East Pinford: a stone alignment on the west side of East Pinford 700m west of Long Combe sheep pen

Reasons for Designation

Exmoor is the most easterly of the three main upland areas in the south western peninsula of England. In contrast to the other two areas, Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor, there has been no history of antiquarian research and little excavation of its monuments. However, survey work has confirmed a comparable richness of archaeological remains with evidence of human exploitation and occupation from the Mesolithic period to the present day. The well-preserved and often visible relationships between settlement sites, major land boundaries, trackways and ceremonial and funerary monuments give insight into successive changes in the pattern of land-use through time. Stone alignments or stone rows consist of upright stones set in a single line, or in two or more parallel lines, up to several hundred metres in length. They are often sited close to prehistoric burial monuments, such as small cairns and cists, and to ritual monuments, such as stone circles, and are therefore considered to have had an important ceremonial function. Stone alignments were being constructed and used from the Late Neolithic period to the Middle Bronze Age (c.2500-1000 BC) and provide rare evidence of ceremonial and ritual practices during these periods. The recorded examples on Exmoor form an important subgroup of the total population and are considered to be of national importance.

The East Pinford stone row is particularly well preserved with all stones upright and earthfast. It will retain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the use and development of the site. Its importance is enhanced by its association with a hut circle settlement, funerary monuments to the east and north east, and three further stone settings.

Details

The monument includes six standing stones and the archaeologically sensitive area between and around around them located on the west side of East Pinford, 700m west of Long Combe sheep pen. The alignment extends for 0.01ha and is orientated north west to south east. The alignment is made up of two parallel rows with three stones in each row. Each stone is paired with a stone in the parallel row. The two pairs of stones at the west end are set with their long sides along the alignment but the pair at the east end are both turned to the north east. The stones are between 350mm to 720mm high, 210mm to 530mm wide and 100mm to 200mm thick.

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:

25220

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Quinnell, N V, Dunn, C J, Lithic Monuments within the Exmoor National Park: A New Survey, (1992), 43
Chanter, , Worth, , Rep Trans Dev Assoc in The Rude Stone Monuments Of Exmoor And Its Borders, Part II., Vol. 38, (1906), 358-552

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.

Print the official list entry