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Summary

A prehistoric enclosure with internal and external hut circles, 20 metres east of the River Erme on Harford Moor. The enclosure is roughly quadrilateral with slightly curved sides and corners, the walls are mostly still in place with a notable gap on the southern corner where a low scarp is all that remains. Walls survive up to 0.5 metres high and the bank itself survives well up to 0.5 metres high in places. The entrance was on the south-east corner where a bull-nosed terminal on the bank formed one side and several pieces of tumbled granite may have formed a gate supports and/or flagstones. There are four hut circles associated with the enclosure.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1002608: Enclosure and hut circles at junction of Blatchford Bottom and River Erme

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX66SW10
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 442190
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX66SW/12
• Old SAM County Ref: 810

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• ENCLOSED HUT CIRCLE SETTLEMENT (Constructed, Late Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 3000 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

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

Enclosure with three 'Hut Circles' shown on 19th century map.

Crossing, W., 1912 (1965), Crossing's Guide to Dartmoor, 399 (Monograph). SDV320981.

National Monuments Record, 1976, NMR SX6363 (Aerial Photograph). SDV156571.

National Monuments Record, 1976, NMR SX6364, 4 (Aerial Photograph). SDV155390.

Photograph taken on 22nd April 1976.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1977, SX66SW10 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV152497.

(08/07/1977) An enclosed settlement, with an external hut circle, is situated at SX 63556380 on a west facing slope at 338.0m OD.
The sub-oval enclosure occupies 0.7 hectare. The walling is double faced with a width of 2.7m and a height of 0.7m; there is a south entrance. There are the remains of several yards inside the enclosure while one is attached externally. The hut circles at SX 63576383 and SX 63516379 pre-date the enclosure. All four are of type 2 with levelled interiors and southern entrances. The internal diameters vary from 4.5m to 8.0m with walling averaging 1.8m wide and 0.6m high. All are in poor condition. At SX 63516382 is the possible remains of a type 1 hut (not portrayed at 1:10 000). A tinner's hut adjoins the enclosure at SX 63516380 (See SX 66 SW 77). (Type site : SX 56 NE 71) Revised at 1:10 000 on MSD.

Hankin, C. F., 1977-1980, Harford Parish Checklist (Worksheet). SDV149931.

Site visited on 6th August 1976 and 7th March 1978. The enclosure is roughly rectangular with curved angles at the four corners. The wall is clearly seen along all north and south sides, and partly on the east side, but the west side close to the river is fragmentary and only one stone in height. There are large stones at an entrance on the south side. There are the remains of two hut circles within the enclosure. One is near the east wall (the highest side) but has many stones missing; one nearer the centre of the enclosure has only a few stones remaining. There is a small hut circle just outside the enclosure wall at the south west corner, this is of small stones many of which are missing. A group of three courts or huts are located along the east wall, and the remains of others along the west wall. One hut appears just outside the south east corner.

Robinson, R., 1982, List of Field Monument Warden Visits 1982 (Un-published). SDV342809.

Site visited on 5th June 1982.

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

Enclosure visible containing hut circles, the enclosure being D-shaped.

Butler, J., 1994, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Three - The South-West, 55-56, Map 54, Figures 54.15 and 54.15.1 (Monograph). SDV137656.

Blatchford Brook Foot prehistoric settlement seems to have been an industrious settlement with much of the lower part of the interior sub-divided into courts and with accessory enclosures added to the exterior. Against the uphill margin are a series of small hut circles (Numbers 1-4)were most likely store-houses alongside the main building (Number 5) of 7.2 metres diameter of large slabs. A free-standing hut (Number 6) near the centre is 4.8 metres in diameter and one on the river side (Number 7) is 4.3 metres in diameter. An arrangement of stones outside the south-east corner suggests there may have been more huts (Number 8) here but the area has been disturbed. The circular foundations of 9 metres across just outside the south-east corner could be the site of another hut (Number 9) but the wall slabs are not large and it may have been an auxiliary pen.

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

Enclosure visible on aerial photograph.

Newman, P., 2018, Erme Valley Survey data (GIS and Excel spreadsheet) (Cartographic). SDV361913.

Newman, P., 2018, The Upper Erme Valley, Dartmoor National Park, Devon: An Archaeological Survey, Appendix 1, Figures 8 & 25 (Report - Survey). SDV362921.

A prehistoric enclosure with internal and external hut circles, 20 metres east of the River Erme on Harford Moor. The enclosure is roughly quadrilateral with slightly curved sides and corners. The internal area is 0.33 hectares. The walls are mostly still in place with a notable gap on the southern corner where a low scarp is all that remains. Although the walls are partly tumbled and spread with a turf covering, many edge set slabs of granite, which formed the inner and outer faces of the wall, survive in-situ up to 0.5 metres high and the bank itself survives well up to 0.5 metres high in places. The entrance was on the south-east corner where a bull-nosed terminal on the bank formed one side and several pieces of tumbled granite may have formed a gate supports and/or flagstones. There are four hut circles associated with the enclosure: one is a discrete external hut 5.4 metres east of the south-east corner (see MDV 28114), there is also a possible internal hut, much disturbed, attached to the inside of the north-west corner wall (see MDV4249). Another well preserved hut is attached to the eastern interior wall. This has a level floor and an almost intact kerb of granite boulders standing up to 0.6 metres high, forming an inner wall face. The interior diameter is 7.4 metres. The earthen bank surrounding the wall has become somewhat spread and denuded and the position of the entrance is uncertain. An incomplete hut circle lies 17 metres to the west. It comprises a semicircle of edge-set slabs representing the walls with a diameter of approximately 5 metres. Between these two huts, a circular platform, with a diameter of 4 metres, cut into the slope could represent the position of either a robbed stone hut or a timber hut. On the north-east exterior of the enclosure the earthwork outline of a hut circle is just visible beneath dense rushes. Its internal diameter is very approximately 4.6 metres, with an opening on the eastern arc. A ruined rectangular tinners’ building of medieval or later date, is built into the western end of the enclosure (see MDV13226).

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording forms, UE-26 (Worksheet). SDV362781.

(10/02/2019) Recorded by volunteer condition assessor. Condition assessed as good. The site is on open grass land not crossed by any major paths. The grass is a mostly fine quality attractive to livestock. Some larger patches of reed/grass have accumulated where water pools in the landscape hollow and in the uphill sides of walls. Moss is growing over the stones. Some patches of a courser grass are in the area. At its lower levels close to the river this reed/grass is extensive and surrounds the tinners' hut and Bronze Age house. It has remained largely unchanged for at least the last ten years

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

Photographs taken in February 2019.

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

Enclosure and hut circles shown as 'Settlement' on modern mapping.

Historic England, 2019, National Heritage List for England, 1002608 (National Heritage List for England). SDV362730.

The monument includes a partially enclosed stone hut circle settlement with later tinner’s shelter situated to the east of the confluence between the Blatchford Brook and River Erme. The settlement survives as an oval enclosure defined by a strongly constructed up to 2 metres wide and 0.7 metres high partially double faced wall which contains a series of courts and pounds around its internal perimeter and at least two stone hut circles. A further hut is appended on the outside edge to the west together with a small rectangular tinner’s shelter. The ruinous banks of two further hut circles lie to the south west. At the eastern end is an external freestanding hut circle.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8082 - Survey of the Upper Erme Valley

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