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Summary

Unenclosed prehistoric hut circle settlement at Tucker's Hill on Harford Moor including at least 14 hut circles.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1012765: Unenclosed stone hut settlement with enclosures north of Piles Copse

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX66SW45
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 442309
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX66SW/127
• Old SAM Ref: 10521
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SX66SW45

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• UNENCLOSED HUT CIRCLE SETTLEMENT (Constructed, Bronze Age - 2200 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

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

Not shown on 19th century map.

National Monuments Record, 1969, NMR SX6463, 3 (Aerial Photograph). SDV165976.

Hankin, C. F., 1977-1980, Harford Parish Checklist (Worksheet). SDV149931.

Site visited in May 1977 and April 1980. On the south-west facing slope of Harford Moor, north of Piles Copse; about 150 metres south-west of the cairn at SX64516296. An open site of about 12 hut circles, some very fragmentary, grouped close together along the contour over an area of about 80 metres by 50 metres. All the huts are about 7.0 metres diameter external measurement the walls are generally in poor condition and do not exceed 1.0 metre in height. A few show possible entrance in south-east. Whortleberry and bracken cover most of the sites. On the south edge of the group there are two concentric circles of small stones lying at ground level; the outer ring has diameter 14.0 metres, and the inner ring has diameter 6.0 metres. The remains of a wall runs along the contour on the south edge of the group. This group of hut circles was not recorded in the Ordnance Survey of the 1950s. In 1977-79 the Ordnance Survey included it with an occupation site 70 metres down the slope westward towards the River Erme.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1978, SX66SW45 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV169166.

(16/01/1978) On a steep southwest facing slope of Harford Moor, between approximately 333.0m and 383.0m OD is an open settlement of thirty-five hut circles. The bracken-covered and boulder strewn settlement covers an area of 0.35 hectares. The huts appear to be grouped in two areas at SX 64366274 and SX 64456284. (Some huts are omitted due to scale), have levelled interiors, and in places are connected by walling averaging 1.0m wide and 0.4m high.
At SX 64316277 and SX 64446283 the walling forms small enclosures (omitted due to scale). Some huts appear to be built on older sites while the hut at SX 64456282 is built within an earlier and larger hut. The fifteen type 1 huts vary from 2.4m to 5.0m in internal diameter with walling averaging 0.4m high and 1.4m wide with mainly south-western entrances. The Type 2 huts have walling averaging 1.7m wide and 0.5m high with internal diameters from 3.0m to 9.5m. The majority of the entrances are in the south.
There are the remains of fields visible (see SX 66 SW 47) within the area.
(Type 1 huts: SX 56 SE 19; Type 2 SX 56 NE 71). Surveyed at 1:10 000 on PFD/AM.

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1985, Aerial Photograph Project (Dartmoor) - Dartmoor Pre-NMP (Cartographic). SDV319854.

Seven hut circles visible and recorded, two attached to the walls of a very small enclosure.

Butler, J., 1993, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Four - The South-East, 48-50, Map 54, Figure 54.9 (Monograph). SDV337765.

Three Barrows West Settlement 4 shows a compact group of twelve or more huts with none of them more than a few metres from its neighbour. Apart from Hut 22 of 5 metres diameter with a small annexe alongside the huts are less then 4 metres diameter. Two huts have outer courtyards and another pair are joined by a low wall which may be the remnants of an encircling enclosure.

Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC, 2015-2017, 2015-2017 Aerial Photographs (Aerial Photograph). SDV361462.

Some features visible on aerial photograph.

Newman, P., 2018, Erme Valley Survey data (GIS and Excel spreadsheet) (Cartographic). SDV361913.

Group of hut circles shown on survey.

Newman, P., 2018, The Upper Erme Valley, Dartmoor National Park, Devon: An Archaeological Survey, Appendix 1 (Report - Survey). SDV362921.

An unenclosed prehistoric settlement of 13 ruined hut circles on the moderate eastern slope of the River Erme, which forms part of a large, spread settlement extending along the flank of Harford Moor. The huts are mostly of similar size, with a diameter of 4 to 5 metres, though some are smaller, and comprise spread, turf-covered stony banks of up to 1.5 metres wide, with some stones from the wall fabric still visible and in situ. The two huts forming the north and south extremity of the site are both surrounded by small, sub-circular enclosures of turf-covered stony banks, with an approximate diameter of 11 metres. Vestiges of other stony turf-covered walls extend between some of the hut circles.

Ordnance Survey, 2020, MasterMap 2020 (Cartographic). SDV363413.

Hut circles shown on modern mapping are grouped slightly to the south of the surveyed huts.

Historic England, 2020, National Heritage List for England, 1012765 (National Heritage List for England). SDV363414.

Some of the huts lie within the Scheduled area.

National Monuments Record, 2020, Pastscape, 442309, SX66SW45 (Website). SDV363416.

On a steep southwest facing slope of Harford Moor, between approximately 333.0 metres and 383.0 metres OD is an open settlement of thirty-five hut circles. The bracken-covered and boulder strewn settlement covers an area of 0.35 hectares. The huts appear to be grouped in two areas at SX 64366274 and SX 64456284. (Some huts are omitted due to scale), have levelled interiors, and in places are connected by walling averaging 1.0 metre wide and 0.4 metres high.
At SX 64446283 the walling forms small enclosures (omitted due to scale). Some huts appear to be built on older sites while the hut at SX 64456282 is built within an earlier and larger hut. The fifteen type 1 huts vary from 2.4 metres to 5.0 metres in internal diameter with walling averaging 0.4 metres high and 1.4 metres wide with mainly south-western entrances. The Type 2 huts have walling averaging 1.7 metres wide and 0.5 metres high with internal diameters from 3.0 metres to 9.5 metres. The majority of the entrances are in the south. There are the remains of fields visible within
the area.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8082 - Survey of the Upper Erme Valley

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