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Summary

One of the smaller buildings at Houndtor; this structure is an example of a small longhouse, a single roomed structure with living area with hearth at the upper end of the building and byre, or shippon with central drain for housing the animals at the lower end.This longhouse had only one entrance.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1016255: Prehistoric and medieval settlements and their field systems at Hound Tor

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX77NW/7/3
• Old SAM County Ref: 601
• Old SAM Ref Revised: 28786

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• LONGHOUSE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD (Between))

Full description

Beresford, G., 1979, Three Deserted Medieval Settlements on Dartmoor: a Report on the Late E. Marie Minter's Excavations, 134 (Article in Serial). SDV307264.

Building 2, measuring 7.3 meters by 3 meters internally is an example of a small medieval longhouse, comprising living room with central hearth and byre with drain at the lower end of the structure. This building appears to have only had one doorway, on the north-western wall.

Newman, P. + Probert, S. + Riley, H., 1994, Houndtor Down, Manaton, Devon - A New Survey by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England., 3-4 (Report - Survey). SDV344628.

Building 2 is much smaller than the other longhouses at Houndtor, measuring 7.5 meters by 3 meters internally and is built into the southern boundary of the settlement. Entrance opening on the northern wall. No excavated evidence exists for this being a dwelling, although Beresford (1979, 134) argued the case for this using parallels from the south-west.

Dartmoor National Park + English Heritage, 2002, Houndtor: Deserted Medieval Settlement, 10-11 (Leaflet). SDV295904.

Building two is a small longhouse located to the south of the hamlet, aligned south-west to north-east with one entrance in its northern wall and evidence of a living area with hearth in the upper section of the building and byre drain in the lower end. The building is likely to have been a single storey thatched structure.

Ordnance Survey, 2010, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV344030.

Building at SX74637875.

Various, 2018-2019, PALs Condition Recording forms, HT7 (Worksheet). SDV362781.

Visited 30/06/2019. SX74639 78759. The drain is on the lower north end of the building cutting through the wall. There is a light covering of heather, blueberry, bracken and foxgloves. There is a small amount of livestock evidence. Overall good condition Photo taken

Various, 2018-2019, PALs Condition Recording photographs, HT7 (Photograph). SDV363073.

Visited 30/06/2019. Photo taken looking west to north along the length of the building showing the drainage gap in the wall

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.