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Summary

Indistinct remains of a Medieval farmstead in Dendles Wood, north-east of the more well-known example at Hawns. The Royal Commission 1998 survey recorded the remains of two, possibly three rectangular structures with associated fields.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Earthwork and structural remains of Medieval farmstead and associated field system, Dendles Waste

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX66SW110
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 1131854
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX66SW/173

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• FARMSTEAD (Constructed, Early Medieval to Early 20th Century - 1066 AD (Between) to 1901 AD (Between))

Full description

Gover, J. E. B. + Mawer, A. + Stenton, F. M., 1931, The Place-Names of Devon: Part One, 271 (Monograph). SDV1312.

Dendles Wood was mentioned as 'Dendals' in 1815.

Royal Air Force, 1948, RAF/CPE/UK/2494, 3054 (Aerial Photograph). SDV147533.

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

Farmstead in an area of old field boundaries. No buildings are visible, but there is a concentration of walls and low banks, together with a possible trackway through the fields, suggesting a farmstead.

Fletcher, M. + Newman, P. + Probert, S., 1998, Hawns and Dendles: An Archaeological Survey by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 10-18 (Report - Survey). SDV346246.

Two, possibly three rectangular structures survive, west of the River Yealm, approximately 450 meters north-east of the more well-known medieval farmstead Hawns. This settlement includes at least two buildings and a series of small irregular fields, but unlike the buildings at Hawns, however, these structures were built across the contours of the land.
The remains of the most complete building consist of a hollow set into the hillside with some small areas of walling remaining to mark the rectangular shape of the structure. The western wall is completely buried but an approximately internal measurement is 8.0 by 4.4 meters. These remains have been severely disturbed by conifer planting and several tree stumps remain within the building.
The second building is located around 37.0 meters uphill from the first, on what appears to be an artificial shelf in the slope. Another shelf in the hillside 30.0 meters south of this may represent the site of a third structure.
No documentary evidence of this site has so far been located.
(24/03/1998) The remains of two rectangular structures at Dendles are associated with the vestigial field boundaries on the eastern flank of the spur. The most complete is sited within the kink of a ruined field boundary at SX61306255. The remains consist of a hollow in the hillslope with vestiges of some walling marking the rectangular outline of the building. The western wall is buried beneath earth but an approximate internal measurement is 8m by 4.4m. The remains have been severely disturbed by the conifer planting and several tree stumps remain within the building. The second is positioned on what appears to be an artifical shelf in the moderate slope some 8m uphill from the first building at SX61296254. A further shelf in the hillside lies to the south of this site and provides a possible location for a third structure though there are no building remains visible.

English Heritage, 2005-2008, Medieval Survey Information (Report - Survey). SDV345602.

Farmstead shown on survey with two rectangular buildings and a smaller one to the north-east. Several enclosures and field boundaries are also shown.

Ordnance Survey, 2010, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV344030.

'Farmstead' at 'Hawns' shown on modern mapping as three adjoining rectangles.

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

Medieval farmstead site in Dendles Wood.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4965 - Hawns and Dendles, Cornwood: An Archaeological survey by the Royal Commission

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