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Summary

An enclosed hut circle settlement of probable Bronze Age to Iron Age date is visible defined by stony earthwork banks on aerial photographs of 1946 onwards, digital images derived from aerial photographs of 2002 onwards and visualisations derived from lidar data captured between 1998 and 2017. The enclosure contains two possible hut circles. It is one of at least six such enclosures incorporated into a later, probably medieval field system north and west of Trowlesworthy Warren House.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1020323: Prehistoric and historic archaeological landscape at Trowlesworthy Warren

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX56SE24
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 439175
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX56SE/90
• Old SAM Ref: 24232

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• ENCLOSURE (Constructed, Bronze Age - 2200 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

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

Enclosure visible on 19th century map with the northern section represented by a wall.

Ordnance Survey, 1904 - 1906, Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map (Cartographic). SDV325644.

Enclosure shown on early 20th century map.

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1890, Devon County Council RAF/CPE/UK/1890 4290-4291 10-DEC-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV169268.

Curvilinear banks are visible as earthworks and cropmarks.

National Monument Record, 1976, SX5664, 1 (Aerial Photograph). SDV175071.

Photograph taken on 8th April 1976.

Price, D. G., 1977, Settlement at Trowlesworthy Warren, 44, Figure 1 (Article in Serial). SDV150433.

Two internal hut circles 8-9 metres in diameter in enclosure. Stone-free interior and a marked lynchet dividing the pound into two parts. Massive stones and boulders, plus a high mound in places.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1977, SX56SE24 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV275874.

(16/06/1977) SX 56546478. An oval enclosure, formerly 55m. by 50m. and 0.2 ha., in area, is shown complete on the OS 6" 1906, but is now partially destroyed by the enlargement of a modern enclosure on the north. It lies on a gentle, well drained southwest facing slope, 240m. above O.D., and the wall, 1.3m. wide, is constructed of small boulders and occasional orthostats, with a possible entrance, marked by a jamb, on the south-east. The upper and lower walling is lynchetted and the interior is divided by a lynchet, upon which are the mutilated remains of two, probably type 2 hut circles.
(Type site: SX 56 NE 71).

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

Agglomerated enclosure visible, of two elements, containing one hut circle.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP 140624, (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

Site visited on 1st April 1995. Two enclosures at SX 5652 6479 and SX 5658 6482. Agglomerated enclosure forming part of a partially enclosed hut settlement. At least two distinct enclosed areas are visible. The relationship between the enclosures indicates that the western enclosure was built first. Enclosure 'A' survives as a 51 metre by 35 metre oval area surrounded by a 2.5 metres wide and 0.6 metres high rubble wall with occasional orthostats. Three hut circles lie within the enclosure which is also sub-divided by a 2.0 metre wide and 0.8 metres high lynchet leading north-south through the enclosure. Part of the north circuit of the enclosure has been removed by a post-medieval field, though this may still survive as a buried feature and is known from cartographic evidence to have existed as a boundary wall up until at least 1904. A length of field boundary leading south from the south-west corner of the enclosure may form part of Enclosure B.
Enclosure B which is irregular in shape, measures 63 metres by at least 55 metres and is defined by a 4.0 metre wide partly faced rubble wall standing up to 0.4 metres high. Two hut circles lie within the enclosure. The southern part of the enclosure has been removed by a post-medieval field and therefore its original extent is unknown.

Butler, J., 1994, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Three - The South-West, 159-160, Map 51 Figure 51.3 (Monograph). SDV137656.

Enclosure 'F' south-west of Shadyback Tor is too badly damaged for the complete plan to be established. One hut circle with adjoining walls is shown.

Robertson, J. G., 1994, The Archaeology of the Upper Plym Valley (Post-Graduate Thesis). SDV139549.

Two enclosures and three hut circles depicted and described by Robertson.

Thackray, C., 1994, The Upper Plym Valley: the management of an historic landscape, 57, 102 156 (Report - non-specific). SDV143510.

Sub-rectangular enclosure at SX56556480 is 51 metres by 35 metres with a wall 0.6 metres high. It is disturbed by a later field boundary in the north-west sector and by a track and later wall in southern sector. The west side is marked by a lynchet with a stone revetment on the west side. Some large orthostats are visible in the wall. The east side is also defined by a lynchet with retaining wall on the west side.

Environment Agency WMS, 1998-2016, LiDAR DSM data JPEG image (1m resolution) (Cartographic). SDV360209.

Most of the boundary visible on Lidar data.

Environment Agency, 1998-2017, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) EA: South Devon Coast to Dartmoor, LIDAR SX5664 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 31-MAY-2017 (Cartographic). SDV361470.

Curvilinear banks are identifiable as spread earthworks.

Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC, 1999-2017, Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery SX5664 03-MAY-2007 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363087.

Curvilinear banks are visible as earthworks.

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

(16/01/2001) Centred SX 56586482 are two adjoining sub-circular enclosures each containing a single hut circle. They lie in open ground between two later fields 150 metres west of Trowlesworthy Warren House. All prehistoric features have been robbed for walling stone in later periods.
The western enclosure measures 42 metres north to south by 55 metres and possesses a central terraced platform on which lies a hut circle. The hut at SX 56556480 measures 3.8 metres in diameter with robbed walls 1.2 metres wide and 0.1 metres high. The interior is littered with small stone, presumably the result of later field clearance. Immediately to the south of this lies a similarly disturbed feature, 4.0 metres in diameter, which may represent a second hut.
Separating the enclosures is a stony scarp 0.6m high. The E enclosure measures 49m N to S by 65m and contains a hut circle at SX 56596482. This hut measures 5.6m N to S by 4.6m in internal diameter with walls 0.8m wide and a maximum of 0.7m high. An entrance lies in the S side.
While they are now isolated from several other similar sites in the immediate area it seem likely that these enclosures formerly formed a small part of a much larger agglomerated settlement covering most of the spur leading W from Trowlesworthy Warren House.

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

Southern part of enclosure visible on survey

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

Some of the boundary clearly visible on aerial photograph. The north-western section of the enclosure is visible within the later field to the north.

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording forms, UP-TR1 (Worksheet). SDV362781.

(03/07/2019) Condition assessed as good, although site is vulnerable to vehicle damage due to its proximity to Trowlesworthy farm. Wheel ruts pass close to the enclosure wall.
Within this western enclosure a single hut circle is marked on the Butler map and the possibility of ad-ditional unmarked adjacent buildings was investigated. Two structures were identified:
A conjoined structure on the south east wall with and internal diameter of approximately 1.m is apparent.
A possible ill defined circular structure with a diameter slightly less than the recorded hut circle sits on its north-west perimeter.

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

Site photographed.

Ordnance Survey, 2019, MasterMap 2019 (Cartographic). SDV362729.

Enclosure shown on modern mapping.

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.

Stony banks are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs of 1946, digital images derived from aerial photographs of 2002 onwards and visualisations derived from lidar data captured between 1998 and 2017 as earthworks up circa 5m wide defining a roughly oval enclosure up to 65 across, to the north-west of Trowlesworthy Warren House.
Two conjoined roughly triangular banked hollows circa 6m and 8m across are visible within the enclosure.
The visible earthworks are interpreted as the remains of a probable hut circle settlement of Bronze Age to Iron Age date, one of at least six such enclosures incorporated into a later, probably medieval field system north and west of Trowlesworthy Warren House.
The banked circular hollows within the enclosure are interpreted as possible hut circles.
The enclosure is abutted by and probably predates a similar if larger enclosure to the east (MDV126275).
The northern edge of the enclosure appears to have been incorporated into and overlain by a later, possibly medieval field system (MDV14369), but the enclosure bank survives within the later plot to be identifiable as a subtle spread earthwork on the lidar derived visualisations and a cropmark on the aerial photographs of 1946.
The possible hut circles are recorded separately.

Historic England, 2021, National Heritage List for England, 1020323 (National Heritage List for England). SDV364016.

Within Scheduled area.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7369 - Survey of Granite Loading Bays at Trowlesworthy, Devon
• EDV8148 - The Upper Plym Valley: The Management of an Historic Landscape
• EDV8155 - Plym Valley Survey: EH Project (Feb 2001 - Dec 2002)
• 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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