoor. Part 1, 291 (Article in Serial). SDV251172.

At the north end of the double stone row is a retaining circle, 6.7 metres diameter. It consists of 8 stones, all still erect and all columnar in type. The tallest stone lies next to the row and is 1.3 metre in height.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1950/1977, SX56SE38, SX56SE38, Plan (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV138977.

Worth, R. H., 1953, Dartmoor, 209 (Monograph). SDV231148.

Wilkinson, J. G., 1962, Title not cited, 26 35 plate 1. (Article in Serial). SDV169093.

Wilkinson notes and maps Trowlesworthy circle and avenue. Circle, which he refrains from calling a proper sacred circle, probably once contained 12 stones of which 8 remain.

National Monuments Record, 1976, NMR SX5764, 2 (Aerial Photograph). SDV138979.

Photograph taken on 8th April 1976.

Grinsell, L. V., 1978, Dartmoor Barrows, 165, Shaugh Prior 44 (Article in Serial). SDV273224.

Visited on 7th May 1976. Retaining circle at higher end of stone row. Diameter 7.0 metres. No trace of mound or cairn.

Balaam, N. D. + Smith, K. + Wainwright, G. J., 1982, Ringmoor Down, 254-5, Figure 22 (Article in Serial). SDV260549.

The circle is 7.1 metres diameter and surrounds a rough central mound. The stones of the circle are 0.7 -1.3 metres high.

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

Visible and recorded.

Turner, J. R., 1990, Ring Cairns, Stone Circles and Related Monuments on Dartmoor, 82, g25 (Article in Serial). SDV229817.

Stone circle 6.5 metres diameter, 8 stones standing.

Butler, J., 1994, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Three - The South-West, 169-72, 212, Map 51, Figures 51.10 & 51.10.1 (Monograph). SDV137656.

Trowlesworthy stone row '1' cairn and ring at SX57646398 of 6.6 metres diameter. Little remains of the mound which has been hollowed out to ground level from the southern edge and spread outside the circle. The ring of eight tall stones, known as 'The Pulpit', seems to be complete and standing 0.6 metres to 1.2 metres high. One was re-erected shortly before 1892. The tallest stone stands next to the rows but in line rather than across. It has a peculiarly waisted profile obviously artificially shaped, probably in recent times.

National Trust and English Heritage, 1994, The Upper Plym Valley: The Management of an Historic Landscape, 16 (Report - non-specific). SDV166309.

Circle of 8 distinct orthostats, known locally in 1888 as "The Pulpit". Situated at north-east end of alignment. Eastern half of interior is slightly higher, kidney-shaped in plan and contains medium-sized stones, which may have been used as packing stones around the orthostats. The south-west orthostat, the tallest, leans outwards and has several small stones around it.

Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC, 1999-2017, Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery SX5763 03-05-2007 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363087.

A stone circle is visible.

Hazell, E., 2001, The Decoding of Down Tor aka Hingston Hill (Unknown). SDV138973.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2003, Stone setting at end of stone row (Schedule Document). SDV169100.

Scheduled Monument Consent granted,subject to conditions, for works concerning the repair of a broken stone.

English Heritage, 2005-2008, Prehistoric Survey Information (Cartographic). SDV345521.

Shown on survey.

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording forms, UPTR-28 (Worksheet). SDV362781.

(22/03/2020) Site condition assessed as moderate. Environmental damage; stream running through site is causing erosion.

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

Images taken on visit in March 2020.

Google, 2019, Google Earth Pro, EARTH.GOOGLE.COM 22-JUN-2018 ACCESSED 22-NOV-2019 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363088.

A stone circle is visible.

Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R., 2019-2021, The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping Survey. Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (AI&M, formerly NMP) (Interpretation). SDV362982.

Eight individual stones are identifiable on digital images derived from aerial photographs of 2007 defining a rough circle 6 to 7m in diameter.
The circle is centred on circa SX and the stones are approximately 2 to 3.5m apart.
The location of each identifiable stone has been schematically transcribed.
The stone circle visible at the northern end of the double stone alignment MDV2421.
The stones remain clearly visible on digital images derived from aerial photographs of 2018.

Ordnance Survey, 2022, Mastermap 2022 (Cartographic). SDV364674.

'Stone Circle' shown on modern mapping.

Historic England, 2022, National Heritage List for England, 1012114 (National Heritage List for England). SDV364675.

At the northern end of the stone row there is a circular stone setting 7 metres in diameter consisting of eight stones up to 1.3 metres in height. There is no trace of a cairn within the circle.

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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