Cairn known as Millers Grave on Midgley Moor

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Overview

Heritage Category:
Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:
1018236
Date first listed:
10-Jun-1998
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Location

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:
Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:
1018236
Date first listed:
10-Jun-1998

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:
Calderdale (Metropolitan Authority)
Parish:
Wadsworth
National Grid Reference:
SE 01913 28369

Reasons for Designation

Round cairns are prehistoric funerary monuments dating to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They were constructed as stone mounds covering single or multiple burials. These burials may be placed within the mound in stone-lined compartments called cists. In some cases the cairn was surrounded by a ditch. Often occupying prominent locations, cairns are a major visual element in the modern landscape. They are a relatively common feature of the uplands and are the stone equivalent of the earthen round barrows of the lowlands. Their considerable variation in form and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

Although the cairn known as Millers Grave has been slightly disturbed, it survives well and will retain significant archaeological information, including burials. It is a prominent landscape feature, and one of a number of prehistoric sites on the moor.

Details

The monument includes a large cairn known as Millers Grave, situated on the summit of Midgley Moor. The cairn has a diameter of about 15.5m and survives to a height of approximately 1.5m. It is built of medium-sized stones piled around a glacial boulder which has a deep cleft. Stones have been removed from the centre of the cairn to reveal this boulder; this has created a hollow. Some of the stone has recently been piled around this hollow to make a shelter. With the exception of these recently piled stones, the rocks which make up this cairn are well embedded and overgrown with heather.

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:
31486
Legacy System:
RSM

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.

Ordnance survey map of Cairn known as Millers Grave on Midgley Moor

Map

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 09-Jul-2026 at 12:03:43.

Download a full scale map (PDF)
© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2026. OS AC0000815036. Use of this mapping is subject to Terms and Conditions.

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.

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