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Summary

Single pillow mound north of the leat at Beardown Warren. Measures roughly 13.5 metres by 7.0 metres.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1021176: Rabbit warren 410m west and 310m north west of Beardown Farm

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX57NE/102
• Old SAM Ref: 34473

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• PILLOW MOUND (Early Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1750 AD)

Full description

GeoInformation Group Ltd, 2010, 1:625 2010 Colour aerial photography for Dartmoor (12.5cm resolution) (Aerial Photograph). SDV346026.

Mound is visible on the aerial photography.

Ordnance Survey, 2013, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV350786.

Pillow mound is depicted on the modern mapping.

English Heritage, 2013, National Heritage List for England (National Heritage List for England). SDV350785.

The rabbit warren 430m west and 310m north west of Beardown Farm survives well and represents a good example of a compact 19th century commercial warren. Information concerning rabbit management will survive in and around the many pillow mounds.
Details
The monument, which falls into two areas of protection, comprises a rabbit warren situated on a south facing slope of Beardown Hill overlooking the valley of the Cowsic River. The warren includes at least 50 pillow mounds, with all but one lying to the south of a now abandoned length of the Devonport Leat. The pillow mounds vary between 2.3m and 54m long, with the average being 9.38m. They stand between 0.5m and 1m high and most are surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried during their construction. The earliest reference to the warren is in a Duchy of Cornwall lease of 1808 and it is generally believed that the warren was established at around this time. The nearby Dartmoor Prison may have been the primary market for the produce.
The modern fence posts within the monument are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground below is included.
The Devonport Leat which passes under the monument via an undergound pipeline is totally excluded from the scheduling.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8643 - Beardown Farm, Duchy Farms Survey
• EDV8409 - Dartmoor Royal Forest Project

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.