An enclosed stone hut circle settlement 400m south-west of Devil's Bridge

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. 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 (c.2000-700 BC), 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. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

The enclosed stone hut circle settlement 400m south-west of Devil's Bridge survives well within an area containing a large variety of archaeological monuments. The settlement contains archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument, the economy of its inhabitants and the landscape in which they lived and, as such, provides a valuable insight into the nature of Bronze Age occupation on the west side of the Moor. The deep peat deposits within the area have protected the underlying archaeological remains as well as being a source of important environmental information.

Details

This monument includes an irregular shaped enclosure containing six stone hut circles situated on a gentle south-facing slope overlooking the valley of the River Meavy. The interior of the enclosure measures 32m north to south by 70m east to west and is defined by a lynchet, up to 2.5m wide and 0.4m high, on all sides except the north-east where it survives as a buried feature. A 65m long, 3m wide and 0.2m high field boundary leads southward from the enclosure, and forms part of a field system which now survives largely as buried features and cannot be mapped. The six stone hut circles, all of which are attached to the enclosure boundary, are composed of stone and earth banks surrounding a circular internal area. The internal diameter of the huts varies between 4.2m and 9.5m with the average being 6.6m. The height of the surrounding wall varies between 0.2m and 0.8m with the average being 0.6m. Two of the huts include two rooms and two have visible doorways. The field system to the south of the settlement is not included in the scheduling because its character and extent are not known.

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:

22273

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
MPP fieldwork by S. Gerrard,
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX57SE12,
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX57SE12.1,
MPP fieldwork S. Gerrard,
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX57SE12.2,
Gibson, A, Single Monument Class Description - Stone Hut Circles, (1987)
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX57SE12.3,

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.