Prehistoric enclosure containing a stone hut circle and parts of a medieval field system, 500m south east of Sparretts 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.

Within the landscape of Bodmin Moor 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 - 750 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 among prehistoric communities. They are highly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

This prehistoric enclosure on Craddock Moor and its contained hut circle have survived well and have not been excavated. Their proximity to other broadly contemporary hut circles, enclosures and cairns demonstrates well the nature of land use during the Bronze Age.

Details

The monument includes a subrectangular prehistoric enclosure containing a single hut circle, situated near unenclosed hut circles and clearance cairns amid medieval field boundaries and tin miners' leats on the south west edge of Craddock Moor on Bodmin Moor.

The enclosure survives as a wall of heaped stone rubble, 1.5m wide and up to 0.3m high, enclosing a subrectangular area measuring 50m NNE-SSW by 45m ESE- WNW. Occasional upright inner facing slabs are present in the eastern and north western sectors of the enclosure wall. The enclosure's northern and western sides curve outwards while the other two sides are straight. A much slighter wall of similar construction, 1m wide and 0.2m high, subdivides the enclosure, running approximately 9m south of its northern wall and curving to the south to meet the east wall. The stone hut circle is built against the enclosure's north wall and comprises a circular rubble wall, 1.5m wide and 0.75m high with internal facing slabs, enclosing a 5m diameter internal area, levelled into the hillslope. A narrow gap to the south east, faced on one side by a slab crossing the width of the wall, marks the entrance of the hut circle.

The monument also contains parts of two parallel stone boundary walls, 26m apart on an east-west axis, from a more extensive medieval field system which extends west and north of the enclosure. The walls are each 1m wide, 0.1m high; one passes 1m to the north of the enclosure's north wall, the other extends for 17m into the enclosure having crossed the enclosure's western wall 17m north of its south west corner. The enclosure is also bisected on a north-south axis by a tin miners' watercourse, called a leat, visible as a slight ditch, 1.5m wide and 0.2m deep with upcast on its west side, which forms part of a later land use of this hillside, cutting through both the prehistoric and medieval boundary walls.

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:

15072

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Sharpe, A, The Minions Area Archaeological Survey and Management (Volume 2), (1989)

Other
consulted 9/1991, Carter, A./RCHME, 1:2500 AP transcriptions for SX 2371 & SX 2471,
Information told to MPP fieldworker by Peter Herring, CAU, (1993)
consulted 6/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1282,
consulted 6/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1299,
consulted 6/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 14113,
consulted 1993, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1229,
consulted 6/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1280,
7/1991, Carter, A./RCHME, 1:2500 AP transcription for SX 2471,
consulted 6/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1356,

End of official list entry

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