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Summary

Enclosed settlement at Tory Brookhead to the north of Cholwich Town Clay Works of 50 metres by 40 metres divided into a number of compartments with several hut circles and associated buildings

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1002553: Enclosures and hut circles N of Tory Brook Head

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX56SE34
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 439205
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX56SE/18
• Old SAM Ref: 10793(P)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• ENCLOSED HUT CIRCLE SETTLEMENT (Constructed, Bronze Age - 2200 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1890, Devon County Council RAF/CPE/UK/1890 2295-2296 10-DEC-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV169268.

Curvilinear banks are identifiable as earthworks under vegetation.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1950, SX56SE34, 22/05/1950, plan included (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV138923.

(22/05/1950) One of two enclosures with about 11 huts in and around. Enclosure B. A small enclosure of similar type and construction to A, contains two hut circles. The walling is large turf covered stones and is in good condition and reaches an average height of 0.7 metres. No obvious entrance.

National Monuments Record, 1976, NMR SX5863, 1 (Aerial Photograph). SDV148504.

Visible on aerial photograph.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1977, SX56SE34 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV138998.

SX 58516337: An oval enclosure, 50m. by 40m. and of 0.1ha., is built of double orthostatic walling,1.2m. wide. It is cleared and divided by a sinuous wall or clearance bank. It contains two type 2 hut circles, average internal diameter 6.0m., the walls 1.2m. wide and in poor condition. One, terraced against the wall, has a southeast facing entrance opening into a yard, 7m. by 4m., beyond which is another yard 9m. by 3m.

Unknown, 1981, Slide of settlements at Shaugh Prior (Photograph). SDV148505.

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

Western of two enclosures. Agglomerated and of four elements. Contains four attached hut circles.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP 133411, 18/5/1994 (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

Enclosure containing at least five hut circles forms the western part of a large stone hut circle settlement. Enclosure survives as an oval area measuring 50 metres by 36 metres defined by a 2.0 metre wide rubble bank standing up to 0.7 metres high. Within the enclosure two separate lengths of curved rubble walling form two smaller enclosures which may represent stock pens. The northern stock pen measures 16 metres by 13 metres, is defined by a 2.0 metres wide and 0.4 metre high rubble wall and has a south-facing entrance. The southern stock pen is attached to the inner face of the enclosure, measures 18 metres by 12 metres and is defined by a 2.1 metre wide rubble bank standing up to 0.4 metres high.
Four of the hut circles are attached to the inner face of the enclosure and the fifth is linked to the rubble wall forming the northern stock pen. Each hut circle includes a circular bank of stone and earth surrounding an internal area.

Butler, J., 1994, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Three - The South-West, 166-9, Map 51, Figure 51.9 (Monograph). SDV137656.

Enclosure 'A' at 'Tory Brookhead enclosures' with banks sub-dividing the interior into a number of compartments. Opening into them are three buildings attached to the west wall. These include a conventional hut circle and two rather elongated enclosures that may have been unroofed pens. Another hut is joined to the outside of the pound by a short bank. One of the dividing walls supports a pair of semi-circular foundations on either side and cross-slabs set against the south-east perimeter wall clearly define the original entrance.

Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC, 1999-2017, Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery SX5863 01-JUN-2002 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363087.

Curvilinear banks are identifiable as stony earthworks.

Probert, S. A. J. + Fletcher, M. J., 2002, Plym Valley survey (Report - Survey). SDV350782.

(23/05/2002) The western enclosure centred at SX 5851 6338, measures 47m north-south by 40m, and like the eastern enclosure, is subdivided by a combination of original and later walls. A solitary hut circle is attached to the south-western corner of this enclosure by a short length of contemporary walling (MDV2426).

English Heritage, 2005-2008, Prehistoric Survey Information (Cartographic). SDV345521.

Enclosure and internal divisions shown on survey.

NERC, 2013, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) Tellus: South Devon to Dartmoor, LIDAR SX5863 Tellus DTM 01-JUL-2013 to 31-AUG-2013 (Cartographic). SDV361514.

Curvilinear banks are identifiable as earthworks.

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.

A bank 2 to 3m wide is visible as an earthwork under scrub vegetation on aerial photographs of 1946 and remains clearly identifiable as a stony bank on digital images derived from aerial photographs of 2002 onwards, defining an oval enclosure up to circa 50m across on the south-west facing slopes of Lee Moor, to the north of Cholwichtown Clay Works.
It is one of two similar enclosures in close proximity, the second located approximately 60m to the east.
At least 5 possible hut circles are visible within the enclosure. A further 7 hut circles are visible to the without the enclosure boundary, between this and the neighbouring enclosure.
These are recorded separately and will not be detailed here.
Walls or sub-dividing banks are visible within the enclosure, possibly forming a central pound or paddock, around which the possible hut circles are arranged.
Two breaks are visible on the south-east side of the enclosure bank, and a hollow immediately within the enclosure might support the interpretation that one of these represents an entrance.
The enclosure and hut circles remain identifiable as subtle earthworks on visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2013.

Ordnance Survey, 2021, MasterMap 2021 (Cartographic). SDV364015.

Enclosure shown on modern mapping.

Historic England, 2021, National Heritage List for England, 1002553 (National Heritage List for England). SDV364016.

Within Scheduled area.

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)
• EDV8155 - Plym Valley Survey: EH Project (Feb 2001 - Dec 2002)

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