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Summary

Double stone row of 185 metres long with a cairn at the northern terminus to the south-east of White Ridge and west of Assycombe Hill

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1019265: Stone alignment and cairn 470m east of Stannon Brook source

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX68SE22
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 443808
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX68SE/70
• Old SAM County Ref: 847
• Old SAM Ref: 28760

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• STONE ALIGNMENT (Constructed, Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

Baring Gould, S., 1898, 5th Report of the Dartmoor Exploration Committee, 97 (Article in Serial). SDV265401.

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

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

Worth, R. H., 1946, The Stone Rows of Dartmoor. Part 1, 306, Row no.45 (Article in Serial). SDV251172.

Stannon, south slope of White Ridge. Starts with a cairn at the north end. Double row, well preserved for a short distance, but increasingly dilapidated as the newtake wall is approached. Gradient 1 in 24, falling south.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1952, SX68SE22 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV258160.

(10/06/1952) Not in very good condition, only a few stones being visible being visible.

Worth, R. H., 1953, Dartmoor, 225-6 (Monograph). SDV231148.

A double stone row, 620 ft long from the centre of a cairn at the northern end, running nearly due south and slightly downhill. Well preserved at northern end for a short distance but becoming more dilapidated as it approaches the newtake wall at the southern end.

Emmett, D. D., 1979, Stone Rows: The Traditional View Reconsidered, 111 (Article in Serial). SDV251087.

Greeves, T., 1982, Double stone row to the south-east of White Ridge and west of Assycombe Hill, Letter in Parish File (Personal Comment). SDV260168.

Dartmoor National Park Authority, 1982, Double stone row to the south-east of White Ridge and west of Assycombe Hill, Lydford Parish File (Report - Survey). SDV260170.

Survey drawing of October 1982 at 1:10560.

Greeves, T., 1982, Stone Row and cairn south-east of White Ridge (Worksheet). SDV260167.

Visited on 11th August 1982. Double stone row damaged by haymaking activity in August 1982.

Robinson, R., 1983, List of Field Monument Warden Visits 1983 (Un-published). SDV345762.

(Visited 19/01/1983).

Greeves, T. + Robinson, R., 1983, Survey of the stone row, Copy in SMR (Plan - measured). SDV162837.

Site surveyed at 1:200 by T. Greeves and R. Robinson (19/7/1983). Plans in possession of T. Greeves. Measured survey made of the entire row.

Fleming, A., 1983, The Prehistoric Landscape of Dartmoor. Part 2: North and East Dartmoor, 210 (Article in Serial). SDV227880.

One of its southern blocking stones is only 1m short of Assycombe Hill west reave, which may respect it.

Royal Commission for the Historical Monuments of England, 1987-1993, Duchy Farms Project Survey Visit, M. J. Fletcher (Report - Survey). SDV350839.

(08/10/1990) Centred SX 65408156. A robbed and damaged double stone row with the remains of a mutilated cairn at its N end are situated on a gentle SW-facing slope overlooking a broad shallow valley at 445m O.D. The hillslope, under close-cropped moorland pasture, is covered by a deep layer of peat; very little surface stone is visible in the area.
SX 65418165 to SX 65398146. The stone row which protrudes through the deep peat layer can be traced in on almost unbroken line from the cairn, down the slope to the boundary wall between Great Stannon and Little Stannon newtakes. The 1983 survey by Greaves and Robinson indicated that it extended into Little Stannon for a further 350m, however a few on-line earthfast stones were the only evidence for the extension visible in 1990. The vegetation in Little Stannon is only lightly grazed so consequently the ground cover is low gorse bushes, heather and thick tuft grass-which effectively hides the alignment.
The Great Stannon double stone row is 185m long and lies down a convex slope. The height difference between the base of the cairn at the top of the row and the base of the newtake wall is approximately 16m. The top and bottom of the row are not intervisible because of this height difference and the rounded convex hillslope. The row has a marked change of alignment just over halfway along its length. This suggests that it may have been built in two places; it is significant that the stones in the N part are taller and more substantial then those in the S. The N, uphill, part about 105m long has 32 upright or leaning slabs, 21 recumbent slabs and approximately 19 almost completely buried stones - some could be natural sub-surface features. The largest upright measures 0.9m long, 0.3m wide and 0.4m high; the tallest upright is 0.7m high and the largest exposed recumbent slab is 0.75m by 0.45m and 0.3m thick. The width of this row is about 0.65m; the spacing of the stones is now difficult to deduce. The lower(s) part of the row, c.80m long, is composed of small, upright slabs; the majority are almost completely engulfed by the peat. They are now each about 0.2m long, 0.15m wide and the tips protrude 0.1m to 0.2m above the turf line. They are securely set into the ground approximately 1.7m apart but, again, the spacing is difficult to deduce. Approximately 30 upright stones are visible and at least 3 partially buried stones. Three earthfast boulders lie irregularly spaced on a line parallel to the S end of the row, c.6m to the E; they probably have no archaeological significance.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP 152208. (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

(29/04/1997) Stone alignment 470m east of Stannon Brook source. Double stone alignment predominantly covered in grass. Some small patches of erosion caused by animals and footpaths. No trace of the extension reported by Greeves. A few earthfast boulders on the approximate line of the row were visible but not enough evidence to justify extension of the monument southward.

Butler, J., 1991, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Two - The North, 166-168, 235, Map 35, Figure 35.11 (Monograph). SDV219155.

White Ridge double stone row at SX65418165 of 167 metres long with 41 stones and 0.9 to 1.5 metres between the rows. The stones are circa 1.7 metres apart with an average height of 0.16 metres. The double stone row descends from a cairn on the south side of White Ridge and, of the stones that remain in place, few show much above ground level. Another 18 stones have fallen and most of these have a covering of turf. As they descend the steepening gradient the rows gradually widen and their orientation deviates a few degrees to the west, before resuming the original alignment lower down the slope. The stones thin out southwards near the Stannon Newtake wall without any obvious termination.

Quinnell, N. V., 1995, Stone row south-east of White Ridge (Personal Comment). SDV260176.

Stone row runs from SX65398145 to SX65418164. Length 189 metres.

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

Stones of the double stone row shown on survey extending from the cairn to the newtake wall.

Ordnance Survey, 2023, Mastermap 2023 (Cartographic). SDV365227.

'Stone Rows' shown on modern mapping.

Historic England, 2023, National Heritage List for England, 1019265 (National Heritage List for England). SDV365228.

The monument includes a stone alignment and cairn situated on a gentle south facing slope overlooking the valley of the Stannon Brook. The cairn denotes the northern end of the alignment, measures 7.8 metres in diameter and stands up to 0.35 metres high. The stone alignment, which is of the double type leads south from the cairn for 167 metres and includes at least 46 stones of which 5 are now recumbent. The average height of all the stones is 0.16 metres and the distance between the two rows of stones varies between 0.9 metres and 1.5 metres.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8650 - Great Stannon Newtake, Duchy Farms Survey
• EDV8409 - Dartmoor Royal Forest Project
• EDV8423 - Duchy Farms Project

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