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Summary

Up to 8 post medieval pillow mounds situated near Crockern overlooking the West Dart River within Crockern Newtake. The edges of each mound are formed by roughly placed granite rocks between which is drystone walling. Possibly established in this area in 1895 and abandoned pre 1914 although some of the mounds may predate this. Scheduled.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1020881: Six pillow mounds in Crockern Newtake forming an outlying part of a rabbit warren on the western slopes of Longaford and Littaford Tors

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX67NW124
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 442854
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX67NW/235
• Old SAM Ref: 34456

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• RABBIT WARREN (Constructed, XVIII to Early 20th Century - 1751 AD (Between) to 1901 AD (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1972, OS/72/066, 077-8 (Aerial Photograph). SDV346967.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1979, SX67NW124 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV221672.

(12/12/1979) SX 611 758: North and east of Crockern, is a group of six pillow mounds. Four mounds are between 7.5 metres and 12 metres long, 3.8 metres wide and 1.6 metres high. One is 32 metres long and another, segmented into three parts, is 56 metres long, both are from 4 metres to 5 metres wide. All the mounds are aligned with the slope, incorporate stone revetting and have ditches up to 2 metres wide and 0.4 metres deep (see ground photographs).
The long pillow mounds are constructed to respect a cart track and the group is evidently associated with Crockern farm and probably no earlier than the 19th century.
Surveyed at 1:10 000 on MSD and at 1:2500 for record purposes.

Hemery, E., 1983, High Dartmoor, 455-7 (Monograph). SDV249702.

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

Not recorded in project.

Royal Commission for the Historical Monuments of England, 1987-1993, Duchy Farms Project Survey Visit, P. Pattison (Report - Survey). SDV350839.

(19/06/1989) Crockern 1:10,000 survey plan. Eight pillow mounds centred at SX 611758 are spread over 200 metres north to south on a slight west slope in the West Dart Valley north east of Crockern.
Seven mounds are aligned directly across the contours and are rectangular in ground plan with near-vertical or steepish sides and rounded top in cross section. Five of these range between 8 and 13 metres in length. The other two are much longer 31.5 and 55.5 metres respectively, arranged in series down the slope with a farm track dividing them. The longest is broken in two places but these seem to be deliberate breaks to permit access for stock rather than original segmentation.
On average mound width is 4.5 metres and height 1.3 metres. All eight mounds are massively constructed of stone and earth revetted with large blocks and boulders from local clearance, often with sections of rough coursing. The northwest side of mound 4 is drystone walled.
The rectangular mounds have ditches on two to four sides but usually not on the downhill ends. They are wide and flat-bottomed, averaging 2.2 metres wide and 0.5 metres deep. The ditches of mounds 1 and 2 merge but any chronological difference is unclear. The ditches and general environs contain large blocks and boulders, gathered and abandoned when not utilized in the construction.
Mound 7 lies close to a prehistoric settlement SX 67 NW 59 and is placed in the lee of and against a natural, granite outcrop. It is particularly crudely built, almost entirely of stones and boulders.
The eighth mound is semi-circular and likewise partly revetted; a domestic leat SX 67 NW 143 passes close to its west face.
According to Hemery (1983) these pillow mounds were built for Mr James Saltroun of Powder Mills as part of a sporting warren enterprise in common with other mounds situated over a kilometre to the north adjacent to Wistmans Wood (see SX 67 NW 72). They were maintained by the tenant of Crockern and operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The two long pillow mounds are shown as a field boundary in 1886.
Further information on the pillow mounds is held in the archive.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP 157079 (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

(25/04/2002) Pillow mound 190m north of crockern, forming an outlying part of a rabbit warren on the western slopes of Longaford and Littaford Tors.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8642 - Crockern Newtake, Duchy Farms Survey
• EDV8409 - Dartmoor Royal Forest Project
• EDV8423 - Duchy Farms Project

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