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Summary

One of five bowl barrows forming a round barrow cemetery on the edge of Welsford Moor, to the south of Higher Welsford. The barrow is visible as a circular earthwork on aerial photographs between 1946 and 2007. It had been impacted by modern deep ploughing before 1946, and 2007 aerial photographs show this field to be in active cultivation.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1019085: Round barrow cemetery 920m south west of Higher Welsford
• SHINE: Two prehistoric barrows on west side of Welsford Moor, part of barrow cemetery

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SS22SE/10
• Old SAM County Ref: 305(1)
• Old SAM Ref: 32238
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SS22SE6(A)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

Warren and Co. Surveyors., 1844, First copy of the map of the Parish of Hartland in the County of Devon in two Parts. (Cartographic). SDV349361.

The field boundary is depicted.

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/3G/TUD/UK/158, DCC RAF/3G/TUD/UK/158 5121-5122 19-APR-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349143.

A circular mound is visible as an earthwork, with east to west aligned ridges visible across the mound.

Ministry of Works, 1953, Three Barrows west of Welsford Moor (Schedule Document). SDV343728.

One of three barrows in ill-drained fields adjoining the moor. Barrow (1) to the south is 54 feet in diameter and 1 foot 6 inches high. Has been ploughed and flattened.

Royal Air Force, 1959, RAF/58/2984, NMR RAF/58/2984 F22 0031-0032 30-JUN-1959 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349064.

The mound is not really distinguishable, but the area of the mound and a wider area to the west is visible as a pale cropmark, both sides of the field boundary.

Grinsell, L. V., 1970, The Barrows of North Devon, 120 (Article in Serial). SDV7849.

Visited 15th September 1975. Rushmoor. Mound in contrasting dark green grass. Diameter 24 paces, height 2 feet.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1977 - 1978, SS22SE6 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV340142.

Visited 6th December 1978. Barrow A. Diameter 22 metres, height 0.7 metres, with no visible ditch. A bowl barrow currently under pasture. It is crossed from east to west by a shallow ridge and furrow.

Ordnance Survey, 1978, OS/78038, NMR OS/78038 242-243 10-MAY-1978 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349082.

The barrow is visible as a circular mound.

Devon Committee for Rescue Archaeology, 1979 - 1981, North Devon Barrow Survey, DCRA ND32 (Archive - Survey). SDV341310.

Visited 8th November 1979. Diameter 21.7 metres, height 0.50 metres. Low mound in pasture. Very flattened by ploughing, spread at edges and poached by cattle. No sign of ditch or berm. Poor condition.

Weston, S., 1982, List of Field Monument Warden Visits (Un-published). SDV345675.

Department of Environment field monument warden visited in July/August 1992.

Bayer, O. J., 1996, Barrows in the Torridge District of North West Devon: A Study in Distribution and Location, Hartland 5 (Undergraduate Dissertation). SDV319515.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 1999, Round Barrow Cemetery 920 Metres South-west of Higher Welsford (Schedule Document). SDV340145.

One of a group of five bowl barrows arranged in two pairs with a single outlier, forming a round barrow cemetery on a high upland ridge known as Welsford Moor, 920 metres south-west of Higher Welsford. The western of the southernmost pair survives as a circular mound 24 metres in diameter and 0.5 metres high, with a surrounding outer quarry ditch approximately 3 metres wide preserved as a buried feature.

Next Perspectives, 2007, Next Perspectives PGA Tile Ref:, Next Perspectives PGA Tile Ref: SS2620 22-AUG-2007 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349178.

The barrow is visible as a circular earthwork mound in a cultivated field.

Collings, A. G. + Manning, P. T. + Valentin, J., 2007, The North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Phase 1. Archaeological Survey. Summary Report, No. 567 (Report - Assessment). SDV339712.

One of five round barrows 920 metres south-west of Higher Welsford. The eastern mound of the southernmost pair is 28.3 metres in diameter and 1 metres high. Quarry ditch survives as buried feature about 3 metres wide .

English Heritage, 2009, Heritage at Risk Register 2009: South West, 115 (Report - non-specific). SDV342694.

Generally unsatisfactory with major localised problems. Principal vulnerability arable ploughing.

English Heritage, 2010, Heritage at Risk Register 2010: South West, 108 (Report - non-specific). SDV344777.

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

The barrow mound is visible as a circular earthwork on aerial photographs between 1946 and 2007. It had been impacted by modern deep ploughing before 1946 which left east to west aligned ridges and furrows on the mound, and 2007 aerial photographs show this field to be in active cultivation. A very pale patch on 1959 aerial photographs over the site of the barrow, and to the south including the adjacent field, could possibly show the spread remains of the barrow mound after levelling. A difference in vegetation is also visible on earlier 1946 aerial photographs, and it is possible that the barrow may have been partly levelled at an earlier date, perhaps during the consutruction of the post-medieval field boundary and therefore pre-dating the 1844 Tithe map.

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

The feature depicted on the OS map does not quite match that visible on the aerial photographs.

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. Hartland 5.
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. 567.
SDV340142	Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card: Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division. 1977 - 1978. SS22SE6. Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card. Card Index.
SDV340145	Schedule Document: Department for Culture, Media and Sport. 1999. Round Barrow Cemetery 920 Metres South-west of Higher Welsford. The Schedule of Monuments. A4 Stapled.
SDV341310	Archive - Survey: Devon Committee for Rescue Archaeology. 1979 - 1981. North Devon Barrow Survey. Devon Barrow Survey. Digital + Mixed Archive Material. DCRA ND32.
SDV342694	Report - non-specific: English Heritage. 2009. Heritage at Risk Register 2009: South West. English Heritage Report. A4 Bound +Digital. 115.
SDV343728	Schedule Document: Ministry of Works. 1953. Three Barrows west of Welsford Moor. The Schedule of Monuments. Foolscap.
SDV344777	Report - non-specific: English Heritage. 2010. Heritage at Risk Register 2010: South West. English Heritage Report. Digital. 108.
SDV345675	Un-published: Weston, S.. 1982. List of Field Monument Warden Visits. Lists of Field Monument Warden Visits. Printout.
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 F22 0031-0032 30-JUN-1959.
SDV349082	Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 1978. OS/78038. Ordnance Survey Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). NMR OS/78038 242-243 10-MAY-1978.
SDV349143	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. RAF/3G/TUD/UK/158. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). DCC RAF/3G/TUD/UK/158 5121-5122 19-APR-1946. [Mapped feature: #63486 ]
SDV349178	Aerial Photograph: Next Perspectives. 2007. Next Perspectives PGA Tile Ref:. Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs. Digital. Next Perspectives PGA Tile Ref: SS2620 22-AUG-2007.
SDV349361	Cartographic: Warren and Co. Surveyors.. 1844. First copy of the map of the Parish of Hartland in the County of Devon in two Parts.. Tithe Map.
SDV355681	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 2014. MasterMap. Ordnance Survey Digital Mapping. Digital.
SDV7849	Article in Serial: Grinsell, L. V.. 1970. The Barrows of North Devon. Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society. 28. A5 Paperback. 120.

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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