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Summary

One of the smaller buildings at Houndtor, this structure was originally constructed for use as a barn, but was later converted into a dwelling, with a shallow drain at the lower end for use as a byre, or shippon for housing animals and a hearth and cooking pit in the upper living area.

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/7/5
• Old SAM County Ref: 601
• Old SAM Ref Revised: 28786

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

Minter, E. M., 1972 - 1973, Eleven Years of Archaeological Work on Dartmoor, 117 (Article in Serial). SDV307263.

This small dwelling house associated with the manor house was used as a barn in the last period of occupation of the site.

Beresford, G., 1979, Three Deserted Medieval Settlements on Dartmoor: a Report on the Late E. Marie Minter's Excavations, 133-134 (Article in Serial). SDV307264.

Buildings 4 and 5 lay within the enclosure with building 3 and shared a common yard, but were considerably smaller possibly indicating a lesser status. Building 4, measuring 25 foot by 11 foot 6 inches internally, was originally constructed to serve as a barn, but was later converted to a dwelling. The first structural phase showed the building had been used as a corn-drying barn, the position of the kilns being clearly marked by stone footings of the front retaining wall running across the building just south-west of the later hearth, although no remains of the kilns survived. Later a central hearth and cooking pit was introduced and a shallow central drain dug into the lower end of the house to convert it for use as a small longhouse.

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

Building 4 is one of the smaller structures associated with longhouse 3 and measures 7.5 meters by 4 meters internally. It is located to the north of longhouse 3 and is accessed through an entranceway located in its south-eastern wall.

Dartmoor National Park + English Heritage, 2002, Houndtor: Deserted Medieval Settlement, 8-11 (Leaflet). SDV295904.

A smaller structure aligned southwest to northeast with an opening in the eastern wall, measuring approximately 8 meters by 5.5 meters and may originally have been a corn-drying barn associated with the larger longhouse to the south (Building 3). Later it appears to have been used as a small house. The building is likely to have been a single storey thatched structure.

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

Various, 2018-2019, PALs Condition Recording forms, HT8 (Worksheet). SDV362781.

Visited 30/06/2019. Gorse, heather and blueberry present. Slight livestock damage. Human damage to wall at the doorway Overall condition good. Photos X 2 taken

Various, 2018-2019, PALs Condition Recording photographs, HT8 (Photograph). SDV363073.

Visited 30/06/2019. Photos X 2 taken 1) looking along the length of the building downhill south west to north east 2) showing the damage to the wall at the entrance

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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