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Summary

One of five bowl barrows forming a round barrow cemetery on the edge of Welsford Moor, to the south of Higher Welsford. A semi-circular mound is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs between 1946 and 1978 and as a cropmark on aerial photographs taken in 1999. The western part of the barrow is likely to have been levelled during the creation of the field boundary, and cultivation since 1978 is highly likely to have levelled or reduced the height of the earthwork.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1019085: Round barrow cemetery 920m south west of Higher Welsford

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SS22SE/21
• Old SAM Ref: 32238
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SS22SE6(B)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• BOWL BARROW (Bronze Age - 2200 BC to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1906, 27NE (Cartographic). SDV335712.

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/3G/TUD/UK/158, DCC RAF/3G/TUD/UK/158 5121-5122 19-APR-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349143.

A roughly semi-circular area of darker vegetation is visible. Map object partly based on this source.

Ministry of Works, 1953, Three Barrows west of Welsford Moor (Schedule Document). SDV343728.

Fourth barrow shown on the moor on Ordnance Survey 6 inch map has been levelled and only the site of it is apparent. Not scheduled.

Grinsell, L. V., 1970, The Barrows of North Devon, 120 (Article in Serial). SDV7849.

Visited on 5th April 1969. Diameter 28 paces, height 2.5 feet.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1977 - 1978, SS22SE6 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV340142.

Visited on 6th December 1978. Barrow B. The remains of a probable platform barrow, the north-west half of which has been dug away for hedge construction. Its original diameter was perhaps 26 metres, as it now is from north-east to south-west, with a flat top 18 metres across. From north-west to south-east it measures 15 metres, and is 0.6 metres high with no visible ditch.

Ordnance Survey, 1978, OS/78038, NMR OS/78038 242-243 10-MAY-1978 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349082.

A roughly semi-circular mound is visible as an earthwork, with vegetation growth visible on the mound.

Devon Committee for Rescue Archaeology, 1979 - 1981, North Devon Barrow Survey, DCRA ND31 (Archive - Survey). SDV341310.

Visited on 8th November 1979. Diameter 26 metres, unable to gauge height due to ploughing. Crossed by hedge and ditch on west side (hedge runs south-west/north-east). Deep ploughing on east side has just avoided remainder of barrow, but damage has been done and at next ploughing barrow is likely to disappear. Not scheduled, and was not the most spectacular site of the group, but life expectancy cannot be very long if reclamation programme continues. A sorry state.

Bayer, O. J., 1996, Barrows in the Torridge District of North West Devon: A Study in Distribution and Location, Hartland 4 (Undergraduate Dissertation). SDV319515.

GetMapping, 1999, 089/99, DCC GM/089/99 0255-0256 24-JUL-1999 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349037.

A roughy semi-circular dark green cropmark is visible.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 1999, Round Barrow Cemetery 920 Metres South-west of Higher Welsford (Schedule Document). SDV340145.

One of a group of five bowl barrows arranged in two pairs with a single outlier, forming a round barrow cemetery on a high upland ridge known as Welsford Moor, 920 metres south-west of Higher Welsford. Within the southernmost pair the eastern mound measures 29.7 metres in diameter and 0.8 metres high. The barrow's ditch, circa 3 metres wide, is crossed by a ditched field boundary with stock proof fences.

Collings, A. G. + Manning, P. T. + Valentin, J., 2007, The North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Phase 1. Archaeological Survey. Summary Report, No. 581 (Report - Assessment). SDV339712.

One of five barrows 920 metres south-west of Higher Welsford. Within the southernmost pair the western mound is 24 metres in diameter and 0.5 metres high (in 1999). Much ploughed. Quarry ditch survives as buried feature circa 3 metres wide.

English Heritage, 2009, Heritage at Risk Register 2009: South West, 115 (Report - non-specific). SDV342694.

Generally unsatisfactory with major localised problems. Principal vulnerability arable ploughing.

English Heritage, 2010, Heritage at Risk Register 2010: South West, 108 (Report - non-specific). SDV344777.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S., 2011 - 2012, North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV349018.

A semi-circular mound is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs between 1946 and 1978 and as a cropmark on aerial photographs taken in 1999. The western part of the barrow is likely to have been levelled during the creation of the field boundary, and cultivation since 1978 is highly likely to have levelled or reduced the height of the earthwork.

Ordnance Survey, 2014, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV355681.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV319515	Undergraduate Dissertation: Bayer, O. J.. 1996. Barrows in the Torridge District of North West Devon: A Study in Distribution and Location. University of Leicester Dissertation. A4 Stapled + Digital. Hartland 4.
SDV335712	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1906. 27NE. Second Edition Ordnance Survey 6 inch Map. Map (Paper).
SDV339712	Report - Assessment: Collings, A. G. + Manning, P. T. + Valentin, J.. 2007. The North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Phase 1. Archaeological Survey. Summary Report. Exeter Archaeology Report. 06.22 (rev.1). A4 Stapled + Digital. No. 581.
SDV340142	Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card: Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division. 1977 - 1978. SS22SE6. Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card. Card Index.
SDV340145	Schedule Document: Department for Culture, Media and Sport. 1999. Round Barrow Cemetery 920 Metres South-west of Higher Welsford. The Schedule of Monuments. A4 Stapled.
SDV341310	Archive - Survey: Devon Committee for Rescue Archaeology. 1979 - 1981. North Devon Barrow Survey. Devon Barrow Survey. Digital + Mixed Archive Material. DCRA ND31.
SDV342694	Report - non-specific: English Heritage. 2009. Heritage at Risk Register 2009: South West. English Heritage Report. A4 Bound +Digital. 115.
SDV343728	Schedule Document: Ministry of Works. 1953. Three Barrows west of Welsford Moor. The Schedule of Monuments. Foolscap.
SDV344777	Report - non-specific: English Heritage. 2010. Heritage at Risk Register 2010: South West. English Heritage Report. Digital. 108.
SDV349018	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S.. 2011 - 2012. North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. ACD383/2/1. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV349037	Aerial Photograph: GetMapping. 1999. 089/99. GetMapping Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). DCC GM/089/99 0255-0256 24-JUL-1999.
SDV349082	Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 1978. OS/78038. Ordnance Survey Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). NMR OS/78038 242-243 10-MAY-1978.
SDV349143	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. RAF/3G/TUD/UK/158. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). DCC RAF/3G/TUD/UK/158 5121-5122 19-APR-1946.
SDV355681	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 2014. MasterMap. Ordnance Survey Digital Mapping. Digital. [Mapped feature: #99668 ]
SDV7849	Article in Serial: Grinsell, L. V.. 1970. The Barrows of North Devon. Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society. 28. A5 Paperback. 120.

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6132 - North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty NMP Project
• EDV4415 - Devon Barrow Survey

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