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Summary

The stone footings of a building depicted on a plan of 1811 and identified in 1931 as an 'old hospital'. The north and east walls of the building were partially exposed during excavations in 2009.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1017322: Berry Head Fort and Battery

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX95NW/4/17
• Tide Project: 20/08/2020
• Torbay HER: MTO42884

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• HOSPITAL (Built, XVIII to XIX - 1795 AD (Between) to 1807 AD (Between))

Full description

Pye, A.R., 1989, Berry Head Fort, Brixham. An Archaeological Assessment, 10 (Report - Assessment). SDV362497.

An old hospital is shown on a plan in a 1931 guide book by Blenkin, in the south-west corner of the fort. He states that it was in used between 1803 and 1809. No evidence is cited for this [perhaps presumed as the hospital at the Berry Hotel not built till 1809]. A statement in 1808 by Mercer, who drew up the original plans for the forts, that there was no room for a hospital within the forts, suggests that no such building existed.

Pye, A.R. & Slater, W.D., 1990, Berry Head Fort, Brixham, An Archaeological Survey, 25, Fig. 12 (Report - Survey). SDV362493.

The outlines of two buildings are visible from their stone footings to the southwest of the guardhouse. One was identified by Blenkin in 1931 as the 'old hospital' on his tracing from a War Office original (the tracing is reproduced in Fig. 10). Although both buildings are depicted on Lt-Col Mercer's plan of 1807, and the 'hospital' building on his fortifications design of 1811, there is no historical evidence to support this interpretation.

Farnell, A. J., 2009, Archaeological evaluation at The Guardhouse, Fort No. 3, Berry Head, Brixham, Devon (Report - Evaluation). SDV364296.

The remains of walls were encountered in three pits (2, 6 and 7) dug as part of archaeological evaluation undertaken on the proposed site of a new building in 2009. Pits 6 and 7, on the line of the western and southern proposed walls respectively, were positioned to expose the northern and eastern walls of a historic building, the corner of which will be encroached upon by the proposed building. Pit 2 was located on the south-west corner of the new building.

Farnell, A. J., 2009, Archaeological excavation at the Guardhouse, Fort No. 3, Berry Head, Brixham, Devon (Report - Excavation). SDV365436.

An archaeological excavation was undertaken to the rear of the Guardhouse, as a condition of planning permission and listed building consent for the extension and reordering of the Guardhouse as a restaurant. The excavation comprised an initial test pitting with 7 pits (see SDV364296), followed by the complete excavation of the footprint of the extension.
The north and east walls of a building were partially exposed in pits 6 and 7, that in pit 7 cut through by a later culvert. An internal wall of the building was revealed in pit 2. Stone, brick and slate rubble layers in pits 2, 5, 6 and 7 represent demolition layers. All seven pits were sealed by recent garden deposits.
The earliest deposit revealed by the excavation was the levelling layer, within which were set several limestone walls of two buildings (A and B). Layers of demolition rubble filled the interior of both buildings. The excavated remains of building A covered an area roughly 5m by 2.8m. The main elements were the foundations of the north and east walls (1030), a shallow internal dividing wall (1016) and a cobbled path (1046). No internal surface survived by a clay layer (1015) was probably a bedding or levelling for a floor. The walls probably supported a timber superstructure with a slate roof.
The function of Building A, which was partially visible as an earthwork to the south and west of the Guardhouse, is unclear. A building is shown in this location on a plan of 1811 and stratagraphic evidence suggests that it represents a primary fort building, built between 1795 and 1807. It is marked as an old hospital on a plan produced in 1931 but this interpretation is not corroborated.
The building was truncated by a culvert dated 1865-1906, suggesting that it had been demolished by this time.

Passmore, A. J., 2010, Archaeological Recording at Berry Head, Brixham, Devon, May to October 2009, 11 (Report - Assessment). SDV364281.

Archaeological recording was carried out by Exeter Archaeology in 2009 within Fort No. 3, during construction and conservation works undertaken as part of the Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust’s ‘On The Edge’ project.
This building, partially excavated in 2009, has been interpreted as a hospital. The hospital outside the forts, now the Berry Head Hotel, was not built until 1809-10, several years after the barrack blocks within the fort were completed.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV362493	Report - Survey: Pye, A.R. & Slater, W.D.. 1990. Berry Head Fort, Brixham, An Archaeological Survey. Exeter Museums Archaeological Field Unit Report. EMAFU 90.10. Hardcopy + Digital. 25, Fig. 12. [Mapped feature: #126810 Imported from Torbay HER, ]
	Linked documents:1
SDV362497	Report - Assessment: Pye, A.R.. 1989. Berry Head Fort, Brixham. An Archaeological Assessment. Exeter Museums Archaeological Field Unit. EMAFU 89.04. Hardcopy + Digital. 10.
	Linked documents:1
SDV364281	Report - Assessment: Passmore, A. J.. 2010. Archaeological Recording at Berry Head, Brixham, Devon, May to October 2009. Exeter Archaeology. 10.73. Digital. 11.
	Linked documents:1
SDV364296	Report - Evaluation: Farnell, A. J.. 2009. Archaeological evaluation at The Guardhouse, Fort No. 3, Berry Head, Brixham, Devon. Exeter Archaeology. 6743. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV365436	Report - Excavation: Farnell, A. J.. 2009. Archaeological excavation at the Guardhouse, Fort No. 3, Berry Head, Brixham, Devon. Exeter Archaeology. 09.88. A4 Stapled + Digital.

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8910 - Excavations at the Guardhouse, Fort No. 3, Berry Head, Brixham
• EDV8911 - Archaeological recording at Berry Head, Brixham
• EDV7834 - Archaeological Assessment of the Berry Head Forts
• EDV7835 - Archaeological Survey of the Berry Head Forts

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