The Armada Beacon, Alderley Edge

Reasons for Designation

Beacons were fires deliberately lit to give a warning, by means of smoke by day and flame by night, of the approach of hostile forces. They were always sited in prominent positions, usually as part of a group, chain or line which together made up a comprehensive early warning system covering most of the country. Beacons were extensively used during the medieval period. Their use was formalised by 1325 and although some were used later, for example at the time of Monmouth's Rebellion in 1685 or during the Napoleonic wars, the system was in decay by the mid-17th century. Beacons were initially bonfires of wood or furze, but later barrels of pitch or iron fire baskets mounted on poles were used. The poles were occasionally set on earthen mounds. Access to the fire basket was by way of rungs set in the pole, or by a stone ladder set against the beacon. More unusual beacon types include stone enclosures and towers, mainly found in the north and south west of England. Some beacon sites utilised existing buildings such as church towers. Beacons were built throughout England, with the greatest density along the south coast and the border with Scotland. Although approximately 500 are recorded nationally, few survive in the form of visible remains. Many sites are only known from place-name evidence. Given the rarity of recorded examples, all positively identified beacons with significant surviving archaeological remains are considered to be of national importance.

Bowl barrows are the most numerous form of round barrow. They are funerary monuments belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC. The mounds covered single or multiple burials often accompanied by grave goods. They provide important information about the diversity of beliefs and social groupings amongst early prehistoric peoples. The Armada beacon on Beacon Hill, Alderley Edge,is a good surviving example of a stone-built beacon platform which formed one of a system of beacons erected throughout England as a response to the threat of invasion during the 16th century. The foundations of the original building survive beneath the ground on the summit of the mound on which it stands. It has a well-documented history and is a landmark of great local importance. It stands in land owned by the National Trust and is accessible to the public. The beacon will therefore provide a source for education and recreational interest for the community. In addition it is considered that the mound on which it stands was originally built as a bowl barrow in the Bronze Age. Such barrows rarely survive in Cheshire and this makes this large earthwork important in its own right.

Details

The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a stone-built beacon platform on the summit of Beacon Hill, Alderley Edge. The earthen mound on which it has been constructed is considered to have been a bowl barrow of Bronze Age date. This barrow mound is large and may have been augmented when the beacon was constructed on the summit. The mound is of earth with some stone incorporated in the structure. It stands approximately 3m above ground level and is 25m wide at the base. The top of the mound was levelled for the foundations of a stone building to support the beacon with its fire basket and to store material such as pitch for the fire itself. This building was constructed in the 16th century and restored in 1799 on the foundations of the original building. The beacon building was blown down in 1931 and today only the foundations survive. These foundations are now visible as ashlar sandstone blocks, some bonded, at the apex of the mound and scattered around the base of the mound in the undergrowth. On the summit a memorial of stone has been erected. This is in the form of an altar-shaped table measuring 1.10m by 0.40m and standing 0.8m high. This has been built of ashlar blocks almost certainly reused from the original 1779 restored building on the site. Set into the top is a metal plaque which reads `SITE OF ARMADA BEACON THIS RECORD IS THE GIFT OF A FRIEND OF ALDERLEY EDGE NOW IN CALIFORNIA 1961'.

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:

33858

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Alderley Edge NT SMR, (1998)

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