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Summary

Prehistoric enclosed settlement with a substantial granite surrounding wall, containing 24 hut circles, as well as several ‘pens’ built into the enclosure wall, positioned in a valley between Hookney Tor and Hameldon. First planned by A. C. Shillibeer in 1829, this site was excavated by the Dartmoor Exploration Committee in 1894-5. Within the guardianship area managed by Dartmoor National Park Authority.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1014667: Grimspound, a partially enclosed prehistoric settlement with field system and two post-medieval caches between Hookney Tor and Hameldown Tor

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX78SW11
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 445637
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX78SW/49
• Old SAM County Ref: 142
• Old SAM Ref: 22212(P)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

NMR, SX7080 (Aerial Photograph). SDV304194.

Polwhele, R., 1793-1806, The History of Devonshire, 151 (Monograph). SDV21030.

Jones, J. P., 1823, Observations on the Scenery and Antiquities in the Neighbourhood of Moretonhampstead (Monograph). SDV344934.

Shillibeer, A. C., 1829, Untitled Source (Plan - sketch). SDV304200.

Rowe, S., 1830, 'Antiquarian Investigations of the Forest of Dartmoor' (Article in Serial). SDV344933.

Other details: 194-5.

Wilkinson, J. G., 1861, On Ancient British Walls (Article in Serial). SDV304172.

Other details: 5.

Wilkinson, J. G., 1862, On British Remains on Dartmoor, 117-119 (Article in Serial). SDV277122.

Other details: Plate 2.

Ormerod, G. W., 1864, On the Hut Circles on the Eastern Side of Dartmoor, 305 (Article in Serial). SDV304174.

Ormerod discussed possible purposes of Grimspound. Cites Polwhele, who asserts that the site was for ritual purposes, probably one of the principal temples of the Druids. Also cites Rowe, who considers it constructed as a fortified settlement, and refers to the outer wall as a rampart. Concludes that it was built as a pound for cattle for protection against wolves and bands of robbers.

Ormerod, G. W., 1872, What is Grimspound?, 41-46 (Article in Serial). SDV304207.

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

'Grimspound Hut Circles' depicted on the late 19th century historic map.

Baring Gould, S., 1894, 1st Report of the Dartmoor Exploration Committee: The Exploration of Grimspound, 101-121 (Article in Serial). SDV304196.

Detailed description of the excavation work undertaken at Grimspound in 1894, including detail of individual huts excavated, sketches and plan of the site, as well as early references to Grimspound.

Baring Gould, S., 1895, Second Report of the Dartmoor Exploration Committee, 82-3 (Article in Serial). SDV271711.

Further investigative works undertaken on the enclosure wall at Grimspound, briefly recorded here. It was ascertained that the enclosure wall is unlikely to have been intended to be defensive and is more likely to represent an enclosure for cattle.

Rowe, S., 1896, A Perambulation of the Royal Forest of Dartmoor and the venville precincts, 55 (Monograph). SDV249697.

Burnard, R., 1906, Early Man, 350-352 (Article in Monograph). SDV322231.

Other details: Plan.

Allcroft, A. H., 1908, Earthwork of England, 177-178, 219-224 (Monograph). SDV11975.

Other details: Plan.

Adams, M. + Burnard, R., 1913, Proceedings at the Annual Meeting, 37-38 (Article in Serial). SDV304211.

Lowe, H. J., 1915-1920, The Dartmoor Antiquities and their Builders, 133 (Article in Serial). SDV231169.

Nothing to add.

Watkin, H. R., 1918-1919, The Etymology of Grimspound, 291-292 (Article in Serial). SDV304175.

The etymology of the name Grimspound is discussed. The author suggests that it is derived from the Anglo-Saxon words meaning a witches enclosure. Other details: Part 1.

Chanter, J. F., 1927, Grimspound, 87-88 (Article in Serial). SDV304173.

Site has not been pillaged. Hardly a stone removed. Some of the huts may have been occupied at a later date by tin streamers. Very little evidence of prolonged occupancy. It served as a place of refuge for the tribe and cattle during any raid. Other details: Fig.

Chanter, J. F., 1927, Proceedings of the Congress of the British Archaeological Association at Exeter, 20 (Article in Serial). SDV304205.

Gover, J. E. B. + Mawer, A. + Stenton, F. M., 1931, The Place-Names of Devon: Part One, 482 (Monograph). SDV1312.

Brailsford, J. W., 1938, Bronze Age Stone Monuments of Dartmoor, 453 (Article in Serial). SDV304210.

Royal Air Force, 1946, CPE/UK/1824, 3041 (Aerial Photograph). SDV288056.

Worth, R. H., 1953, Dartmoor (Monograph). SDV231148.

Fox, A., 1954, Excavations at Kestor, 46 (Article in Serial). SDV304231.

Fox, A., 1957, The Prehistoric Monuments of Dartmoor, 158-159 (Article in Serial). SDV304214.

This is an enclosed settlement situated in a fold of hills between Hookney Tor and Hameldon at a height of 1500 ft on the eastern side of Dartmoor. The Grim's Lake, a winter-bourne tributary of the west Webburn river, runs through the north side of the enclosure and passes under the walls. The wall is 9-10ft wide, and stands 4-5ft high in places: it is massively built of large facing slabs coursed horizontally with a filling of small stones between. There is no justification for the reconstruction of 1895 showing a hollow core between double walls. A ditch or gully has been scarped for a short distance on the north-west side, where the fall to the stream makes the position vulnerable. The imposing entrance, which incorporates huge boulders, is on the upper side, approached steeply downhill from Hameldon; the passage is 6ft wide, roughly paved and stepped. The apparent extension of the side walls is due to collapse, which has been reconstructed; the straight joints marking the original wall face are apparent.
The area enclosed is 3.94 acres; it contains 16 dwellings, 6-7 store huts (nos. 2 13-15, 22-24 on plan) and five cattle pens built against the main wall (Fig 10). The huts are all small, 8ft 6 ins to 15ft in diameter, with walls 3-4 ft thick; there is a misconception that the walls had an external casing of turf and one hut, no 3, has been so reconstructed. Large pillar stones are used as jambs for the narrow doorways, which were probably lintelled. Two huts, nos. 3 and 5, have a screen wall at the entrance, forming a sort of vestibule; one hut is double, the western element (no 19) perhaps being added to the eastern (no 18). The store huts, in which no hearths were found, are slight constructions, one stone thick, badly overgrown with heather today. Excavations were conducted by a committee of the Devonshire Association in 1894-95, in the manner of the time. In the dwelling huts part of the floor was apparently raised, cooking was carried out on a hearth, and in ashes in a small pit 9 ins deep, and the roof was probably supported on a centre post bedded on a flat stone. No dating evidence was recovered, only a few pieces of flint being found. Grimspound differs only in the strength of its walls from other enclosed settlements like Dean Moor or Raddick Hill occupied in the Late Bronze Age: its situation is clearly indefensible and is related to the water supply, indicating that the inhabitants were pastoralists.

Fox, A., 1958, Twenty-Fourth Report on the Archaeology and Early History of Devon (Article in Serial). SDV341823.

Other details: 90, 219. TDA XXVI, 101; LXXVII, 85. (Reports of the Dartmoor Exploration Committee).

Cambridge University Collection, 1962, DAP/AFH, 6-8 (Aerial Photograph). SDV304221.

Unknown, 1963, Unknown article title, 4 (Article in Serial). SDV286288.

A barbed and tanged arrowhead, with Breton affinities, was picked up in 1957 near the modern path just inside the entrance. Now in Plymouth Museum.

Unknown, 1964, Unknown article title, 5 (Article in Serial). SDV286300.

Damage was caused by visitors to the entrance of the pound and some of the huts. Restoration was carried out in 1964 under the direction of Aileen Fox.

Cambridge University, 1966, CUC/ANM, 33-37 (Aerial Photograph). SDV62341.

Grinsell, L. V., 1970, Discovering Regional Archaeology: South Western England, 25 (Monograph). SDV304192.

Barber, J., 1972, 33rd report on archaeology and early history (Article in Serial). SDV338737.

Other details: 236 and Fig 3.

Fox, A., 1973, South West England 3,500BC - AD600 (Revised Edition), 103 (Monograph). SDV16216.

Other details: Revised Edition.

Grinsell, L. V., 1976, Folklore of Prehistoric Sites in Britain, 96 (Monograph). SDV304171.

Named from the heathen 'Grim' which can mean the devil, woden or any goblin or spectre.

Grinsell, L. V., 1977, Grimspound (Personal Comment). SDV342019.

A stream runs through the site. This is the best known and most accessible of the prehistoric settlements on Dartmoor. It lies in a valley between Hookney Tor and Hameldon and contains some 24 circular huts of which about 16 were probably dwellings, the rest store huts. These huts vary in size quite considerably, and all except the store huts have hearths. A massive stone pound wall surrounds the settlements. There is a strong stone-built entrance on the south side facing uphill to Hameldon. All the other entrance gaps are modern. Good condition.

NMR, 1977, SX7080/4 (Aerial Photograph). SDV304216.

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

Grimspound covers about 4 acres and contains the remains of 24 hut circles some of which have been excavated and well restored. Half of the huts showed signs of human habitation; they had hearths and their floors were strewn with charcoal. Visible and recorded.

Griffith, F. M., 1986, DAP/HP, 7 (Aerial Photograph). SDV304235.

Griffith, F. M., 1988, DAP/KM, 1-2 (Aerial Photograph). SDV242441.

Griffith, F., 1988, Devon's Past. An Aerial View, 37 (Monograph). SDV64198.

Some of the hut circles within the enclosure were excavated in 1894-5 as the very first project of the Devonshire Association's Dartmoor Exploration Committee. Although no pottery was found, flint and stone artefacts were recovered from the floors of the round houses. In spite of the absence of pottery reported by the excavators, Grimspound appears to belong in the same general date-range as other enclosed Dartmoor settlements, perhaps having its origins in the earlier second millennium BC. Since 1966 (when the published photograph was taken) this monument has been subjected to a considerable amount of erosion through the sheer number of visitors it receives each year. A modern photograph would show significantly more bare areas where vegetation has been worn away by the feet of walkers.

Fleming, A., 1988, The Dartmoor Reaves: Investigating Prehistoric Land Divisions (Monograph). SDV229071.

Griffith, F. M., 1989, DAP/OW, 18 (Aerial Photograph). SDV304237.

Pattison, P., 1991, A Survey of Grimspound, Manaton Parish, Devon (Report - Survey). SDV304224.

Survey by the Royal Commission for Historical Monuments in England (for main detail see monument record 6641).

Butler, J., 1991, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume One - The East, 143-145 (Monograph). SDV299725.

Prehistoric settlement largely undisturbed excavated by the Dartmoor Exploration Committee in 1894 and 1895. Enclosure probably occupied in the centuries around 1300 BC.

Dartmoor National Park Authority, 1993 - 2003, Untitled Source (Ground Photograph). SDV344953.

Ground photographs from site visits between 1993 and 2003.

Griffith, F. M., 1994, DAP/XJ, 13, 14 (Aerial Photograph). SDV319180.

Pattison, P. + Fletcher, M., 1994, Grimspound, one hundred years on, 21-34 (Article in Serial). SDV304179.

Ancient Monuments, 1995, Grimspound (Site Visit). SDV304184.

Immediately south east of the enclosure at least nine stone hut circles survive together with lengths of field boundary wall and distinct areas from which stone has been cleared. The stone hut circles within this area are all linked to rubble banks forming part of a field system. Eight of the huts are circular in shape and their interiors vary between 3.2 meters and 5.3 meters in diameter, with the average being 4.16 meters. The interior of the remaining building is oval, measures 3.0 meters long by 2.5 meters wide and is surrounded by a 1.3 meter wide wall standing up to 0.5 meters high. One hut has a visible doorway and two are conjoined. The boundary banks linking the hut circles survive as rubble banks averaging 1.2 meters wide and 0.4 meters high. Together they form at least four discrete partly enclosed areas of fields. In addition to those areas defined by the rubble banks there are a number of areas from which surface stone has been cleared, presumably to facilitate cultivation.
Field evidence for reuse of the settlement is provided by two small catches. The first is built against the inner face of the south western circuit of the enclosure wall and survives as a 1.5 meter wide and 0.4 meter high dry stone wall on three sides, the fourth side being formed by the enclosure wall. The interior of the structure is rectangular in shape and measures 1.3 meters long by 1.2 meters wide. The second cache is built within the eastern length of the enclosure wall and survives as a 1.4 meter long, 1.1 meter wide and 1.3 meter deep oval shaped hollow created by removing stones from the core of the enclosure wall. The size of these structures suggests that they were probably used for storage purposes rather than as shelters.

Department of National Heritage, 1995, Scheduled Monument Consent Letter (Correspondence). SDV321020.

Scheduled monument consent granted for works concerning erosion repairs.

Department of National Heritage, 1996, Scheduled Monument Consent Letter (Correspondence). SDV321022.

SMC granted for works concerning erosion repairs and consolidation of huts 3 + 20 (see subsheets).

Craddock, P. T. + Craddock, B. R., 1996, The Beginnings of Metallurgy in South West Britain: Hypotheses and Evidence, 52-63 (Article in Serial). SDV304190.

Grimspound may have been associated with tin working on Challacombe Down (sx68se/74). Many of the small tin workings on Dartmoor are in the vicinity of hut circles. Other details: Mining History: Bulletins PDMHS.

Gerrard, S., 1997, Book of Dartmoor: Landscapes Through Time, 14, 38, 40, 49, 51, 122 (Monograph). SDV337813.

Additional source including plans of some of the huts from Grimspound.

Department of National Heritage, 1997, Scheduled Monument Consent Letter (Correspondence). SDV307256.

SMC granted for works concerning erosion repairs and the consolidation of hut No 7.

DCMS, 1998, Untitled Source (Correspondence). SDV304188.

Scheduled monument consent granted for works concerning erosion repairs and building stabilisation.

Griffiths, D. M., 1999, Untitled Source (Report - Survey). SDV304189.

Erosion repair to north-east section of huts 11 and 12 and between hut 3 and the east breach. Damaged turf on the north-west side of wall of hut 3 repaired, as was damage to gullies inside and outside the east breach. Gully outside south-east entrance re-dug and stone placed over a section of gully to form bridge.

DCMS, 2004, Untitled Source (Correspondence). SDV321031.

SMC granted for works concerning a five year programme of management works including erosion repairs.

Dartmoor National Park + English Heritage, 2008, Grimspound: A Prehistoric Settlement, 1-24 (Leaflet). SDV344709.

Prehistoric enclosed settlement with a substantial granite surrounding wall, containing 24 hut circles, as well as several ‘pens’ built into the enclosure wall. First planned by A. C. Shillibeer in 1829, this site was excavated by the Dartmoor Exploration Committee in 1894-5. A total of 20 round houses were excavated, 13 of which were revealed to have been used as dwellings; with hearth stones found in 11 houses and cooking pits excavated in a total of 8 houses. Excavation was extremely swift, with the average round house taking just one day to excavate. These round houses were small by Dartmoor standards, measuring between 2.4 meters and 3.5 meters in diameter. Most of the houses are concentrated in the southern and central areas of the enclosure and generally tend to have their entrances facing towards the south west. The style of construction of the houses varies; some are simple constructions of a single ring of stones placed vertically, while others consist of a double wall of granite filled with smaller stones. The house walls would have originally stood to around a meter in height and the timber-supported roofs would have been thatched with straw, heather or gorse material.
The sighting of the settlement seems to have deliberately included Grims Lake, the small stream which runs through the north of the site. Sections of the wall as well as a number of the round houses were partially reconstructed by the Dartmoor Exploration Committee following their excavations; a good example of which is round house three. The settlement was probably occupied by livestock farmers who used the surrounding area to graze their animals, perhaps seasonally during the summer months. The enclosure wall may have helped to contain and protect the livestock if necessary. An alternative interpretation of the site could indicate a ritual or social significance, due to the small-sized house, the inclusion of Grims Lake and the site’s proximity to the large summit barrows on Hamel Down.

Ordnance Survey, 2010, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV344030.

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

Grimspound, a partially enclosed prehistoric settlement with field system and two post medieval caches between Hookney Tor and Hameldown Tor.
Grimspound prehistoric enclosed settlement survives well and is the most visited of all archaeological monuments on the Moor. The excavations carried out at Grimspound by the Dartmoor Exploration Committee in 1894, represent the starting point of the first concerted academic attempt to examine Dartmoor's archaeology. These excavations, however, were only partial and therefore archaeological and environmental information still survives. The stone hut circles, field system and clearance areas lying outside the enclosure survive comparatively well and form an integral part of this prehistoric settlement.
This monument includes a partly enclosed stone hut circle settlement and field system and two post-medieval caches situated below the crest of a saddle between Hameldown Tor and Hookney Tor overlooking the valley of the West Webburn River. The enclosure, which is known as Grimspound, survives as a stone and earth wall measuring between 2.5m and 3.5m wide, standing up to 1.25m high, surrounding an internal ovoid area of 1.45ha, containing at least 24 stone hut circles, several lynchets and rubble banks. The original enclosure entrance cuts through the south eastern side of the surrounding wall and survives as a 2m wide gap flanked by walls standing up to 2m high. The northern side wall is a continuous face formed by two massive edge set slabs, with a boulder balanced on top and coursed walling of smaller stones to each side of the slabs. The southern face survives as large horizontally laid slabs. The entrance was reconstructed following an excavation by the Dartmoor Exploration Committee in 1894. The ground within the entrance passage and the area immediately outside is roughly paved. The 1894 excavations carried out within the entrance revealed three steps in the paving leading down to the lower interior. Two other breaches in the enclosure wall are probably not original features and instead relate to the bridle path which cuts through the enclosure. The enclosure appears to have been sited to take advantage of the Grim's Lake stream which flows through the northern part of the enclosure and which was allowed access through a purpose built culvert. Within the enclosure, 24 stone hut circles are visible and include banks of stone and earth each surrounding a circular or oval internal area. These may be later in date than the enclosure. Twenty of the stone circles are circular in shape and their internal diameter varies between 2m and 5m with the average being 3.17m. The remaining huts are oval in shape and their internal dimensions varies between 4.9m and 2.8m long by 4.2m and 2m wide. The height of all the surrounding walls varies between 0.2m and 0.9m with the average being 0.57m. Sixteen of the huts were partly excavated by the Dartmoor Exploration Committee in 1894. This work revealed a variety of features, structures and artefacts including: porches; doorways; raised benches; paved floors; hearths; cooking holes; charcoal; anvil stones; pottery; flint flakes; flint scrapers and cooking stones. Following the excavation the huts were partly restored using the debris removed from the buildings. In addition to the 24 stone hut circles, low rubble banks defining at least four small internal paddocks or garden plots survive against the western wall of the enclosure. Whilst these clearly postdate the enclosure wall, it is likely that they are contemporary with the settlement. A small number of lynchets also survive within the enclosure and may represent the remains of stock control boundaries. Immediately south east of the enclosure at least nine stone hut circles survive together with lengths of field boundary wall and distinct areas from which stone has been cleared. The stone hut circles within this area are all linked to rubble banks forming part of a field system. Eight of the huts are circular in shape and their interior's vary between 3.2m and 5.3m in diameter, with the average being 4.16m. The interior of the remaining building is oval, measures 3m long by 2.5m wide and is surrounded by a 1.3m wide wall standing up to 0.5m high. One hut has a visible doorway and two are conjoined. The boundary banks linking the hut circles survive as rubble banks averaging 1.2m wide and 0.4m high. Together they form at least four discrete partly enclosed areas or fields. In addition to those areas defined by the rubble banks there are a number of areas from which surface stone has been cleared, presumably to facilitate cultivation. Field evidence for reuse of the settlement is provided by two small caches. The first is built against the inner face of the south western circuit of the enclosure wall and survives as a 1.5m wide and 0.4m high drystone wall on three sides, the fourth side being formed by the enclosure wall. The interior of the structure is rectangular in shape and measures 1.3m long by 1.2m wide. The second cache is built within the eastern length of the enclosure wall and survives as a 1.4m long, 1.1m wide and 1.3m deep oval shaped hollow created by removing stones from the core of the enclosure wall. The size of these structures suggests that they were probably used for storage purposes rather than as shelters.

Historic England, 2021-2022, NRHE to HER website, Accessed 22/06/2021 (Website). SDV364039.

Grimspound was surveyed by staff of the Exeter Office of RCHME in 1991. The following is a summary of the detailed archive report: Grimspound is situated on high unenclosed moorland between 445m and 465m above OD. It lies on a gentle to moderate west-facing slope, below the crest of a saddle between Hameldown Tor and Hookney Tor. Some 350m to the east lies the source of Grims Lake, a seasonal stream which flows westwards into the enclosure at its NE corner, leaving under the wall at the NW corner. The inclusion of the stream within the enclosure has been viewed as deliberate (6) and is a feature of many prehistoric enclosures on Dartmoor.
Grimspound was the subject of antiquarian discussion in the later 18th and 19th centuries. The first known record was by Polwhele (1797) in 1797, who regarded it as a religious site, probably of the druids. JP Jones (1823, c.1830: The Historical and Monumental Antiquities of Devonshire, c.1830 (Bodleian Library Ms top Devon 1, folio 104) (JP Jones)) described the site, and a fine survey was made about 6 years later by Shilibeer (Plan of Grimspound (in West Country Studies Library, Exeter) 1829 (AC Shillibeer)); the most detailed until the 1991 RCHME survey. Shillibeer was apparently commissioned by Thomas Northmore, who had been studying the site and its environs along with the Reverend James Holman Mason in the 1820s. According to Fleming (1988), they seem to have carried out some restoration works, but the references given by Fleming are spurious and no other record has been found. Discussion continued with Rowe (TDA, 1830, 194-5, Perambulation, 1848, 59-60), Wilkinson (Journal of the British Archaeological Association, 17, 1861, page 5, & Journal of the British Archaeological Association, 18, 1862, pages 117-9), and Ormerod (Journal of the British Archaeological Association, 20, 1864, pages 299-308); all essentially of a descriptive nature. Subsequently, Ormerod (TDA, 5, 1872, pages 41-6) wrote a more analytical essay in which he explored the purpose of Grimspound, deciding on a pastoral enclosure for the shelter of cattle and their herdsman. Spence-Bate (Journal of the Plymouth Institute, pages 36-53) gives a good description in an otherwise fanciful paper.
The most significant investigation at Grimspound was carried out by the Dartmoor Exploration Committee of the Devonshire Association in the last decade of the 19th century (6,20). In the 1960s, following a spate of vandalism, restoration work was undertaken on the SE entrance, parts of the enclosure wall and a number of the hut circles, under the direction of Lady Fox (DAS Newsletters, 1963/1964).
A barbed and tanged arrowhead, with Breton parallels, was found near the south-east entrance in 1957 (TDA, 90, 1958, pages 219) and a petit-tranchet derivative flint arrowhead was found 12 years later, just outside the south-eastern entrance on the path to Hameldown Tor (Barber, TDA, 104, 1972, pages 236).
The enclosure originally comprised a stone wall surrounding an ovoid area of c1.45 hectares (3.59 acres). The wall is faced internally and externally with large granite slabs and blocks, set usually in rough horizontal courses but occasionally orthostatically. The faces survive intermittently among a massive, jumbled bank of stone which is a product of collapse and erosion of the original structure. Where both faces are extant, the wall varies in width between 2.5m and 3.5m. The original height is unknown but it survives in places up to 1.25m, in 5 courses. At the north-east corner large stones set on edge, transversely to the wall line, are just discernible in the general tumble. They define a probable culvert, 1.4 to 1.8m wide, which channelled Grims Lake under the wall. Today, however, most water runs under the wall some 3.5m to the east.
Collapse and erosion of the wall has produced a stony bank, spread between 5m and 8.5m at base. During the RCHME survey two small shelters were identified which post-date the enclosure wall. The original entrance to Grimspound lies on the south-east. It was not mentioned by Jones (JP Jones, 1823 & c.1830) but was noted as the "supposed entrance" on Shillibeer's survey of 1829 (1829 plan). The entrance was exposed in 1894, when it was "much encumbered with fallen stones, which the Committee proceeded to clear out, when the entire entrance was revealed in its original condition, paved throughout, and with steps in the floor" (TDA, 26, 1894, pages 101-2). Large areas of the interior, particularly the NW and NE parts, are devoid of visible features. However, the excavation of an entire enclosure of similar form on Shaugh Moor (PPS, 46, 1980, pages 65-122) has shown that buried ephemeral structures may be present. The 24 hut-circles occupying the central and southern area are positioned without any detectable overall pattern. A number are close together, some paired, and there is one group of three. Only one is visibly connected to the perimeter wall. In 1894 16 were excavated. The remaining 8 were partially investigated but not necessarily dug. The 1894 report (TDA, 26, 1894, pages 101-2) reveals that only the interiors were explored. The method and speed of the excavations probably precluded the discovery of slighter features such as post and stake holes, drains etc which are often revealed in modern excavations. Those features uncovered pointed to domestic occupation in several hut circles, e.g. raised stone ‘benches', hearths, ‘cooking hollows', frequent charcoal and ash deposits, and flat stones in some hut circles which may have been ‘anvil stones' for working on, or padstones for supporting a vertical timber roof. Several hut circles were thought to be cattle pens or store houses because the interiors appeared devoid of features. Modern excavation might reveal more subtle features which could amend this interpretation. Recent excavations at other sites have demonstrated that hut circles often have a complex, multi-phase history. Evidence for this probably still survives inside some of the excavated hut circles whose retrieval might refine the 19th century interpretations. Parts of 5 walled pens are built against the interior face of the enclosure on the W. When complete they may have formed a series of irregular, semi-circular enclosures. All are defined by low banks, averaging 1.8m in width and 0.5m in height, composed of small or medium size stones and earth. The function of these pens is not known but it has been suggested that they were animal pens (TDA, 27, 1895, pages 82-3). It is possible that they are of post-prehistoric date.
There is some serious erosion on the approaches to, and within, the site. It is caused by visitors, walkers and horses wearing away the vegetation cover, allowing rainwater to wash away both topsoil and subsoil layers. (RCHME, March 1991) SX 70078087.
Grimspound, a partially enclosed prehistoric hut circle settlement with field system and two post medieval caches. Scheduled. (07/08/1996, Scheduled Monument notification)
Additional source: English Heritage (editor: Katy Carter), 2004, ‘Heritage Unlocked: Guide to free sites in Devon, Dorset and Somerset’, 14-15

Cunis, E, 2023, Images of hut circle, Grimspound (Personal Comment). SDV365549.

(03/07/2023) Condition photograph taken of hut circle in the settlement at Grimspound showing a fallen wall stone inside one of the huts. Image taken from approximately SX 7007 8087.

Cambridge University Collection, 23/06/1952, DAP/HR, 80-83 (Aerial Photograph). SDV304220.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV1013 - Survey of Grimspound
• EDV4823 - Erosion repairs at Grimspound
• EDV4824 - Repairs at Grimspound
• EDV8613 - Excavation at Grimspound Settlement
• EDV8658 - Challacombe, Duchy Farms Survey

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