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Summary

A substantial linear earthwork bank may have been an eighteenth century tree lined avenue within parkland at Tetcott, linking the pond to the Queen Anne period Tetcott House. It is likely to have passed out of use during the second part of the nineteenth century when the landscape appears to have been redesigned.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Site of Old Tetcott House, 18th century stables listed Grade II and The Wilderness, a 19th century 'pocket' park created from earlier Tudor and 17th century gardens and landscaping

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• TREE AVENUE (XVIII to XIX - 1701 AD to 1900 AD (Between))

Full description

Devon County Council, 1838-1848, Tithe Mosaic, approximately 1838-1848 (Cartographic). SDV349431.

A linear double row of small trees is depicted.

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

The avenue is not depicted.

Environment Agency, 2000-2019, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) EA: Tamar Aerial Survey project area, LIDAR Environment Agency LAST RETURN 19-DEC-2004 (Cartographic). SDV363954.

A curvilinear bank is visible as an earthwork.

Cornwall Archaeological Unit, 2001-2002, Tamar Valley National Mapping Programme Transcriptions and Database Records (Interpretation). SDV346287.

A curvilinear bank earthwork had been previously transcribed by the Tamar Valley NMP project. This has been re-transcribed in greater detail based upon recent lidar data as part of the 2020-21 Tamar/Lidar project.

Bluesky, 2006 - 2007, Bluesky aerial photographs 2006 - 2007 (Aerial Photograph). SDV341189.

A linear bank is visible as an earthwork.

NERC, 2013, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) Tellus: Tamar Aerial Survey project area, LIDAR Tellus LAST RETURN 01-JUL-2013 to 31-AUG-2013 (Cartographic). SDV363955.

A curvilinear bank is visible as an earthwork.

Knight, S., 2013-2015, Land Management Case Work, 22-April-2014 (Personal Comment). SDV351543.

A substantial linear bank, circa 14 metres wide, is clearly visible as an earthwork on the west side of the fishpond within parkland at Tetcott, apparently linking the pond with the site of the demolished Queen Anne period Tetcott House (MDV106867). The bank corresponds to a double row of smaller trees, depicted within a fomal wooded landscape of larger trees on the Tithe map and may have been a tree lined avenue. It is not depicted on the late nineteenth century mapping and is likely to have passed out of use when the parkland was transformed into the picturesque tradition.

Nicholas Pearson Partnership LLP, 2014, TETCOTT WILDERNESS, HIGHER LEVEL STEWARDSHIP MANAGEMENT PLANS, 2014, 18-19 (Report - non-specific). SDV358107.

Several strong linear features which relate to former walks and drives, of which this one is aligned on what was probably a pond-side seat site, providing evidence of the geometric formal landscape suggested by the 1837 tithe plan. Provides critical evidence of the pre-1837 landscape. Grazed and good condition, excepting the planting of four ornamental parkland trees. Proposals include: Protect archaeology from deliberate ground disturbance & compaction; remove young trees planted on earthworks; retain those where consistent with the historic record, as planted avenues; monitor to avoid erosion and damage; consider production of a detailed, measured earthwork survey, to inform the early history of the site.

Hegarty, C., Houghton, E., Knight, S. and Sims, R., 2020-2021, Tamar/Lidar; A Single Source Approach to Landscape Survey and Socially Distanced Community Archaeology Area 2 (Culture Recovery Fund project) (Interpretation). SDV364011.

A curvilinear bank circa 105 metres in length and 10 metres in width orientated approximately east to west is visible as an earthwork on visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2004 and 2013. Further disconnected earthworks on the same orientation may be part of the same feature. They are situated within the grounds of Tetcott Manor to the west of the pond.
A section of the curvilinear earthwork bank had previously been transcribed as part of the Tamar Valley NMP project and has been re-transcribed with greater accuracy based on the recent lidar data.
The earthworks correspond approximately with a tree lined avenue depicted on the Tithe Map that passed out of use by the late 19th century and are interpreted as its remaining evidence.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6770 - TETCOTT WILDERNESS HIGHER LEVEL STEWARDSHIP MANAGEMENT PLANS, 2014 (Ref: TET.154)
• EDV8356 - Tamar/Lidar; A Single Source Approach to Landscape Survey and Socially Distanced Community Archaeology Area 2 (Culture Recovery Fund) (Ref: ACD2424)

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