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Summary

A post-medieval rabbit warren located within Warren Wood includes evidence of three rabbit buries, a bank and ditched enclosure and a warrener's cottage. Earthworks of these features are partly visible on visualisations derived from lidar data captured between 1998 and 2017.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1020160: Iron Age hillfort known as Wasteberry Camp, medieval deer park and post-medieval warren, 800m north west of Lyneham House

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX55SE/45
• Old SAM Ref: 33794
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SX55SE 1

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• RABBIT WARREN (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1750 AD (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1784-1786, Untitled Source (Illustration). SDV340506.

Warren house marked. Other details: Sheet 19, part 3..

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1955, SX55SE1 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV340477.

Lyneham Warren.

Griffiths, D. M., 1983, Hillfort, Warren, Chapel (Worksheet). SDV343357.

Tithe map of Brixton, 1839, shows some field names to have 'warren' elements (presumably associated with the cottage shown).

Environment Agency, 1998-2017, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) EA: South Devon Coast to Dartmoor, LIDAR SX5754 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 31-MAY-2017 (Cartographic). SDV361470.

Earthworks of curvilinear ditches and a sub-oval mound with possible outer ditch are visible.

Exeter Archaeology, 2000, Archaeological Assessment of a Proposed New Settlement Site, Brixton, South Hams, 15 (Report - Assessment). SDV324147.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2002, Iron Age Hillfort Known As Wasteberry Camp, Medieval Deer Park and Post-medieval Warren, 800 Metres North-west of Lyneham House (Schedule Document). SDV343355.

An earth bank along the valley floor on the east side of Warren Wood retained a post-medieval rabbit warren, a 1.3 metre high stone wall and accompanying ditch on its inside preventing the rabbits from escaping, while permitting the deer to leap in. A cluster of three rabbit buries at the north end of Warren Wood are laid out in a line. The southern bury is oval and measures 8 metres wide, 10 metres long and 1 metre high with traces of an encircling ditch. The central mound is 9 metres in diameter and 1 metre high with steeply sloping sides, while the northern one is oval, measuring 8 metres long, 6.5 metres wide and 1.2 metres high with steep sides. Neither have ditches. A single roomed warrener's house of stone rubble survives as a ruin within the ramparts of the hillfort. This had two storeys and measures 7 metres long by 5 metres wide. Each room had a fireplace, with an oven in the ground floor room, and a newel stair which gave access to the first floor. The house was located on the highest point of the warren and overlooked most of this and the park to its east.

English Heritage, 2009, Heritage at Risk Register 2009: South West, 106 (Report - non-specific). SDV342694.

Generally unsatisfactory with major localised problems.

English Heritage, 2010, Heritage at Risk Register 2010: South West, 99 (Report - non-specific). SDV344777.

Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R., 2019-2020, The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping Survey. Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (AI&M, formerly NMP) (Interpretation). SDV362982.

Earthworks associated with a post-medieval rabbit warren within Warren Wood are visible on visualisations derived from lidar data captured between 1998 and 2017. A sub-oval mound, circa 13m long by 11m wide, with two sections of a possible outer ditch, are visible at circa SX57365421. These probably represent the southern of three rabbit buries which have been recorded in this location, the remaining two of which to the northeast are not visible on the available aerial imagery. Two curvilinear sections of ditch, circa 4m wide, which follow the eastern boundary of Warren Wood are also visible and are interpreted as evidence of the warren enclosure, although evidence for the associated earth bank which flanks this enclosure ditch is likewise not visible. A warrener’s house (MDV75853) located within Wasteberry Camp is also associated with this record. The rabbit buries, warren boundary and warrener's house are all designated as a Scheduled monument, which also includes the Iron Age hillfort of Wasteberry Camp (MDV2292) and Lyneham medieval deer park (MDV13507).

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8098 - The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping (formerly NMP) Survey, Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (Ref: ACD2040)

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