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| HER Number: | MDV80690 |
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| Name: | Elliptical Enclosure, Winsham |
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Summary
Elliptical enclosure visible on 1880s-1890s Ordnance Survey map, which is thought to enclose an early medieval field system.
Location
| Grid Reference: | SS 504 388 |
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| Map Sheet: | SS53NW |
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| Admin Area | Devon |
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| Civil Parish | Braunton |
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| District | North Devon |
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| Ecclesiastical Parish | BRAUNTON |
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Protected Status: none recorded
Other References/Statuses: none recorded
Monument Type(s) and Dates
- ENCLOSED FIELD SYSTEM (Post Roman to Saxon - 410 AD (Between) to 1065 AD (Between))
- SUB CIRCULAR ENCLOSURE (Post Roman to Saxon - 410 AD (Between) to 1065 AD (Between))
Full description
Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.
Elliptical enclosure visible.
Green, T., 2000, Early Enclosures in a Landscape of Dispersed Settlement: An Examination of Patterns Detected in the Field Boundaries of North Devon and West Somerset, 3, 32 (Post-Graduate Thesis). SDV347809.
A close examination of the Ordnance Survey First Edition 25 inch map and the 1840s tithe maps of part of the south-western region of England reveals, within the field-patterns, curving boundaries which appear to form enclosures. These 'curvilinear enclosures' become nuclei in the development of local field-patterns, hence they may be thought to pre-date that which surrounds them. Settlement closely associated with these enclosures may therefore also be suspected to have an early origin.
Elliptical examples are, however, a class apart. These are, with a single exception, large (80 acre plus) enclosures with their long sides more or less parallel, a rounded point at one end and the other end 'flattenend', so that, seen from above, they are roughly bullet shaped. Winsham is an excellent example, showing a compact strip-field system inside the enclosure, with an axial routeway, a suggestion of a funnel (to lead stock in?) at the 'flat' end and a hamlet of three farms.
Ordnance Survey, 2011, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV346129.
Elliptical enclosure visible.
Sources / Further Reading
| SDV336179 | Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1880-1899. First Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch map. First Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Map (Digital). |
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| SDV346129 | Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 2011. MasterMap. Ordnance Survey. Map (Digital). [Mapped feature: #107476 ] |
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| SDV347809 | Post-Graduate Thesis: Green, T.. 2000. Early Enclosures in a Landscape of Dispersed Settlement: An Examination of Patterns Detected in the Field Boundaries of North Devon and West Somerset. University of Exeter. A4 Stapled + Digital. 3, 32. |
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Associated Monuments: none recorded
Associated Finds: none recorded
Associated Events: none recorded
| Date Last Edited: | Mar 13 2026 4:27PM |
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