Three Bronze Age round barrows north of The Charlcombe Inn (formerly the Blathwayt Arms)

Summary

Three Bronze Age round barrows situated in a field known as Fair Field, Lansdown.

Reasons for Designation

The three Bronze Age round barrows in Fair Field to the north of the Charlcombe Inn (formerly the Blathwayt Arms) are scheduled for the following principal reasons:

* Survival: as a small group of well-preserved burial mounds representing the diversity of burial practices, beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities;

* Potential: for the stratified deposits which will retain information on the individuals buried within and, as part of a wider multi-period landscape;

* Documentation: the monument is well documented as a result of excavations which have contributed to our understanding of their importance.

History

The treatment, burial and commemoration of the dead have been a distinctive part of human life for millennia, and these activities have often left physical remains. The remains of the dead have been dealt with in remarkably varied ways in the past and it appears that, in the prehistoric period especially, only a small proportion of the population received a burial which has left traces detectable using current methods. They are distinctive burial mounds or monuments which can represent both individual burials as well as larger burial groups.

Lansdown Plateau, to the north of the City of Bath, is an area where a number of prehistoric barrows have been identified. The three barrows north of Charlcombe Inn (formerly the Blathwayt Arms) are located on the south-eastern edge of the plateau, alongside Lansdown Road, in a field known as Fair Field. One of the barrows was first depicted on a map of 1766 and is shown on several late-C18 illustrations. The barrows have since been subject to archaeological investigation by TS Bush in 1908 and at least two further non-invasive archaeological surveys (Grinsell, 1971 and Williams, 2018).

Writings by John Wood the Elder in the C18 potentially provide the earliest description of the largest barrow, reputing it to be the Moon Temple and claiming it had been built by King Bladud the legendary discoverer of the hot springs of Bath. However, this is difficult to confirm.

The findings of the 1908 excavations confirmed that the barrows date from the Bronze Age, but mistakenly identified the two smaller barrows as one confluent long barrow and they were scheduled as such; however, they have since been re-interpreted as three separate round barrows (Grinsell, 1971 and Williams 2018). The two smaller barrows were found to contain interments and a variety of grave goods. The third, larger barrow, did not have a primary burial, but a secondary grave was uncovered that was dated to the Roman period (Bush, 1909), potentially providing evidence of later re-use of the site.

Details

PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS
The monument includes the earthworks and buried remains of three Bronze Age round barrows situated in a field known as ‘Fair Field’, to the north of the Charlcombe Inn (formerly the Blathwayt Arms) located alongside the Lansdown Road, Bath.

DESCRIPTION
The barrows are visible as three circular earthwork mounds; two are smaller and located very close to each other in the middle of the field and the third and largest, being approximately 20m in diameter, is located further south, against the southern boundary (2025) with Rose Cottage. Although there is no evidence for the surrounding ditches from which their construction material was derived, it is considered that these will survive as buried features associated with each of the mounds.

During excavation the barrows were confirmed to have been constructed of large stones creating a space in the middle for human interment and covered in earth. Two of the barrows were found to contain interments and grave goods, including an urn, a miniature cup and earthen vessels. The third did not contain a primary burial but a secondary grave was uncovered that was considered to be Roman (Bush, 1909).

EXTENT OF SCHEDULING
The area of protection is formed of two separate areas of protection. One has been drawn to include the two smaller barrows together with a 2m margin for their support and protection. The larger barrow to the south-east is protected within a separate area of protection. The southern section of its surrounding buried ditch has been encroached upon by Rose Cottage and the monument boundary therefore follows the boundary to this property; elsewhere there is a 2m margin for the support and protection of the barrow.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

BA 32

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Books and journals
Williams, A, Bronze Age Barrows on Charmy Down and Lansdown, Somerset in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of London, Vol. 30, (1950), 34-46
Grinsell, LV, Somerset Barrows Part II: North and East in Somerset Archaeology and Natural History, Vol. 115, (1971), 44-137
Bush, TS, Explorations on Lansdown in Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society (Bath Branch), (1909), 204-215
Bush, TS, Summary of the Lansdown Explorations, 1905-1912 in Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural Historic Society (Bath Branch), (1914), 246-252

Websites
Bath and North East Somerset Historic Environment Record - 62626 Bronze Age round barrow (Lansdown 10), S of the Golf Club House, Lansdown, Charlcombe, accessed 10 December 2025 from https://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/62626
Bath and North East Somerset Historic Environment Record - 61383 Bronze Age round barrows (Lansdown 9), S of the Golf Club House, Lansdown, Charlcombe, accessed 10 December 2025 from https://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/61383
Bath and North East Somerset Historic Environment Record - 66304 Possible medieval fair site, Lansdown, Charlcombe, accessed 10 December 2025 from https://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/66304

Other
Williams, Mike. 'John Woods 'Moon Temple' and other monuments of the Lansdown Plateau (2024) John-Woods-Moon-Temple-FINAL_2024.pdf

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