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Summary

Rifle Butts Wall is visible as an extant buttressed structure on late 19th century maps and on aerial photographs taken from the 1940s onwards. Associated enclosures and ditches are visible as earthworks on the aerial photographs and on visualisations of lidar data captured between 1998 and 2017, though some of these are perhaps more likely to be Second Word War in origin.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1002585: Staddon Heights Defences including Fort Staddon Fort, Brownhill Battery, Watch House Battery, Staddon Heights Battery, Staddon Battery and associated features and structures

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: 1396437
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX45SE/619/1

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• RIFLE BUTTS (XIX - 1860 AD to 1894 AD (Between))

Full description

REPRODUCED IN WOODWARD, Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV161664.

"rifle butts" marked on map of c 1870 (reproduced in woodward).

Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV161666.

Des=os 6"(1915)129ne.

Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV161667.

Woodward, f. W. /plymouth's defences/(1990)21.

Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV161668.

Des=plymouth fortress survey/pye, a.(1992)/staddon heights battery/copy in smr.

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1890, Devon County Council RAF/CPE/UK/1890 FS 2127-2128 10-DEC-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351061.

The rifle butts wall and adjoining earthwork banks and ditches are visible.

PLYMOUTH FORTRESS SURVEY, 1992, Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV27236.

Earthwork feature running from sx48915126 to sx49055106 marked on os 6" (1915) and os 6" (1966) maps (os). Vis=-/3/1992 (pye) 19c target butts, a very prominent local landmark. High masonry buttressed wall about 300m long and aligned nw-se. The n half was built by 1870, the s half between 1872 and 1894. The junction is clearly visible. At the rear of the n section are 2 earthwork enclosures, the function of which is unclear; they were probably contemporary with the target butts. The n target butt was probably built in the 1860s when the rest of the staddon heights position was laid out. The s part was perhaps constructed to protect the newly-constructed staddon heights battery (completed in 1893) as well as expanding the capacity of the range in c 1894. The n half appears to have been used by the army and the s half by the royal marines. No longer used; golf course to e (plymouth fortress survey).

Environment Agency, 1998-2017, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) EA: South Devon Coast to Dartmoor, LIDAR SX4851 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 31-MAY-2017 (Cartographic). SDV361470.

The earthwork banks of a rectilinear enclosure are visible.

English Heritage, 2014, Staddon Heights Defences, including Fort Staddon, Brownhill Battery, Watch House Battery, Staddon Heights Battery, Staddon Battery and associated features and structures. (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV356311.

A former rifle butts wall of c.1860-70 and c.1894.
The Staddon Heights rifle butt wall is remarkably substantial in size, forming a landmark for many miles. It was used by the soldiers stationed at Fort Staddon, giving it a clear historical link with this defence complex.
Description: A tall target butts wall, constructed of local rubble stone with stone buttresses. It is 300 m long and aligned on a north-west to south-east axis. The south-west side is supported by a series of large stepped buttresses. The junction between the two phases of construction is clearly visible.

Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R., 2019-2020, The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping Survey. Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (AI&M, formerly NMP) (Interpretation). SDV362982.

The buttressed wall depicted on historic mapping at the south-west end of the late 19th century rifle range is clearly visible as a linear structure on aerial photographs taken from the 1940s onwards. Along its north side parts of a narrow linear earthwork ditch are visible, and on the south side a rectilinear banked enclosure, depicted on the 19th century maps, adjoins the northern (earlier) part of the wall. The banks are visible as earthworks on the aerial photographs and also on visualisations of lidar data captured between 1998 and 2017, with additional features not on the historic mapping, including a partial external ditch and exterior bank. Also visible on the aerial imagery are narrower banks within this enclosure and to its south. These are in a less scrubby area on the 1940s images, and may have been 20th century, perhaps associated with the Second World War activity. Another levelled or cleared area could also have been a later feature. The function of these enclosures is not clear from the aerial imagery.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8098 - The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping (formerly NMP) Survey, Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (Ref: ACD2040)

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