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Summary

Five hut circles and a crude stony platform lie within two partially preserved prehistoric enclosures on the moderate N facing slope above the left bank of the River Plym. With one exception all the huts are terraced into the hillside and none possess identifiable entrances.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1012297: Enclosure with hut circles west of Plym Steps

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX66NW17
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 441614
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX66NW/35
• Old SAM County Ref: 501
• Old SAM Ref: 10687

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1904 - 1906, Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map, 135NE (Cartographic). SDV325644.

Royal Air Force, 1948, RAF/CPE/UK/2494, 4127 (Aerial Photograph). SDV147533.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1950/1978, SX66NW17 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV152697.

(20/11/1950) Remains of an enclosure and hut circles. The walls of the enclosure are composed of turf-covered stones and is rather fragmentary (barely a few inches high). The enclosure has been divided by the construction of a modern leat in its northern half - the enclosure wall to the north of this leat has disappeared. The enclosure is 87.0m wide north and south, and 91.0m to the east and west.
Hut circle A. A vague hut circle, 6.5m in diameter - wall is composed of turf-covered stones. (North-west hut of the group of four on the plan)
Hut circle B. Diameter 4.5m, wall is composed of fairly large stones and is somewhat scattered about. (South-west hut of the group of four on the plan)
Hut circle C. Diameter 7.5m, composed of gorse-covered stones. Wall is 0.3m high. (North-east hut of the group of four on the plan)
Hut circle D. The remains of a hut circle measuring 5.0m in diameter, composed of turf-covered stones. (South-east hut of the group of four on the plan)
Hut circle E. This hut circle is rather fragmentary and the approximate diameter is 4.5m. (Hut to the extreme south-east on the plan)
No entrances to these hut circles were seen. Other details: Plan.
(11/09/1978) A settlement comprising five huts enclosed by low walling of piled stones, generally 0.3m. high with an occasional slab orthostat up to 0.6m. high. Originally it was probably oval and about 90.0m. east to west and 100.0m. north to south but the northern and lower part has been destroyed or overlaid partly by the construction of a leat and partly by peat growth and hillwash.
The five hut circles are all in very poor condition, levelled into the hillslope, and from 2.5m. to 5.0m. internal diameter with turf covered walling up to 1.0m. thick and 0.4m. high. All may be type 1 huts though it is difficult to determine their construction (Type site SX 56 SE 19).
Surveyed at 1:10 000 on PFD.

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

Fragment of an enclosure, in poor condition and cut by a leat and streamwork, visible with two hut circles inside it. Area covered is approximately 0.8 hectares.

Department of Environment, 1991, Enclosure with hut circles west of Plym Steps (Schedule Document). SDV152696.

This enclosure lies on a north-east facing slope above the confluence of the River Plym and Langcombe Brook, west of Plym Steps. It consists of an ovoid enclosure which measures 87.0 meters north to south and 91.0 meters east to west, defined by a bank of earth and stone up to 0.3 meters in height and 2.0 meters in width. Within it there are four huts, ranging from 6.0 meters to 10.0 meters in diameter with walls up to 2.0 meters in width and 0.6 meters in height. One hut is attached to the southern wall, the others are free-standing. The enclosure is crossed by a disused leat.

Butler, J., 1994, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Three - The South-West, 131-2, Map 49, Figure 49.15 (Monograph). SDV137656.

Langcombe Foot west is a squarish enclosure on the north facing slopes at the junction of the Langcombe Brook and the River Plym. The walls are up to 0.3 metres high but barely visible. One north-eastern section is completely buried. There may have been an ancillary building to the south-east indicated by a single line of mainly flat slabs. There are four overgrown hut circles within the enclosure and a pair of small buildings on the south-east side. A small hut is attached by a spur wall to the north-east side of the enclosure just north of the 'leat'.

Robertson, J. G., 1994, The Archaeology of the Upper Plym Valley (Post-Graduate Thesis). SDV139549.

Fragmentary enclosure and six hut circles depicted and described by Robertson.

Probert, S. A. J. + Fletcher, M. J., 2002, Plym Valley survey (Report - Survey). SDV350782.

(13/02/2002) Centred SX 60136713. Five hut circles and a crude stony platform lie within two partially preserved prehistoric enclosures on the moderate N facing slope above the left bank of the River Plym. With one exception all the huts are terraced into the hillside and none possess identifiable entrances.
SX 60136112. A disturbed hut circle originally around 4.6m in internal diameter with walls 1.1m wide and 0.4m high. This feature is bisected by a later wall/bank which serves no obvious function.
SX 60116712. A bracken covered hut circle 3.2m in internal diameter with walls 0.9m wide and 0.3m high.
SX 60126713. A hut circle measuring 5.5m N to S by 4.8m internally with walls 0.9m wide and 0.6m high.
SX 60106714. A disturbed hut circle measuring 4.4m in diameter with walls 1.0m wide and 0.5m high.
SX 60156718. A hut circle on the N fringe of the site just above the later tin working remains that flank the Plym. Measuring 3.2m in internal diameter this structure has walls 1.0m wide and 0.3m high.
SX 60146707. A crude stony platform in the S corner of the larger enclosure. Measuring 5.6m N to S by 3.6m this feature does not possess walls.
A further hut circle depicted by Butler built into the SE enclosure wall cannot be identified on the ground.
These features lie within two, possibly three, contemporary enclosures covering an area measuring 120m N to S by 112m. They are bounded by stony banks around 1.5m wide and several scarps up to 0.4m high.

Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC, 2015-2017, 2015-2017 Aerial Photographs (Aerial Photograph). SDV361462.

Enclosure and hut circles visible on aerial photograph.

Historic England, 2021, National Heritage List for England, 1012297 (National Heritage List for England). SDV364016.

Enclosure with hut circles west of Plym Steps. This enclosure lies on a north-east facing slope above the confluence of the River Plym and Langcombe Brook. It consists of an ovoid enclosure which measures 87 metres north to south and 91 metres east to west, defined by a bank of earth and stone up to 0.3 metres in height and 2 metres in width. Within it there are four huts, ranging from 6 metres to 10 metres in diameter with walls up to 2 metres in width and 0.6 metres in height. One hut is attached to the southern wall, the others are free-standing. The enclosure is crossed by a disused leat.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8148 - The Upper Plym Valley: The Management of an Historic Landscape

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