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Summary

Abandoned medieval and post medieval field systems situated on the upper slopes of Hound Tor overlooking the valley of the Becka Brook. The medieval field system is associated with the deserted medieval village of Houndtor (SX 77 NW 30) and is irregular in shape and appears to be the result of several phases of unorganised expansion and contraction. A number of the irregular shaped fields contain lynchets. After the abandonment of the settlement in the mid 14th century the fields appear to have continued to be cultivated. Certainly in the post medieval period continued interest in the area is witnessed by extensive areas of narrow ridge and furrow. Several groups of clearance cairns may also date to this time. In the area south of Greator Rocks, three shelters built against medieval boundary banks are probably also of post medieval date.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1016255: Prehistoric and medieval settlements and their field systems at Hound Tor

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX77NW95
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 1044937
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX77NW/241
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX77NW/272
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX77NW/273
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX77NW/75/4
• Old SAM Ref: 28786

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• FIELD SYSTEM (Constructed, Early Medieval to Early 20th Century - 1066 AD (Between) to 1901 AD (Between))
• CLEARANCE CAIRN (Constructed, Post Medieval to Early 20th Century - 1540 AD (Between) to 1901 AD (Between))
• RIDGE AND FURROW (Constructed, Post Medieval to Early 20th Century - 1540 AD (Between) to 1901 AD (Between))
• SHELTER (Constructed, Post Medieval to Early 20th Century - 1540 AD (Between) to 1901 AD (Between))

Full description

National Monuments Record, 14/04/1977, SX7479, 1 (Aerial Photograph). SDV308631.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1960, SX77NW31, Field system (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV345708.

A small field system near three hut circles near Becka Brook. Lies to west of huts and is possibly associated. Ill-defined and consists of series of slight lynchets on rocky south-east slope (10/5/1960).

National Monuments Record, 1977, SX7478, 5 (Aerial Photograph). SDV345710.

Beresford, G., 1979, Three Deserted Medieval Settlements on Dartmoor: a Report on the Late E. Marie Minter's Excavations, 150-152 (Article in Serial). SDV307264.

National Monuments Record, 1980, NMR SF1746, 210 (Aerial Photograph). SDV294996.

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

SX 74507900 Field system surrounding deserted medieval settlement. Extends from SX74237926 to SX74617888 where it merges with another field system.
Field system, with ridge and furrow, surrounding a deserted medieval settlement. The system extends from SX74557890 to SX74507840. Visible on 1980 aerial photographs.

Griffith, F. M., 1985, DAP/EO, 1,1a,2,3, 17/3/1985 (Aerial Photograph). SDV307278.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP 140565 (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

(20/05/1995) Medieval field system associated with the settlements at Hound Tor. See also sx77nw/272

Butler, J., 1991, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume One - The East, Map 8 (Monograph). SDV299725.

Depicted by Butler.

Newman, P. + Probert, S. + Riley, H., 1994/1995, Houndtor Down, Manaton, Devon - A New Survey by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. (Report - Survey). SDV344628.

(06/02/1995) Medieval field system centred at SX 746788. Approximately 35 hectares of abandoned fields containing traces of lynchets, ridge and furrow and clearance cairns on the eastern half of Houndtor Down. The irregular fields are largely bounded by cornditches between 2.0 metres and 3.5 metres wide and around 1.2 metres high with some unditched internal boundaries. There is no identifiable ridge and furrow associated with this phase, contemporary cultivation being represented by the low lynchets and terraces on the steeper east-facing slopes. The field system was reorganised in the post-medieval period when the ridge and furrow and clearance cairns were created.
For 1:2500 survey and more detailed description see SX 77 NW 96.

Newman, P., 2017, An Archaeological Survey of an area affected by burning on Hound Tor Down, Manaton, Devon, 4, N, P, Q & R on Fig. 2 (Report - Survey). SDV361522.

Also occupying the slopes to the NE of Hound Tor, mostly below the 350m contour, is a series of enclosure walls, lynchets, cultivation earthworks and clearance cairns.
Fields associated with earlier medieval occupation of the farmstead were constructed mostly from stone, but apart from short lengths of wall close by the farmstead itself, only one substantive section of this type of walling survives in an original form. It cuts north to south across the triangular enclosure, then continues up the slope, until its course is absorbed into a later and more substantial earth bank. The northern 34 metre section of the wall, within the triangular enclosure (N on Fig. 2), survives with many edge set slabs in situ, but to the south it may have been robbed and survives only as a haphazard alignment of boulders (P on Fig. 2).
The course of some of these stony walls later became fossilised when they were assimilated into larger earthen banks. This was achieved by piling earth, stone and/or turves against one side of the wall, resulting in a linear earth mound with a vertical stone face on one side (see Q and R on Fig. 2; Fig. 11). However, not all the earth banks have evidence of stone walling and it is likely that some were new additions, built entirely from earth and loose stone only. The date for this refurbishment is not known: it could have been contemporary with a later occupation of the farmstead in the late 14th to 15th century, or perhaps even later and associated with the cultivation earthworks which survive here.
Cultivation is evident by ridge and furrow earthworks, which are contained within the earth-banked enclosures. They are clear on satellite photography, but at the time of writing, no LiDAR of high enough resolution was available to establish the full extent. Areas affected are shaded on Fig. 2.

Historic England, 2018, National Heritage List for England (National Heritage List for England). SDV360653.

See designation record for details.

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

(16/01/1998) Scheduled Monument Notification. SX 745788. Abandoned medieval and post medieval field systems situated on the upper slopes of Hound Tor overlooking the valley of the Becka Brook. The medieval field system is associated with the deserted medieval village of Houndtor (SX 77 NW 30) and is irregular in shape and appears to be the result of several phases of unorganised expansion and contraction. A number of the irregular shaped fields contain lynchets. After the abandonment of the settlement in the mid 14th century the fields appear to have continued to be cultivated. Certainly in the post medieval period continued interest in the area is witnessed by extensive areas of narrow ridge and furrow. Several groups of clearance cairns may also date to this time. In the area south of Greator Rocks, three shelters built against medieval boundary banks are probably also of post medieval date. Scheduled.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7556 - Survey on Hound Tor Down
• EDV8965 - Aerial survey of guardianship sites on Dartmoor

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