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Summary

Bowl barrow on the cliff edge at Gallantry Bower. It is visible as a circular earthwork mound on aerial photographs dating from 1959 onwards, and on Lidar images from 2007. A similar but smaller feature is visible approximately 100 metres to the south east.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1018520: Bowl barrow at Gallantry Bower
• SHINE: Prehistoric barrow at Gallantry Bower

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SS32NW/25
• Old SAM County Ref: 74
• Old SAM Ref: 32191

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• ROUND BARROW (Bronze Age - 2200 BC to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

Lega-Weekes, E., 1929, Gallant Bowers, 240 (Article in Serial). SDV340987.

Royal Air Force, 1959, RAF/58/2984, NMR RAF/58/2984 F21 0049-0050 30-JUN-1959 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349064.

An earthwork mound is just visible through tree cover.

Department of Environment, 1970, Gallantry Bower Round Barrow (Schedule Document). SDV339675.

Visited 1/8/1922. Situated on the very summit of Gallantry Bower. Surrounded by fosse. Central mound with trough extending across it from north to south. Now tree covered and unlikely to be cultivated. Possibly a trench was cut through it. The whole is now planted with trees, and it is not likely at any time to be cultivated.
Visited -/3/1969. 'Wessex type' barrow near cliff edge. Mound about 1.2 metres high, and the ditch 2.7 metres deep. Total diameter about 15.5 metres. Condition is as in 1922.

Grinsell, L. V., 1970, The Barrows of North Devon, 116 (Article in Serial). SDV7849.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1978, SS32NW2 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV339677.

Visited 27/11/1978. A bowl barrow on the cliff edge.18 metres diameter, including a well-defined outer ditch and bank, latter maximum height 0.6 metre. Central mound 1 - 1.7 metres high. It has been trenched east to west. Though the site may have been used as a beacon there is no reason to suppose the mound is not a barrow.

Devon Committee for Rescue Archaeology, 1979 - 1981, North Devon Barrow Survey, DCRA ND27 (Archive - Survey). SDV341310.

Weston, S., 1983, List of Field Monument Warden Visits 1983 (Un-published). SDV343247.

Bayer, O. J., 1996, Barrows in the Torridge District of North West Devon: A Study in Distribution and Location, Clovelly 2 (Undergraduate Dissertation). SDV319515.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 1999, Bowl Barrow at Gallantry Bower (Schedule Document). SDV339676.

Mound 9.3 metres in diameter and up to 1.1 metres high, surrounded by a 2.1 metres wide and 0.6 metre deep ditch. On the outer edge of the ditch is a 3.3 metres wide bank standing up to 0.4 metre high. At least six edge set stones within the northern side of this bank may indicate the presence of a kerb, which survives elsewhere as a buiried feature. The monument measures 19.9 metres in overall diameter. A 2 metre wide and 0.4 metre deep trench cutting across the mound from north west to south east may be the result of a partial early excavtion or robbing.
Given the prominent location of the barrow, it has been suggested that it may have been reused in historic times as a beacon.

Nicholas Pearson Associates, 2001, Clovelly Park: Historic Landscape Survey and Restoration Plan, 6 (Report - non-specific). SDV5958.

Unknown, 2004, SS32NW2 (Report - non-specific). SDV341372.

An English Heritage 1:200 survey was undertaken in 1998 after the removal of most of the trees. The earthwork comprises a disturbed central mound 10 metres diameter, by up to 1.5 metres high enclosed by a silted ditch 0.7 metre deep and an outer bank spread to 4 metres wide by 0.6 metre deep running north to south. A number of tree stumps are associated with some damage to the monument and one tree survives beside a break in the south side of the outer bank. The earthwork is probably an embanked prehistoric burial mound but was reused as a signal station or beacon. It is located only 3 metres from the eroding sea cliff and the southwest coast path has eroded a section of the outer bank 2 metres long by 0.1 metre high to the north revealing a core of laid stone blocks representing the remains of a kerb or the footings of a wall.

Environment Agency, 2007, LiDAR data JPEG image (1 metre resolution), LIDAR SS3026 Environment Agency D0076592 24-MAR-2007 (Cartographic). SDV349139.

A circular mound is visible with external ring bank. Map object based on this source.

Collings, A. G. + Manning, P. T. + Valentin, J., 2007, The North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Phase 1. Archaeological Survey. Summary Report, No. 239 (Report - Assessment). SDV339712.

Mound 10m dia x up to 1.5m high (in 1998) with surrounding ditch and outer bank. Probably embanked burial mound reused as signal station or beacon.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S., 2011 - 2012, North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV349018.

The barrow at Gallantry Bower is visible as a circular earthwork mound on aerial photographs dating from 1959 onwards, although any details of form are obscured by tree cover. It is clearly visible on images derived from Lidar data collected in 2007 as a circular mound of approximately 10 metres diameter, and an external bank of approximately 3.5 metres in width. No ditch is visible in the Lidar image, probably due to the 1 metre resolution of the data, and an anomaly on the southern part of the outer bank could be a tree stump. A similar but smaller feature is visible approximately 100 metres to the south east, and could be another barrow.

Ordnance Survey, 2014, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV355681.

Tumulus marked. Map object based on this source.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV319515	Undergraduate Dissertation: Bayer, O. J.. 1996. Barrows in the Torridge District of North West Devon: A Study in Distribution and Location. University of Leicester Dissertation. A4 Stapled + Digital. Clovelly 2.
SDV339675	Schedule Document: Department of Environment. 1970. Gallantry Bower Round Barrow. The Schedule of Monuments. Foolscap.
SDV339676	Schedule Document: Department for Culture, Media and Sport. 1999. Bowl Barrow at Gallantry Bower. The Schedule of Monuments. A4 Stapled.
SDV339677	Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card: Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division. 1978. SS32NW2. Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card. Card Index.
SDV339712	Report - Assessment: Collings, A. G. + Manning, P. T. + Valentin, J.. 2007. The North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Phase 1. Archaeological Survey. Summary Report. Exeter Archaeology Report. 06.22 (rev.1). A4 Stapled + Digital. No. 239.
SDV340987	Article in Serial: Lega-Weekes, E.. 1929. Gallant Bowers. Transactions of the Devonshire Association. 61. A5 Hardback. 240.
SDV341310	Archive - Survey: Devon Committee for Rescue Archaeology. 1979 - 1981. North Devon Barrow Survey. Devon Barrow Survey. Digital + Mixed Archive Material. DCRA ND27.
SDV341372	Report - non-specific: Unknown. 2004. SS32NW2. NMR Monument Report. 32627. Unknown.
SDV343247	Un-published: Weston, S.. 1983. List of Field Monument Warden Visits 1983. Lists of Field Monument Warden Visits. Unknown.
SDV349018	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S.. 2011 - 2012. North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. ACD383/2/1. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV349064	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1959. RAF/58/2984. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). NMR RAF/58/2984 F21 0049-0050 30-JUN-1959.
SDV349139	Cartographic: Environment Agency. 2007. LiDAR data JPEG image (1 metre resolution). Environment Agency LiDAR data. Digital. LIDAR SS3026 Environment Agency D0076592 24-MAR-2007.
SDV355681	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 2014. MasterMap. Ordnance Survey Digital Mapping. Digital.
SDV5958	Report - non-specific: Nicholas Pearson Associates. 2001. Clovelly Park: Historic Landscape Survey and Restoration Plan. Nicholas Pearson Associates Report. Unknown. 6.
SDV7849	Article in Serial: Grinsell, L. V.. 1970. The Barrows of North Devon. Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society. 28. A5 Paperback. 116.

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6132 - North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty NMP Project
• EDV4415 - Devon Barrow Survey

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