Reasons for Designation
Lundy is a small, steep sided island in the Bristol Channel, 16m north of
Hartland Point, north Devon. Aligned north-south, it is 6km long by 1km wide
and supports a predominately moorland vegetation. The 100m high cliffs and
tabular form give it a striking appearance, visible in clear weather from
parts of south west England and south Wales.
Lundy's remoteness and (until the 19th century construction of the Beach Road)
its inaccessibility, combined with a lack of shelter and cultivable soils, has
meant that it has escaped more recent occupation or development. It therefore
preserves a remarkable variety of archaeological sites from early prehistory
(c.8000 BC) onwards, representing evidence for habitation, fortification,
farming and industry. There are also archaeological remains in the waters
surrounding the island - over 150 shipwrecks are already recorded. Most of the
island's archaeology is well documented from detailed survey in the 1980s and
1990s.
Details
The monument includes an irregular oval enclosed burial ground on the summit
of Beacon Hill within and beyound which are the remains of a prehistoric hut
circle settlement.
The walls on the north west, north and north east sides of the enclosure are
stone walls constructed by Trinity House as part of the enclosure of the
buildings ancillary to what is now called The Old Lighthouse. These walls
follow the line of an ancient enclosure for the burial ground. On the south
west side the enclave is formed by a bank and ditch which are early medieval
in date and this can be traced on the south east side as a low earthwork in
the field adjacent to the present enclosure.
Within the burial ground are the remains of a small, rectangular, medieval
chapel which may have been dedicated to St Helen, Elene or Endelient. The
remains include the foundations, exposed by part excavation along the east and
south walls, and up to four courses of stone. The chapel was a ruin in c.1600
and has been damaged by the insertion of more recent graves. The chapel was
partly excavated in 1968 and this revealed that its remains do not overlie any
earlier church or chapel structure.
Excavation also revealed that part of the graveyard overlies the remains of an
Iron Age settlement which covers a wider area on the summit of Beacon Hill. At
least one large hut was uncovered and a quantity of pottery and a quern were
found. The excavation confirmed the presence of other hut circles and
enclosures to the west of the cemetery boundary.
In the centre and west side of the burial ground are the excavated remains of
an early Christian shrine which had associated graves. It was from here
that the earliest graves and four memorial stones originate. These were
discovered on the site at various times and date back to the fifth-seventh
centuries, AD.
Subsequent burials are of medieval and post-medieval date. The graves include
those of the families of the owners of the island in the 19th and 20th
centuries. The slabs which covered some of the early graves can still be seen
in the void left by the excavation. The four early stone memorials have been
placed against the bank on the south west side of the enclosure.
The Trinity House walls on the northern and eastern sides of the cemetery are
not included in the scheduling but the ground beneath them is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
30351
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals Other
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
