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Summary

A section of curtain wall of roughly dressed limestone which extended from the redoubt and protected the southern flank of the fort. There is no evidence to suggest that it ever extended further to the east. It incorporates a redan, a v-shaped fortification work, to provide covering fire along its line.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1017322: Berry Head Fort and battery and Hardy's Head Battery

Other References/Statuses

• Tide Project: 03/09/2020

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CURTAIN WALL (Constructed, XVIII to XIX - 1795 AD (Between) to 1804 AD (Between))

Full description

Pye, A.R. & Slater, W.D., 1990, Berry Head Fort, Brixham, An Archaeological Survey, 16-17, Figs 12, 18, Pl. 16 (Report - Survey). SDV362493.

There is no cartographic, documentary or physical evidence that the southern wall, as opposed to the northern wall - since quarried away, was ever completed, or reached further east than it currently does. Its present length of 140 metres incorporates a redan, a v-shaped fortification work, to provide covering fire along its line and runs from the southern edge of the revetted enceinte, the redoubt, to a point mid-way along the southern side of barrack 2.
The wall is constructed of roughly dressed limestone blocks like those of the encente, battered to an angle of 85 degrees except the top metre which is vertical forming a parapet 0.5 metres thick. There are two openings through the parapet giving access to a walled garden, established at a later date on the downslope outside the walls, probably after the decommissioning of 1817.
There is a small rectangular building located on the outer side of the eastern end of the wall and of the same construction; its function is unclear and the interior filled with vegetation and rubble to a height of about 2.5 metres. There are neither doors nor windows, or trace of any other feature.

Passmore, A. J., 2010, Archaeological Recording at Berry Head, Brixham, Devon, May to October 2009, 1, 10 (Report - Assessment). SDV364281.

Construction and conservation works undertaken as part of the Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust’s ‘On The Edge’ project in 2009 showed the southern curtain wall to have been constructed within a levelled terrace into the natural bedrock.

Watts, M. + S., 2020, Berry Head Fort No. 3 (Ground Photograph). SDV363853.

Photos of buildings and structures within the former Napoleonic fort.

Riley, H., 2023, Berry Head Fort, Hardy’s Head Battery & The Old Redoubt, Torbay, Devon. PAI Implementation Plan for Higher Tier Countryside Stewardship Scheme, 6, 20, 21, Figs 13-14, 27 (Report - Survey). SDV365956.

The southern musketry wall shows well on Lidar imagery. The report comments on the vegetation on the wall and recommends that it should be removed, with provision made for consolidation of the walls afterwards.

Ordnance Survey, 2023, Mastermap 2023 (Cartographic). SDV365227.

Wall delineated.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV362493	Report - Survey: Pye, A.R. & Slater, W.D.. 1990. Berry Head Fort, Brixham, An Archaeological Survey. Exeter Museums Archaeological Field Unit Report. EMAFU 90.10. Hardcopy + Digital. 16-17, Figs 12, 18, Pl. 16.
	Linked documents:1
SDV363853	Ground Photograph: Watts, M. + S.. 2020. Berry Head Fort No. 3. Digital.
	Linked images:14
SDV364281	Report - Assessment: Passmore, A. J.. 2010. Archaeological Recording at Berry Head, Brixham, Devon, May to October 2009. Exeter Archaeology. 10.73. Digital. 1, 10.
	Linked documents:1
SDV365227	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 2023. Mastermap 2023. Ordnance Survey Digital Mapping. Digital. [Mapped feature: #115314 ]
SDV365956	Report - Survey: Riley, H.. 2023. Berry Head Fort, Hardy’s Head Battery & The Old Redoubt, Torbay, Devon. PAI Implementation Plan for Higher Tier Countryside Stewardship Scheme. Hazel Riley. Digital. 6, 20, 21, Figs 13-14, 27.

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8911 - Archaeological recording at Berry Head, Brixham
• EDV7835 - Archaeological Survey of the Berry Head Forts
• EDV9033 - Assessment of Berry Head Fort, Hardy’s Head Battery and The Old Redoubt, Torbay, Devon

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