Stone hut circle with concentric annexe 1.4km SW of East Castick Farm

Reasons for Designation

Bodmin Moor, the largest of the Cornish granite uplands, has long been recognised to have exceptional preservation of archaeological remains. The Moor has been the subject of detailed archaeological survey and is one of the best recorded upland landscapes in England. The extensive relict landscapes of prehistoric, medieval and post-medieval date provide direct evidence for human exploitation of the Moor from the earliest prehistoric period onwards. The well-preserved and often visible relationship between settlement sites, field systems, ceremonial and funerary monuments as well as later industrial remains provides significant insights into successive changes in the pattern of land use through time. Stone hut circles were the dwelling places of prehistoric farmers on the Moor, mostly dating from the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). The stone-based round houses survive as low walls or banks enclosing a circular floor area; remains of a turf or thatch roof are not preserved. The huts occur singly or in small or large groups and may occur in the open or be enclosed by a bank of earth and stone. Although they are common on the Moor, their longevity of use and their relationship with other monument types provides important information on the diversity of social organisation and farming practices among prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

This hut circle on Twelve Men's Moor has survived well without any evident or recorded disturbance and displays an unusual concentric annexe. Its proximity to other broadly contemporary hut circles and field boundaries demonstrates well the nature of settlement during the Bronze Age.

Details

The monument includes a stone hut circle with a concentric annexe situated near a Prehistoric field system, enclosure and other hut circles in the broad valley between Kilmar Tor and Hawk's Tor, part of Twelve Men's Moor on eastern Bodmin Moor. The hut circle survives with a circular wall of heaped rubble, up to 1.5m wide and 0.5m high, around a levelled internal area 3.5m in diameter. An entrance- gap in the wall, 0.5m wide, faces SSE, and is lined at each side by an end-set slab called an orthostat, one of which has fallen inwards. A 2m wide gap separates the hut circle wall from a second rubble wall, of similar dimensions, which runs concentrically outside the NW half of the hut circle, thereby creating an outer annexe.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

15115

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
consulted 9/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1190.04,
consulted 9/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1190,
consulted 9/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1014,
consulted 6/1992, Carter, A./RCHME, 1:2500 AP transcription for SX 2575,
consulted 9/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1173,

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.