Reasons for Designation
Dartmoor is the largest expanse of open moorland in southern Britain and,
because of exceptional conditions of preservation, it is also one of the most
complete examples of an upland relict landscape in the whole country. The
great wealth and diversity of archaeological remains provide direct evidence
for human exploitation of the Moor from the early prehistoric period onwards.
The well-preserved and often visible relationship between settlement sites,
major land boundaries, trackways, ceremonial and funerary monuments as well as
later industrial remains, gives significant insights into successive changes
in the pattern of land use through time. Stone hut circles and hut settlements
were the dwelling places of prehistoric farmers on Dartmoor. They mostly date
from the Bronze Age, with the earliest examples on the Moor in this building
tradition dating to about 1700 BC. The stone-based round houses consist of low
walls or banks enclosing a circular floor area; remains of the turf or thatch
roof are not preserved. The huts may occur singly or in small or large groups
and may lie in the open or be enclosed by a bank of earth and stone. Although
they are common on the Moor, their longevity and their relationship with other
monument types provide important information on the diversity of social
organisation and farming practices amongst prehistoric communities. They are
particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of
surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.
In addition to the stone hut circles the monument includes an irregular
aggregate field system. Elaborate complexes of fields and field boundaries
are a major feature of the Dartmoor landscape. Irregular aggregate field
systems are one of several methods of field layout known to have been employed
in south west England from the Bronze Age to the Roman period. They comprise a
collection of field plots, generally lacking conformity of orientation and
arrangement, containing fields with sinuous outlines and varying shapes and
sizes, bounded by stone or rubble walls or banks, ditches or fences. They are
often located around or near ceremonial and funerary monuments. They are an
important element of the existing landscape and are representative of farming
practice over a long period.
Within the landscape of Dartmoor there are many discrete plots of land
enclosed by stone walls or banks of stone and earth, most of which date to the
Bronze Age, though earlier and later examples also exist. They were
constructed as stock pens or as protected areas for crop growing and were
sometimes subdivided to accommodate stock and hut circle dwellings for
farmers and herdsmen. The size and form of enclosures may therefore vary
considerably depending on their particular function. Their variation in form,
longevity and relationship to other monument classes provide important
information on the diversity of social organisation and farming practices
amongst prehistoric communities.
Medieval features within the monument include two long houses and a strip
field system. Long houses are one of several distinctive forms of medieval
farmhouse. Rectangular in plan, usually with boulder and rubble outer walls
and with their long axis orientated downslope, the interior of long houses was
divided into two separate functional areas, an upslope domestic room and a
downslope stock byre, known in south west England as a shippon. The
proportions occupied by the domestic and shippon areas vary considerably but
the division between the two, and their access, was usually provided by a
cross-passage of timber screens or sometimes rubble walling, running
transversely through the long house, linking opposed openings in the long
side-walls. Excavation within the domestic areas of long houses has revealed
stone hearths, cooking pits, benches, postholes for internal fittings and
medieval artefacts. Excavation within the shippon areas has revealed stone-
built drains, usually along the central axis, paving and edging slabs defining
mangers. Long houses may be accompanied by ancillary buildings, separated
slightly from the farmhouse itself, or by outshuts, attached to the long house
and often extending one end. These additional structures sometimes served as
fuel stores and occasionally contained ovens or corn drying kilns. The
earliest known long houses date to the 10th or 11th centuries AD, but their
main period of construction was during the later 12th to 15th centuries AD.
The tradition was largely superseded by other plan forms in the post-medieval
period though some long houses continued to be occupied, with subsequent
alterations and additions. Long houses are known throughout northern, western
and southern England, but have been longest recognised as a distinctive plan
form in south west England. As the standard type of medieval farmhouse plan
in the south western uplands, they may occur singly or grouped to form
villages and may be related with the various types of field system and
enclosure current in the medieval period.
The stone hut circle settlement, irregular aggregate field system, two
long houses and associated field system 700m SSW of Black Tor survive well,
despite reuse of the area during the post-medieval period. This monument
provides archaeological evidence relating to the continued use of a small area
of upland landscape between the Bronze Age and post-medieval periods and is
thus an important source of information concerning the development of
settlement and agriculture on Dartmoor.
Details
This monument includes an unenclosed stone hut circle settlement, an irregular
aggregate field system, a D-shaped enclosure containing two stone hut circles,
two long houses, a medieval strip field system and post-medieval field
boundaries situated on a gentle south-facing slope overlooking the valley of
the River Meavy.
The stone hut circles are composed of stone and earth banks surrounding an
internal area. Of the 33 hut circles, only one is oval in plan and this
measures 4.5m long by 2.4m wide. The remaining 32 huts are circular in plan
and the internal diameter of these buildings vary from 2m to 8.4m. The height
of the walls varies between 0.3m and 0.9m, with the average being 0.59m.
Twelve of the huts have visible doorways, one is conjoined and 23 are attached
to contemporary boundary walls.
The irregular aggregate field system includes 15 field plots defined by
rubble walls, many of which are lyncheted. These walls vary considerably in
character, but average 1.4m wide and 0.4m high. Twenty-nine of the stone hut
circles lie within this field system, of which seven are situated within the
field plots and the remainder are attached to the boundary walls.
To the north of this prehistoric field system is a small D-shaped enclosure
containing two stone hut circles. The interior of the enclosure measures 41m
north to south by 28m east to west and is defined by a rubble wall, up to 3.5m
wide and 0.4m high. The southern length of the boundary bank is no longer
visible as an earthwork, and survives as a buried feature.
Two medieval long houses and associated strip field system survive within the
area defined by the earlier prehistoric field system. The northern long house
is terraced into the hillslope, is rectangular in plan and is composed of
rubble walls containing some large orthostats. The interior of the structure
measures 12m long by 3m wide and is defined by a 1.5m wide wall standing up to
0.5m high. The southern wall has seen limited damage as a result of a post-
medieval wall being built over it. Stone hut circles in the vicinity of this
long house may have been reused as storage buildings. The southern longhouse
survives as a 15m long by 5.3m wide internal area defined by a rubble bank
lying directly below a post-medieval building of drystone construction. This
building is attached to one of the medieval strip-field boundaries. The strip
field system survives as two elongated field plots, defined by three parallel
rubble banks. These boundaries are roughly faced with stone and measure 1.2m
wide and 0.3m high and overlie the earlier prehistoric field system. The
northern and southern edges of the fields are no longer visible as earthworks.
The surviving strip fields cover an area of 2 ha.
A post-medieval field system lies partly within the monument and survives as a
series of sub-rectangular field plots, defined by stone and earth walls. These
boundaries are of drystone construction and measure 1.2m wide and stand up to
1.8m high. They overlie the earlier prehistoric and medieval field systems,
many stone hut circles and two long houses. Apart from the fields, an
irregular shaped pound measuring 55m east to west by 38m north to south and a
rebuilt stone hut circle belong to this period of activity. The farmstead
associated with these fields is Stanlake at SX 56957090.
The post-medieval fields lying outside the area defined by the prehistoric and
medieval field systems are not included within this scheduling because they
are not considered to be of national importance.
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.
