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Summary

A settlement consisting of at least 13 hut circles and associated enclosures and banks, east of Cholwich Town China Clay Works, Cornwood. This site is included in the local list of Nationally Important Dartmoor sites.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Two Bronze Age hut circle settlements and the remains of a longhouse type building east of Cholwich Town Chinda Clay Works

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX56SE109
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 439414

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1965, RAF/58/7109, RAF/58/7109 F42 0130-0131 22-NOV-1965 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351186.

Extensive linear, curvilinear and circular banked and stone-built features are visible.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1979, SX56SE109 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV145976.

(16/04/1979) On a south-west facing slope within a modern enclosure, centred at SX 59546200, are twelve hut circles. Seven of these are connected by a length of prehistoric walling running north-west to south-east. Two small enclosures are also attached to the wall at the north-west end. The hut circles are mostly in poor condition, three are probably Type 2 huts and the others as far as can be determined are Type 1. Their average diameter internally is 5.25m. and their average wall thickness 1.25m. Four have visible entrances, all on the south-west. There is no evidence of clearance in the area. (Type sites: 1, SX 56 SE 19; 2, SX 56 NE 71).
Surveyed at 1:10 000 on P.F.D.

Butler, J., 1994, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Three - The South-West, 175-6, Map 52, Figure 52.1 (Monograph). SDV137656.

Settlement 'C' at 'Parkland enclosures' consisting mainly of a long boundary wall built through field, aligned north-west to south-east, which has been reused in medieval times. Attached to this boundary is a pair of small enclosures and a string of hut circles, all medium sized (measuring 5.0 - 7.0 meters in diameter). The huts do not appear to be badly damaged but there are numerous clearance heaps of stone in the lower part of the field, indicating that there may previously have been rather more features in this settlement.

Environment Agency, 1998-2017, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) EA: South Devon Coast to Dartmoor, LIDAR SX5961-SX5962 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 31-MAY-2017 (Cartographic). SDV361470.

Extensive linear, curvilinear and circular banked features are identifiable.

Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC, 1999-2017, Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery SX5962 03-MAY-2007 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363087.

Extensive linear, curvilinear and circular banked and stone-built features are visible.

Gerrard, S., 2004, List of Sites Remaining to be Considered for Designation on Dartmoor (Un-published). SDV345444.

This site was considered for designation as a Scheduled Ancient Monument during the Monument Protection Programme. The programme ended before the entire list of sites was successfully scheduled so this is included on a local list of Nationally Important Sites.

Ordnance Survey, 2011, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV346129.

Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R., 2019-2020, The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping Survey. Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (AI&M, formerly NMP) (Interpretation). SDV362982.

A settlement of probable Bronze Age to Iron Age date is visible on aerial photographs of 1965 extending across circa 600m of the south-west facing slopes east of Cholwich Town, Cornwood.
Most of the settlement falls within two extant fields. That in the field centred on circa SX59386210 is recorded in MDV79188.
The settlement evidence recorded here consists of at least 14 individual hut circles, recorded separately, at least 8 of which are strung along a north-west to south-east linear bank or wall. The remaining hut circles are dispersed among an extensive irregular field system that extends to the south-east, a notable exception being a group of three conjoined huts abutting a field boundary at SX59606193.
Three possible enclosures are identifiable within the wider field pattern, at SX59596188, SX59476136 and SX59556207. The latter is either bisected by the north-west to south-east linear bank or wall or comprises 3 or 4 cells that abut the wall.
The south-west end of the prehistoric field system has been partly incorporated into the extant medieval field system pattern, possibly including the establishment of a Long House type structure at SX 59719190 (see MDV2494).
The curvilinear boundaries and many of the hut circles remain clearly identifiable as banks on visualisations derived from lidar data captured between 1998 and 2017 and very dispersed and damaged stone-built features on digital images derived from aerial photographs of 2007.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8098 - The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping (formerly NMP) Survey, Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (Ref: ACD2040)

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