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Summary

Hound Tor 1. Deserted Medieval village comprising substantial well-preserved remains of eleven stone-built structures, including four large longhouses with associated smaller buildings and three corn-drying barns. The site, which was excavated in the 1960s, is managed by Dartmoor National Park Authority on behalf of English Heritage.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1016255: Prehistoric and medieval settlements and their field systems at Hound Tor

Other References/Statuses

• Guardianship Monument: 269
• National Monuments Record: SX77NW30
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 445104
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX77NW/7
• Old SAM County Ref: 601
• Old SAM Ref: 28786

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• DESERTED SETTLEMENT (Constructed, VIII to XIV - 701 AD? (Between) to 1366 AD (Between)) + Sci.Date
• FARMSTEAD (Constructed, XI to XIV - 1066 AD (Between) to 1366 AD (Between))

Full description

Reichel, O. J., 1914, The Hundred of Tavistock in Early Times, 223, 225 (Article in Serial). SDV8646.

Houndtor appears in the "Charta" of Tavistock Abbey (1166), and the Testa de Nevil (1241) under the fees of the Abbot of Tavistock.

Gover, J. E. B. + Mawer, A. + Stenton, F. M., 1932, The Place-Names of Devon: Part Two, 482 (Monograph). SDV337894.

Houndtor is mentioned at 'Hundatora' in 1086, as 'Hundetorre' in 1238 and as 'Houndetorre' in 1438.

Ordnance Survey, 1960, SX77NW30 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV307241.

Village situated in sheltered valley with 3 springs on lower ground to northeast. Fields to the west of the site appear to be contemporary with settlement. Some traces of lynchetting are visible on their lower side.

Royal Air Force, 1961, 58/4424, F42.0108 (Aerial Photograph). SDV280247.

Minter, E. M., 1962-1963, Interim Reports and Plan, 341-343, Fig. 102 (Article in Serial). SDV307242.

Minter, E. M., 1964, Interim Report and Plan, 282-283, Figs. 90, 91 (Article in Serial). SDV307261.

Minter, E. M., 1965, Interim Report, 210-211 (Article in Serial). SDV307266.

Linehan, C. D., 1966, Deserted Sites and Rabbit-Warrens on Dartmoor, Devon, 119 (Article in Serial). SDV307246.

Houndtor i: 11 buildings with enclosures. Other details: Table 2.

Ancient Monuments, 1966, Hound Tor (Schedule Document). SDV307240.

Houndtor. Site of deserted medieval village. Typical moorland granite site - substantial remains of 8 peasant houses and 3 corn drying barns set in rectangular crofts with roadways between. The site is being completely excavated by Mrs. E. M. Minter. Site intact, under grass and bracken.

Minter, E. M., 1966, Interim Report and Plan, 210 (Article in Serial). SDV307267.

Cambridge University Collection, 1971, BFF 50 (Aerial Photograph). SDV307270.

Minter, E. M., 1972-1973, Eleven Years of Archaeological Work on Dartmoor, 112-117, Part iii, Plan, Plate (Article in Serial). SDV307263.

On the east facing slope of Hound Tor are the remains of shielings constructed in the 10th century for use during the summering of cattle on the tor. These small huts, dug into the ground along the contour, were 12 feet long and rounded at the south end where the greatest width was 7 feet 6 inches. The seasonal use of the site appeared to be of short duration, and soon after abandonment, the establishment of a permanent settlement followed. Under the stone-walled remains of the 13th century village was an earlier period of occupation of turf-walled buildings. These buildings passed through three phases, until in the last decade of the 12th century they were replaced by stone-wall buildings, which varied from 25 to 59 feet in length and 12 to 14 feet in width.
On the east side of the village was the manor house, a large two-roomed building. In addition there were three small single-roomed houses and four two-roomed houses. On the north side of the village were corn-drying barns. Pottery was found in quantity in three houses and was of 12/13th century date. There is little doubt that this site is the Domesday village of Hundatora, held by Tavistock Abbey (Devon Domesday 244.) (See also Houndtor II, SX 77 NW 63). (2-3)

Hall, J. + Hamlin, A., 1976, Deserted Medieval Settlements in Devon, 5 (Article in Serial). SDV38836.

As above. Visually one of the best sites in England.

Beresford, G., 1979, Three Deserted Medieval Settlements on Dartmoor: a Report on the Late E. Marie Minter's Excavations, 98-158 (Article in Serial). SDV307264.

The full report on the excavation is published by Guy Beresford in Medieval Archaeology. In its final phase, the site consisted of a "manorial enclosure", containing gardens and a paddock, with a three-roomed longhouse, an associated cott (perhaps originally a corn-drying barn), and two barns. Both barns had earlier been dwellings. Outside the manorial enclosure lay 2 longhouses and two smaller houses. There were also 3 corn drying kilns, possibly of the 14th century. The change of function of some buildings may reflect climatic deterioration and gradual desertion of the site, which was complete by the mid 14th century. The site may date back in origin to c700-800.

NMR, 1980, SF1746/210 (Aerial Photograph). SDV307276.

Beresford, G., 1981, Medieval Villages in Britain, 30-35 (Article in Monograph). SDV307247.

Beresford reviews the archaeology of the site. He suggests that transhumance was followed by settlement. He attributes the failure of the settlement to the worsening climate - evidenced by the construction of the corn driers. Footrot, lungworm and murrain also contributed to the causes for desertion. Hutholes failed for a similar reason. Desertion was gradual, as some farmers soldiered on for longer than others.

Austin, D. + Walker, M. D. C., 1985, A New Landscape Context for Houndtor, Devon, 147-152 (Article in Serial). SDV307251.

Austin and Walker describe further work to reinforce the doubts given by Austin.
Peat samples taken from a bog immediately to the north west of the excavated settlement have indicated a phase of cereal cultivation in the medieval period. It is suggested that the inception of peat growth followed, and was partially caused by, this cultivation episode. Radiocarbon dates from the peat profile give 1220+-70 (uncalibrated) from near the base of the peat, and 1560+-80 (uncalibrated) later than the cultivation episode. The interpretation of the site as an extension of the demesne activity centred at Great Houndtor is restated.

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

Visible and recorded.

Griffith, F. M., 1985, DAP/EO, 1, 1a, 2, 3 (Aerial Photograph). SDV307278.

Austin, D., 1985, Dartmoor and the Upland Village of the South West, 71-79 (Article in Monograph). SDV217979.

Austin casts doubt on the interpretation of the site, discounting the 'turf buildings' and suggesting a 12th century date for its foundation. Similar south-western sites are discussed.

Griffith, F., 1988, Devon's Past. An Aerial View, 79 (Monograph). SDV64198.

The hamlet at Houndtor is a good example of a deserted site on Dartmoor. Houndtor hamlet exhibits a group of at least four farmsteads, of which the one in the foreground appears to be the most substantial. The houses are 'longhouses' and the farms have ancillary structures in the form of barns and lesser outbuildings. Corn-drying ovens can still be seen in some of the barns. The hamlet was extensively excavated in the 1960s by Mrs E. M. Minter.

Beresford, G., 1988, Three Deserted Medieval Settlements on Dartmoor. A Comment on David Austin's Reinterpretation, 175-183 (Article in Serial). SDV307253.

Beresford questions Austin and Walker on the grounds that their peat sample may have been taken from an area of accumulation owing to general occupational activity, rather than cultivation. He further questions the interpretation of the site as an extension of demesne activity, citing lack of secure evidence of early settlement.

Griffith, F. M., 1989, DAP/LU, 3-6 (Aerial Photograph). SDV307285.

Griffith, F. M., 1989, DAP/OX, 3 (Aerial Photograph). SDV307286.

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

Griffith, F. M., 1994, DAP/XK, 1, 2 (Aerial Photograph). SDV307288.

Henderson, C. G. + Weddell, P. J., 1994, Medieval Settlements on Dartmoor and in West Devon: the evidence from excavations, 119-140 (Article in Monograph). SDV344633.

Houndtor 1 is the largest site excavated by Mrs Minter, a loose assemblage of eleven stone-built structures; four longhouses and seven secondary buildings positioned within an irregular complex of enclosures and trackways, with a sunken roadway passing through it and associated field system. Henderson and Weddell question the existence of the earlier sunken floor buildings and turf structures, more satisfied with Austin’s interpretation of the stake holes at the site (1985). Discussion of the characteristic features of the longhouses on the site, including the types of drainage utilised in both the upper living areas, and also to drain the byre where cattle were kept. Scatters of stakeholes in the byre end of the longhouses identified as marking the positions of tethering stakes. Comparing the capacity of the barns and size of byres, the suthors propose that the four main farmsteads at Houndtor would have worked arable holdings of around the same size, supporting the theory that building 3 was of no higher status than the other longhouses.

Newman, P. + Probert, S. + Riley, H., 1994/1995, Houndtor Down, Manaton, Devon - A New Survey by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England., P. Newman (Report - Survey). SDV344628.

(06/02/1995) Houndtor settlement, centred SX 746788, lies on a southeast-facing slope between Hound Tor and Greator Rock, at a height of some 330m OD. The settlement comprises eleven ruined buildings, all oriented southwest to northeast. It includes four longhouses, four other buildings, possibly lower status dwellings or outbuildings, and three barns with grain driers. Three of the longhouses have an adjacent croft consisting of a small plot enclosed by ruined boundary walls. All the buildings were archaeologically excavated in the early 1960s (Beresford 1979, 98-158), though not systematically backfilled. As a result most of the walls are visible to floor level, and many turf-covered spoil heaps remain in place around the site. The walls of all the buildings are constructed from moorstone and stand to a maximum height of approximately 1.2m, though many are lower, with wall thickness varying between 0.4m and 0.7m. Several of the interior features exposed during excavation and described by Beresford (1979) are still visible. (For further details see NRHE archive).

Gerrard, S., 1995, Hound Tor (Site Visit). SDV307257.

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

Scheduled Monument Consent granted in respect of proposed works concerning erosion and wall repairs.

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

Scheduled Monument Consent granted in respect of works concerning erosion repairs and masonry construction.

Gerrard, S., 1997, Book of Dartmoor: Landscapes Through Time, 17, 71-2, 73, 122 (Monograph). SDV337813.

Additional source, including some plans and artists reconstructions.

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

Scheduled Monument Consent granted for management works; erosion repair and masonry consolidation.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2000, Scheduled Monument Consent Letter (Correspondence). SDV307258.

Scheduled Monument Consent granted, subject to conditions, in respect of proposed works concerning the recovery of eroded areas near the site of the village.

Dartmoor National Park + English Heritage, 2002, Houndtor: Deserted Medieval Settlement, 6 (Leaflet). SDV295904.

Small medieval hamlet including the remains of four longhouses, four smaller houses and three cereal-drying barns, as well as gardens, paddocks, lanes and an extensive field system to the north, south and west of the settlement. The structures can be dated to the 13th century and were occupied for around 150 to 200 years, after which the site was abandoned.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2003, Scheduled Monument Consent granted (Correspondence). SDV307259.

Scheduled Monument Consent granted, subject to conditions recommended by English Heritage, in respect of works concerning the carrying out of management works to the site such as erosion repair and masonry consolidation in accordance with specifications.

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

English Heritage, 2012, Radiocarbon Dates from Samples Funded by English Heritage Between 1981 and 1988, 155-56 (Report - Scientific). SDV351471.

Samples were submitted from the 1984 project to establish a chronology of medieval landscape changes around the deserted village. One peat sample yielded a modern date (1720-1955), but other samples yielded dates of between cal AD 1160-1400 and cal AD 1400-1670, supporting the archaeological evidence, that the farms were declined gradually, but were deserted by the middle of the 14th century.

White, P., 2013, Previously Unsurveyed Dartmoor Historic Farmsteads, Houndtor (Un-published). SDV352501.

Houndtor with deserted Medieval longhouses.

Catlin, K., 2014, Transhumance to Farmstead: Landscape and the Medieval Resettlement of Dartmoor, 5-6 (Article in Serial). SDV361730.

Inclusion of Hound Tor as an example of a medieval transhumance site that became permanently settled as a source of wealth to the burgeoning medieval political economy during the 11th and 12th centuries.
Contrasted with the sites at Okehampton Park, occupied for a rather shorter period (less than 100 years). Author suggests that the owner of the land at Hound Tor; the Abbot of Tavistock, may have had had little direct knowledge of the landscape. The tenant farmers, however, may well have been continuing a long tradition of farming the site (from transhumance onwards), enabling them to make the most of the potential of the land, explaining the extended period of occupation (around 300 years).

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording forms (Worksheet). SDV362781.

(Visited 30/06/2019) Possible post-hole noted at SX74631 78761 as part of condition survey visit. Photographed (20190630_DNPA_PALProject_CD_HT7_9). A square hole measuring 20 centimetres by 20 centimetres cut into the bedrock. Might be a modern feature – previous post? - since is situated at the medieval settlement. Possibly may also represent modern damage (metal-detecting activity?)

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording photographs (Photograph). SDV363073.

Historic England, 2021-2022, NRHE to HER website, Accessed 28/06/2022 (Website). SDV364039.

(SX 746788) Deserted Medieval Village (site of) (NAT) (OS 1963).
Source includes a brief accessible overview of Houndtor deserted Medieval village for visitors (Carter, K., 2004, Heritage Unlocked: Guide to free sites in Devon, Dorset and Somerset, 16-17).

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV529 - Minter's excavations at Houndtor I medieval village

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