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Summary

A deserted medieval settlement on the western slope of Legis Lake comprising an enclosed yard and three ruined rectangular buildings. The largest building is a probable longhouse with internal dimensions of 13.7m by 3.9m, standing up to 0.7m high. A second building a few metres SW of the longhouse is built against an enclosure wall with internal dimensions approximately 6.5m by 2.7m. The third building is 14m NW of the longhouse with similar structural details to the other two; internal dimensions approximately 6.9m by 4.8m. This small settlement is one of three in the Legis Lake valley, and sits within a context of contemporary abandoned enclosures and evidence of cultivation in the form of ridge and furrow. Surveyed at 1:500 scale using GPS, April 2022. This site is included in the local list of Nationally Important Dartmoor sites.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Legis Lake deserted medieval settlement consisting of the fragmentary remains of three buildings to south of Legis Mire

Other References/Statuses

• Dartmoor Non-designated Heritage Asset (Historical): NI Site
• National Monuments Record: SX67NE118
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 438834
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX56NE/233

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• DESERTED SETTLEMENT (Constructed, Medieval - 1066 AD (Between) to 1539 AD (Between))
• LONGHOUSE (Constructed, Medieval - 1066 AD (Between) to 1539 AD (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1953, 58/1110 (Aerial Photograph). SDV157241.

Other details: 10 April 1953.

Linehan, C. D., 1966, Deserted Sites and Rabbit-Warrens on Dartmoor, Devon, 124-5 (Article in Serial). SDV307246.

SX 567658 A deserted medieval site possibly known as Legis Lake, comprising one building and enclosures.

Haynes, R. G., 1966-1969, Ruined Sites on Dartmoor, 121 (Un-published). SDV150434.

Site visited on 19th June 1966. A longhouse, apparently without cross passage, with upper room added. The drain in the lower part of the house is unusually well defined. To the west are two outbuildings with attached enclosures. An attached reave runs down to Legis Lake ford, while another runs north-west through Ringmoor stone row, bends north and eventually east towards Legis Lake Head, enclosing a large area.

Ordnance Survey, 1975, OS/75/369, 219-20 (Aerial Photograph). SDV254607.

Two buildings and two plots visible SX 56666582.

National Monuments Record, 1978, NMR SX5666, 258-260 (Aerial Photograph). SDV254609.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1979, SX56NE118 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV231646.

(13/02/1979) Above the west bank of Legis Lake on Ringmoor Down at 278m OD is a Medieval farmstead of three buildings (a) and one building platform.
One, a longhouse at SX 56666582, is 16.8m by 3.8m internally, with one subdivision; the drystone walling is 1.0m wide and up to 1.0m high. The other 2 buildings are smaller but of similar construction except the walls contain some boulder slabs used as facing.
These buildings measure internally 3.8m by 9.2m and 2.4m by 6.4m respectively. A levelled area between the two measuring some 3.3m by 8.2m probably represent a building platform.
The buildings sit in an area of irregular shaped small plots with rubble walls 1.0m thick and 0.5m high and the site lies on the boundary of a 22.5 hectare field.
Surveyed at 1:10 000 on PFD.

Price, D. G., 1980, The Moorland Plym, 86 (Article in Serial). SDV254604.

Dartmoor longhouse with enclosed yard containing outbuildings. No associated field system so it may be possible that pastoral farming was practiced here. Other details: Figure 2b.

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

Recorded.

Butler, J., 1994, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Three - The South-West, 144-5, Map 49, Figure 49.21 (Monograph). SDV137656.

The 'farmstead' shown to the west of Legis Lake is one of three to the south-east of Ringmoor Down with traces of ridge and furrow between the river and the reave.

Gerrard, S., 2004, List of Sites Remaining to be Considered for Designation on Dartmoor (Un-published). SDV345444.

This site was considered for designation as a Scheduled Ancient Monument during the Monument Protection Programme. The programme ended before the entire list of sites was successfully scheduled so this is included on a local list of Nationally Important Sites.

Probert, S., 2005, Ringmoor Training Area: Monument Baseline Condition Survey (Report - Survey). SDV363484.

(17/03/2005) Centred SX 56666583. An abandoned farmstead consisting of a longhouse type structure, two ancillary buildings and a series of yards and closes.
The longhouse, centred SX 56676583, is a single-roomed structure with a small annex attached to its W end. Internally it measures 12.7m E to W by 2.8m with an entrance in the S side. The position of the entrance probably marks the location of an internal subdivision between shippon and dwelling. If so the shippon was formerly 7.0m long and the dwelling less than 6m. The turf-covered stony walls of the main structure measure 1.5m wide and stand a maximum of 1.2m high. The annex, apparently accessed from the outside via a small entrance in the NE corner measures 2.9m E to W by 2.8m. There are no identifiable features within either of these structures. A number of upright stones immediately to the S of the longhouse is suggestive of a linhay type feature attached to the front wall of this building.
Two ancillary structures lie at SX 56666582 and SX 56646584:
SX 56666582. A small rectangular structure measuring 5.9m E to W by 2.0m internally. An entrance gap lies in the N wall near the NE corner. The coursed boulder walls measure 1.1m wide and 1.m high. The interior appears to have been subdivided though this is the result of excavations in the lower, E, half, the spoil from which has been thrown up to the W.
SX 56646584. A single-roomed rectangular building measuring 9.2m SE to NW by 4m with a single entrance positioned centrally in the NE side. The turf-covered walls are 1.3m wide and 0.9m high. Partial collapse of the NW gable has obscured part of the interior. The lower, SE half of the building displays an old slit trench.
Between the buildings are several small, irregular yards and beyond, to the NE are three small enclosures.
This settlement is one of three (see 438831 and 438843) on Ringmoor down that sit within a system of interconnected fields. It is not possible to determine the exact extent of each settlement's enclosures.

Ordnance Survey, 2011, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV346129.

White, P., 2013, Previously Unsurveyed Dartmoor Historic Farmsteads, Legis Lake (Un-published). SDV352501.

Legis Lake a deserted Medieval farmstead.

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording forms, UPRM-14 (Worksheet). SDV362781.

(20/05/2019) Condition assessed as good by volunteer recorders, although there is a considerable amount of bracken growth on the features; likely to cause future damage.

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording photographs (Photograph). SDV363073.

Features photographed in May 2019.

Newman, P., 2022, Ringmoor Down Premier Archaeological Landscape Dartmoor National Park, Devon. A new survey, Table 1 (Report - Survey). SDV365490.

A deserted medieval settlement on the western slope of Legis Lake comprising an enclosed yard and three ruined rectangular buildings. SX 56659 65827. A deserted medieval settlement on the western slope of Legis Lake comprising an enclosed yard and three ruined rectangular buildings. The largest building (SX 56667 65824) is a probable longhouse, oriented NW to SE with internal dimensions (wall to wall) of 13.7m by 3.9m, standing up to 0.7m high. Walls were approximately 0.8m thick. An entrance opening is present on the SW side but less clear on the opposing wall, so the existence of a cross-passage cannot be confirmed. An annex of 2.9m by 3.8m, with a probable entrance opening on its north side, is attached to the NW end. The walls of the structure as a whole have partly tumbled, collapsing onto the interior and exterior of the building, though stretches of intact granite wall facings are visible at several points. On the southern exterior, an alignment of boulders, some of which remain earthfast, have been interpreted as the base for pillars associated with a lean-to structure. A second building (SX 56657 65820) a few metres SW of the longhouse is built against an enclosure wall and is embanked on its exterior. Its internal dimensions are approximately 6.5m by 2.7m with a probable entrance opening on the north side. The interior is filled with tumble and turf. The third building (SX 56642 65842) is 14m NW of the longhouse with similar structural details to the other two and it too is built against an enclosure wall but also takes advantage of a small rock outcrop built in to form its western corner. Its internal dimensions are approximately 6.9m by 4.8m and standing to a height of 0.9m and 0.8m thick. A clear entrance opening survives on the NE side. The area between the buildings, has been partitioned into small pens, now comprising only faint banks, and an irregularly shaped, walled yard is attached to the NE side of the longhouse, measuring 20m by up to 7m and comprising a faced wall bank, now very spread. This small settlement is one of three in the Legis Lake valley, and sits within a context of contemporary abandoned enclosures and evidence of cultivation in the form of ridge and furrow. Surveyed at 1:500 scale using GPS, April 2022.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7443 - Condition survey of archaeological sites in Ringmoor Training Area
• EDV7569 - Condition survey of Ringmoor Down training area
• EDV8227 - Ringmoor Training Area: Monument Baseline Condition Survey
• EDV8917 - Survey of the archaeological features on Ringmoor Down

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