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Summary

Walled passageway 60 metres long and up to 5 metres wide leading to a hut circle within the Metherall settlement to the east of Fernworthy Reservoir shown as a 'Stone Row' on historic maps. The passageway is partly submerged by the reservoir

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1019214: Four stone hut circles and associated boundary walls south east of Fernworthy Reservoir, 250m north west of Metherall

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX68SE95
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 443902
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX68SE/57/3

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• (Former Type) STONE ALIGNMENT (Constructed, Neolithic - 4000 BC (Between) to 2201 BC (Between))
• PASSAGE (Constructed, Bronze Age - 2200 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

'Stone Avenue (remains of)' depicted on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map.

Ordnance Survey, 1904 - 1906, Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map (Cartographic). SDV325644.

'Stone row' depicted on the Second Edition Ordnance Survey historic map.

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

Stone row not visible on Royal Air Force aerial photographs.

Butler, J., 1991, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Two - The North, 155-156, Map 35 Figure 35.1 (Monograph). SDV219155.

Passageway from the former riverbank approaching Hut Circle '1'. About 5.0 metres wide but increasing in width nearer the hut circle which it joins on the south side beside the entrance.

Gerrard, S., 1993-2010, Monument Protection Programme Alternative Action Report (Report - non-specific). SDV145710.

Site visit 14th June 1999. Considered under Monument Protection Programme but no stone alignment found.
A passageway leading to a stone hut circle 325 metres north-west of Metherall. A passageway denoted by orthostatic walling leading towards on hut circle. The northern part of this features is now beneath the reservoir and is not included within the scheduled area of the monument.

Newman, P., 2013, The Archaeology of Fernworthy Forest, Dartmoor, Devon. Supplement. The Lakeside Area and Lowton Farmsteads, 6, Fig. 5 (Report - Survey). SDV356884.

Early Ordnance Survey maps depict a double stone row leading uphill in an east-south-east direction towards one of the huts in the Metherall settlement. This feature was subsequently proved to be a walled lane associated with the hut and comprising parallel walls set about 4.7 metres apart and built from large boulders. Only the final 20 metres of these walls survive in a buried condition, comprising a subtle bank with some stone protruding. The earth has washed out of the section that is normally submerged showing the mass of individual boulders.

Quinnell, N. V., 22/03/1995, Metherall Stone Row (Personal Comment). SDV259644.

Seems very doubtful. Denuded prehistoric field bank?

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6533 - Archaeological Survey of South-West Lakeside Trust Land around Fernworthy Reservoir

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