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Summary

Settlement to the north of Laughter Tor comprising an irregular field system with two hut circles. The enclosures are evident as stoney banks 2.0 metres wide by 0.7 metres high.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1018513: An agglomerated enclosure and two stone hut circles 580m west of Laughter Hole Farm

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX67NE223
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 891111
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX67NE/71
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX67NE/71/3
• Old SAM Ref: 28690(P)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

Dartmoor National Park Authority + Forestry Commission + Dartmoor Preservation Association, 1976, Conservation of Ancient Monuments. The Report of a Working Party (Report - non-specific). SDV248248.

Enclosure. Included in 1955 Spooner/Dixon report: (Lakehead, Bellever, Laughter), Site no.32. Site no.1d in Bellever Plantation, Laughter Tor (with sketch map).

Turner, J., 1976, Laughter Tor Settlement (Report - non-specific). SDV230412.

Enclosure of low walls on a north-west facing slope. Two hut-circles inside it. On unplanted ground north of Laughter Tor.

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

Not visible on RAF 1950 aerial photograph.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP 140583 (28/01/1998) (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

(28/01/1998) Agglomerated enclosure 170m north-north-west of Laughter Tor. Enclosure with two hut circles.

Butler, J., 1991, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Two - The North, 46-47, 226, Map 27, Figure 27, 9 (Monograph). SDV219155.

Laughter Tor northern settlement at SX652759. The centre comprises a roughly oval enclosure 'A' up to 36 metres across surrounding a pair of hut circles. An outer enclosure 'B' has been added uphill. Two banks on the north side are probably the boundaries of field 'C'.

Royal Commission for the Historical Monuments of England, 1993-1998, Dartmoor Royal Forest Project (Report - Survey). SDV346608.

(15/10/1993) Centred SX 65227597. A settlement comprising two hut circles and several irregular enclosures 200m north east of Laughter Tor. The site lies largely in open moorland with the northern and eastern extremities extending into Forestry Commission plantation.
The huts lie in the same enclosure at the heart of the field system. Both huts seem to be relatively well preserved with level interiors and heather-covered walls. Some traces of both internal and external facing stones are apparent.
SX 65227595. The western hut is free standing and measures 4.4m in diameter with stoney walls 2.1m wide and up to 0.6m high. There is no obvious entrance but there is a distinct lowering of the wall on the western side.
SX 65247595. The eastern hut adjoins one of the walls forming the central enclosure and measures 4.0m in diameter with walls on average 2.0m wide and a maximum of 0.6m high. A slight gap in the wall on the south-western side may indicate the site of a former entrance.
The surrounding enclosures are formed by stoney banks about 2.0m wide with a maximum height of 0.7m. There are no obvious gateways. The fields are incompletely preserved but show no signs of the rectilinear pattern displayed by the field systems immediately to the east (SX 67 NE 25 and 215).
Parts of this settlement are depicted and described by Butler 1991.

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

Settlement shown on survey.

Historic England, 2022, National Heritage List for England, 1018513 (National Heritage List for England). SDV364675.

The monument includes an agglomerated enclosure and two stone hut circles situated on the north west facing upper slope of Laughter Tor. The agglomerated enclosure survives as at least four irregular shaped areas each defined by boulder and rubble walling. Two stone hut circles survive within the enclosure and one of these is attached to the enclosure walling.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7388 - Archaeological condition survey in Bellever Woods
• EDV7406 - Archaeological condition survey in Bellever Woods
• EDV7431 - Woodland Survey (1989-90) at Bellever, Soussons and other woodland parcels
• EDV8409 - Dartmoor Royal Forest Project

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