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Summary

Irregular shaped enclosure about 120 metres by 60 metres with walls 1.8 meetres wide by 0.7 metres high on the eastern slope of the Lowton valley. It is associated with four hut circles, one of which is attached to the enclosure. The others are outside. Part of the enclosure survives as an upstanding bank but most of it comprises a spread lynchet.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1017990: Partially enclosed stone hut circle settlement 780m south west of Metherall

Other References/Statuses

• MPP Archaeological Item Dataset: 144189
• National Monuments Record: SX68SE89
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 443894
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX68SE/37
• Old SAM County Ref: 958
• Old SAM Ref: 28678
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SX68SE89

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• ENCLOSURE (Constructed, Bronze Age - 2200 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

Department of Environment, 07/05/1975, pound S of Fernworthy Reservoir (Schedule Document). SDV357775.

Approximately oval pound. The enclosure wall survives in good condition. No huts are visible in the interior as the monument is overplanted with mature pine.

Turner, J. R., 1976, Ancient Monuments on Forestry Commission Land. Fernworthy and Bellever (Report - non-specific). SDV351823.

Fernworthy Plantation. East Lowton 5A. At SX 66528367 in Fernworthy Plantation there is a
pound enclosed by a well defined stone wall. It is oriented north to south and in this direction is 66.5m long. There is no hut circle within.
Not investigated. Has been planted over.
January 1976. Cross posts restrict access to pound from forestry road. Fifteen posts ring the clearance zone which is clear of debris although no trees have been removed.
Not included in 1955 Spoonder and Dixon report.

Turner, J., 1978, Report of Work Carried Out by the Forestry Commission since January 1976 (Report - non-specific). SDV351816.

No work has been carried out on this group of sites since January 1976.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1978, SX68SE89 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV260683.

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

Not visible on 1946 RAF aerial photos due to tree cover.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., 144189 (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

Site visit 30th April 1997. Enclosure forming part of a partially enclosed settlement. An irregular, agglomerated enclosure, 120 metres by 60 metres with a double and single orthostatic and rubble walls, 1.8 metres wide and 0.7 metres high. Three huts are linked to the enclosure walls.

Butler, J., 1991, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Two - The North, 156, Map 35, Site 2 (Monograph). SDV219155.

Western side of an enclosure shown at 'Lowton Brook East settlement'.

Smith, N., 1992, Condition Survey of Identified Archaeology with Woodland Areas 1992 (Un-published). SDV351819.

Fernworthy. East Lowton Group 5A. Site visit 27th May 1992. Pound adjacent to modern track. Site marked. Stability good although there is evidence of past disturbance by forestry operations. The vegetation around the pound wall and a two metre gap either side is managed but the centre is not. Suggested that the present vegetation management regime be maintained although the trees in the pound need to be cleared at some stage.

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

(03/06/1995) Centred SX 66528366. The remains of a small sub-circular enclosure probably of BA origin and formerly part of a larger field system lie within a small conifer plantation on a west facing slope 500 metres west of Metherall Gate. The enclosure is bounded by a stoney bank up to 2.5 metres wide and 0.7 metres high. It has been severely disturbed by forestry activity but several orthostats survive on the west side. The eastern edge is overlain by a forestry track. Two short lengths of walling branch off the main circuit indicating the former existence of further enclosures which were probably associated with the hut circles some 65 metres to the east.

Dartmoor National Park Authority, 1996, Condition Survey of Identified Archaeology within Woodland Areas 1996 (Un-published). SDV351820.

Fernworthy. East Lowton Group 5A. Site visit 27th September 1996. Site marked by 1 post. The area has been cleared but regeneration and brash now cover the site making it difficult to identify the archaeological features. The site needs to be cleared.

GeoInformation Group Ltd, 2010, 1:625 2010 Colour aerial photography for Dartmoor (12.5cm resolution) (Aerial Photograph). SDV346026.

Enclosure partly visible. Map object based on this source.

Newman, P., 2013, Fernworthy Forest Sites Survey (Un-published). SDV351708.

Newman, P., 2013, The Archaeology of Fernworthy Forest, Dartmoor, Devon, 29-30, Fig. 24-25 (Report - Survey). SDV351784.

Part of a vaguely horse shoe shaped enclosure survives on the eastern slope of the Lowton valley with four associated hut circles, one of which is attached to the enclosure. The others are outside. The enclosure which has an in-turned curving bank at the northern end, is up to 65 metres long by 55 metres and encloses about 0.25 hectares. A 20 metre section survives as an upstanding bank 0.5 metres high on the southern side but the majority of the enclosure wall comprises a spread lynchet 3.4 metres wide by 0.7 metres high. A number of orthostats survive in situ but others have fallen. The enclosure was planted over with conifers in the early days of the plantation. Although these have now been removed the interior still contains much debris. Map object based on this source.

English Heritage, 2014, National Heritage List for England, 1017990 (National Heritage List for England). SDV355683.

The monument includes an enclosure and four stone hut circles situated on a north facing slope overlooking Fernworthy Reservoir. The enclosure includes an area measuring up to 120 metres long north-east to south-west by 60 metres wide, defined by a 1.8 metre wide and 0.7 metre high orthostatic and rubble bank which is double faced in places. A second length of walling leads off from the south eastern side of the main enclosure.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6203 - Archaeological Survey of Fernworthy Forest
• EDV6216 - Condition Surveys of Ancient Monuments on Forestry Commission Land
• EDV7389 - Fernworthy Forest condition survey 1996
• EDV7410 - Fernworthy Forest condition survey 1992
• EDV8409 - Dartmoor Royal Forest Project

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