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Summary

Eastern enclosure and hut circles north of Tory Brook Head to the north of Cholwichtown Clay Works with eight hut circles within the enclosure and 5 unenclosed to south and south-west. The enclosure also includes a deserted medieval farmstead and other associated structures

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1002553: Enclosures and hut circles N of Tory Brook Head

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX56SE34
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 439205
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX56SE/23
• Old SAM County Ref: 582
• Old SAM Ref: 10793(P)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1890, Devon County Council RAF/CPE/UK/1890 2295-2296 10-DEC-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV169268.

Curvilinear stony banks are visible as earthworks.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1950, SX56SE34 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV138923.

(22/05/1950) One of two enclosures with about 11 huts in and around. Enclosure A. Enclosure is of similar type and construction to B, contains six hut circles, with at least six more associated to the south of the enclosure. The walling is large turf covered stones and is in good condition and reaches an average height of 0.7 metres. Enclosure walls shown on the 1960s Ordnance Survey historic mapping as partial on the eastern side of this enclosure. Medieval building remains exist within enclosure.

National Monuments Record, 1976, NMR SX5863, 1 (Aerial Photograph). SDV148504.

Visible on aerial photograph.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1977, SX56SE34 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV138998.

(17/06/1977) An enclosed settlement comprising two detached enclosures and 5 unenclosed hut circles, lies on a gentle, well drained, south facing slope at 305m above OD.
SX 5862 6335: A complex enclosure, 85m by 65m and 0.5 hectares, of double orthostat construction, 1.8m wide. The south-east section is in very poor condition, and may be an extension since it butt joins the main wall in the north-east. The interior is divided by 3 walls and a lynchet into at least 5 parts; the north and west being cleared of stone; the south-east part is covered by clitter, field clearance heaps and a probable Medieval building (MDV28563).
There are 3 type 2 hut circles terraced into the enclosure:
One; internal diameter of 8.0m, its wall 1.4m wide and in poor condition, with a south-south-east facing entrance marked by jambs.
The second, terraced against the enclosure wall, has an internal diameter of 5.0m, a wall 1.2m wide in poor condition, and a south-south-east facing entrance. A possible annex, internal diameter 3.0m, wall 1.2m wide and in poor condition is on the north and a yard, 8m by 6m to the south.
The third is very fragmentary. A 'D' shaped hut circle, 6.5m by 6.0m, wall 1.5m wide with a possible annex 3.5m by 3.0m is terraced onto the outside of the south side of the enclosure. A very ruined hut circle, internal diameter 5.0m, wall about 1.2m wide is built on a very steep slope on the outside of the south-east wall.
SX 5851 6337: An oval enclosure, 50m by 40m and of 0.1 hectares, is built of double orthostatic walling, 1.2m wide. It is cleared and divided by a sinuous wall or clearance bank. It contains two type 2 hut circles, average internal diameter 6.0m, the walls 1.2m wide and in poor condition. One, terraced against the wall, has a south-east facing entrance opening into a yard, 7m by 4m, beyond which is another yard 9m by 3m

Unknown, 1981, Slide of settlements at Shaugh Prior (Photograph). SDV148505.

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

The eastern of two enclosures, agglomerated and of four elements, contains thirteen hut circles. Five hut circles lie between the enclosures.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP 133402, 18/5/1993 (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

Agglomerate enclosure and at least 8 hut circles, forming eastern part of large settlement. Includes at least two elements and covers 0.34 hectares. North-west enclosure is earliest; measures 62 metres by 40 metres, defined by 2 metre wide, 0.5 metre high rubble wall. At least five hut circles survive within, and another two attached to outer face. South-eastern enclosure is d-shaped, 44 metres by 34 metres, defined by rubble boundary wall up to 0.7 metres high. Hut circle and short length of rubble walling attached to outer face.
Some huts altered and robbed when farmstead (MDV28563) was constructed in southern part of enclosure during medieval period. See related hut records.

Butler, J., 1994, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Three - The South-West, 166-9, map 51, Figure 51.9 (Monograph). SDV137656.

Enclosure 'B' at 'Tory Brookhead enclosures' has a complicated plan showing a considerable amount of reorganisation. The central area is taken up by a confusing mass of stone, a network of short lengths of walling connecting at least nine circular and rectangular buildings, though some have been demolished to their foundations. Originally at least, the most important building must have been the central 'Hut Circle '3' of 7.0 metres diameter from which walls radiate out to the boundary. Five more hut-sized enclosures are built onto the outside of the enclosure wall, one on the east side and the others close together on the south side.

Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC, 1999-2017, Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery SX5863 01-JUN-2002 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363087.

Curvilinear stony banks are visible as earthworks.

Probert, S. A. J. + Fletcher, M. J., 2002, Plym Valley survey (Report - Survey). SDV350782.

(23/05/2002) Centred SX 5857 6337. One of two sub-circular enclosures, one containing three hut circles, and nine unenclosed hut circles lie on the gently sloping south-western flank of Shell Top.
The eastern enclosure, centred at SX 5863 6335, measures 66m north-south by 75m and contains three hut circles. The enclosure is bounded by substantial turf and stone banks a maximum 0.8m high and is subdivided by a series of low stony banks and lynchets. While some of these subdivisions are original features of this monument, others are clearly the result of later reoccupation (see SX 56 SE 104) and subsequent stone clearance.
The hut circles (both outside and inside the enclosures) have all been terraced into the hillside to provide level interiors and few well defined entrances are visible.

English Heritage, 2005-2008, Prehistoric Survey Information (Cartographic). SDV345521.

Enclosure with several internal divisions shown on survey.

NERC, 2013, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) Tellus: South Devon to Dartmoor, LIDAR SX5863 Tellus DTM 01-JUL-2013 to 31-AUG-2013 (Cartographic). SDV361514.

Curvilinear stony banks are visible as earthworks.

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

Visible on aerial photograph.

Google, 2019, Google Earth Pro, EARTH.GOOGLE.COM XX-XXX-2010 ACCESSED 14-OCT-2019 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363088.

Curvilinear stony banks are visible as earthworks.

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.

A stony bank 2.5 to 4.5m wide is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs of 1946 and remains clearly identifiable on digital images derived from aerial photographs of 2002 defining a roughly D-shaped enclosure up to circa 74m across on the south-west facing slopes of Lee Moor, to the north of Cholwichtown Clay Works.
It is one of two similar enclosures in close proximity, the second located approximately 60m to the west.
At least 8 possible hut circles are visible directly associated with the enclosure, 5 within the enclosure and 3 abutting the outer edge of the enclosure bank. There are recorded separately and will not be detailed here.
A further 5 unenclosed hut circles are visible associated with the enclosure, 20 to 60m to south and south-west.
Interior walls or sub-divisions are visible within the enclosure, possibly radiating from an almost central hut circle (MDV53375). Some of these walls or divisions are roughly rectilinear in plan and might be the same as those previously interpreted as evidence for a possible medieval farmstead (MDV28563).
The enclosure and hut circles remain identifiable as subtle earthworks on visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2013.

Ordnance Survey, 2021, MasterMap 2021 (Cartographic). SDV364015.

Enclosure shown on modern mapping.

Historic England, 2021, National Heritage List for England, 1002553 (National Heritage List for England). SDV364016.

Within Scheduled area.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8148 - The Upper Plym Valley: The Management of an Historic Landscape
• 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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