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Summary

Four of eight boundary stones marking out a plot of land on the north side slope of Wigford Down, each inscribed with the letters BA in capitals. Three of the stones are in a line following the course of a reave, at 100m and 80m intervals. Unknown date, but appear to be pre-1840.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• BOUNDARY STONE (XVIII to XIX - 1751 AD? to 1840 AD (Between))

Full description

Newman, P., 2020, New sites identified on Wigford Down (Correspondence). SDV363630.

Four of eight inscribed granite boundary stones marking out a plot of land on the north side slope of Wigford Down. The stones comprise crude, uncut moorstone, all less than 1m high, each inscribed with the letters BA in capitals. Four of the stones are in a line following the course of a reave, and were originally components of the reave, set between 80m and 120m intervals, starting from SX 53844 65552, then SX 53901 65496, then SX 53980 65434 and SX 54076 65357 (see related record for the remaining four stones).
Although several theories have been advanced as to what these stones are marking, including that it might be lands of Buckland Abbey, it remains uncertain what the BA inscription stands for or what date these stones were installed. However, the course of the ‘Great Waste’ boundary, which enclosed an area of former common, was delineated on the 1840 Tithe map, although the enclosure walls may not have existed at that time. It seems these stones set out an earlier scheme of ownership, which followed the southern outline of the Great Waste but had been modified by 1840.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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