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Summary

Site of a beacon on the south-west side of the Medieval motte within the Iron Age hillfort

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1016258: Blackdown Rings prehistoric hillfort and medieval castle

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: 620848
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX75SW/5/2
• Old SAM Ref: 24853
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SX75SW12

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• BEACON (XVI to XVIII - 1600 AD to 1750 AD (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, SX75SW12 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV346513.

Griffith, F. M., 1986, DAP/FW, 1-6 (Aerial Photograph). SDV147956.

Wilson-North, W. R. + Dunn, C. J., 1990, 'The Rings'. Loddiswell: A New Survey by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 87-100 (Article in Serial). SDV346504.

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1991, The Rings, Loddiswell (Report - Survey). SDV346497.

Beacon on Blackdown Hill. On the south-west side of the motte bank are the remains of a rectangular platform, 4.5 metres by 3.5 metres by 0.4 metres high, with a slightly hollowed interior. Corresponds with site of a beacon depicted by Chapple in 1752 and is either a beacon stance or the setting for a 'fire cage' on a vertical post. In 1988 a beacon was built somewhere on the ring motte as part of the armada celebrations.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 1997, Blackdown Rings Prehistoric Hillfort and Medieval Castle (Schedule Document). SDV346493.

Blackdown Rings Prehistoric hillfort and Medieval castle monument also includes a beacon. On the highest part of the ringwork there is a slightly wider area of level ground, about 4.5 metres by 3.5 metres in size. This is the site of a beacon shown on a plan of the earthwork dated to 1752. It is considered to have been a Pole Beacon consisting of an upright timber post set into the ground and braced with a timber framework, to support one or more iron cages holding the combustible material, probably gorse and pitch. Access to the cage or cages would have been by a permanent ladder. Other details: Monument 24853.

National Monuments Record, 2011, 620848 (National Monuments Record Database). SDV346514.

The site of a beacon sited on part of the ringwork which is itself located within a Prehistoric hillfort. It is considered to have been a Pole Beacon consisting of an upright timber post set into the ground and braced with a timber framework, to support one or more iron cages holding the combustible material, probably gorse and pitch. The remains of the beacon is represented by a wide area of level ground, about 4.5 metres by 3.5 metres in size, situated on the highest part of the ringwork.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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