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Summary

The remains of a peat cutter's hut possibly reused as an artillery observation post measuring 2.8 metres by 1.2 metres internally with walls a maximum of 0.9 metres high. An entrance lies in the north end.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: 4SX68NW36
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 443760
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX68NW/54

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• HUT (Constructed, Post Medieval to Early 20th Century - 1540 AD (Between) to 1901 AD (Between))
• OBSERVATION POST (Constructed, Post Medieval to Early 20th Century - 1540 AD (Between) to 1901 AD (Between))

Full description

Le Messurier, B., 1975, Field notes (Worksheet). SDV267890.

(31/05/1975) Ruined hut. Walls heavily banked, naked back inside. Floor of fallen stone. Door at northern end. Fireplace (or, possibly, cupboard) at southern end. Collapsed mantelpiece lies in ruin. Peat cutting nearby. Measures 1.4m x 2.8m.

Le Messurier, B., 1979, Post-Prehistoric Structures of Central North Dartmoor. A Field Survey, 64 (Article in Serial). SDV269283.

SX 61158685. On flat moorland to the east of Taw Head is a hut with end or corners rounded and some good walling. Internal measurements 1.4m by 2.8m. The narrow entrance is unusual in being at the north end. A stone 1.45m long lies inside the building and the ruins of a fireplace are at the south end. Peat cutting and tin streaming nearby.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1979, SX68NW36, photograph (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV267892.

(10/10/1979) At SX 61208678, on a slight west slope, but well above the tin streaming activities of the Taw Valley, is an unusual hut near peat diggings with which it may be associated.
It is as described by Le Messurier and constructed partly of coursed rubble and partly of slabs and posts, with stones piled against the outer face The fireplace at the south end is collapsed but the overall condition of the hut is good.
Surveyed at 1:10 000 on MSD with sketch plan 1:100.
See ground photographs.

Butler, J., 1991, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Two - The North, 214, Map 41, Site 'BH2' (Monograph). SDV219155.

'BH2' is a small building of 2.3 metres by 1.8 metres on the summit of the ridge between the River Taw and Steeperton Brook. Probably the home of peat cutters or shepherds. Ground level reaches the top of tha back wall and the lintel has fallen across the doorway.

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

(20/09/1993) SX 61208678. A small, ruined rectangular stone-built structure, sited within as area of peat bog on the west side of the ridge between Taw River and Steeperton Brook Head, 200m west of the Hangingstone track.
The building measures 2.8m north to south by 1.2m and the walls consist of randomly stacked undressed granite stones standing to a maximum height of 0.9m. The interior face of the eastern wall is slightly battered outwards and the western wall has a recess measuring 0.4m deep by the full wall height (0.9m). This is likely to have been a fireplace. A fallen lintel 1.5m long by 0.3m by 0.15m lies diagonally across the recess and a flat-topped hearthstone is visible, level with the ground at the base. The southern wall is partly collapsed and tumbled stone has fallen onto the floor. The entrance is located in the north wall and is 0.3m wide. A turf-covered earth bank surrounds the exterior of the hut, on all except the north walls giving extra support to the walls and providing insulation.
The possibility that this building was used as a shelter by peat cutters may be inferred from the evidence of peat cutting within the area.

Probert, S. A. J. + Newman, P., 2003-2004, Measured survey North Dartmoor Military Range Okehampton Range: Monument Baseline Condition Survey, S. Probert (Report - Survey). SDV350801.

(24/10/2004) This former structure remains as described in 1993 though the thickness of the walls is somewhat unusual for this kind of feature. It is possible that the building was (re)used as an early military observation post.

English Heritage, 2005, Survey Information (miscellaneous date) (Report - Survey). SDV345855.

Small rectangular building shown on survey.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8409 - Dartmoor Royal Forest Project
• EDV8679 - Okehampton Range: Management Survey
• EDV8291 - Okehampton Range: Monument Baseline Condition Survey
• EDV8695 - Survey of Okehampton North Dartmoor Military Range

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