Details

The monument includes a stone hut circle, situated near other broadly
contemporary hut circles and cairns and amid an area of medieval cultivation
ridges on the western slope of the southern spur of Craddock Moor on SE Bodmin
Moor.
The hut circle survives with a turf-covered wall of heaped rubble, up to 1m
wide and 0.5m high, around a circular interior area, 3.5m in diameter,
levelled into the hillslope. The wall has small inner facing slabs, up to 0.5m
high, which form a contiguous row along the northern sector of the wall. A
break in the SW part of the wall, 0.5m wide, flanked by an outer facing slab
at each side, marks the site of the hut circle entrance. An earth-and-rubble
bank, up to 0.5m high and 2m wide, touches the northern edge of the hut circle
as it passes in its course WNW-ESE. Immediately NE of the hut circle, at the
periphery of the monument, is an original break in the bank, the eastern
terminal of which is angled slightly to the north. In its visible form the
bank was constructed as a subdivision of the medieval cultivation ridges on
this hillside. However the presence of the break adjacent to the hut circle
and the consistent relationship between this and the other parallel banks with
the Prehistoric hut circles indicates that the banks were a re-use of
surviving remnants of a Prehistoric field system.

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.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

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. Stone hut circles were the dwelling places of prehistoric
farmers on the Moor, mostly dating from the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). The
stone-based round houses survive as low walls or banks enclosing a circular
floor area; remains of a turf or thatch roof are not preserved. The huts occur
singly or in small or large groups and may occur in the open or be enclosed by
a bank of earth and stone. Although they are common on the Moor, their
longevity of use and their relationship with other monument types provides
important information on the diversity of social organisation and farming
practices among prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative
of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are
considered worthy of protection.

This hut circle on southern Craddock Moor has survived well and displays clear
details of its construction. Its proximity to other broadly contemporary
settlement and funerary sites and to a medieval field system demonstrates well
the nature of land use during the Prehistoric period and its subsequent
development.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Consulted 1/1992, Carter, A/RCHME, 1:2500 AP transcription for SX 2570,
consulted 1/1992, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1443,
consulted 1/1992, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1443.02,
consulted 1/1992, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1444,
consulted 1/1992, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1446,
Consulted 7/1991, Carter, A./RCHME, 1:2500 AP transcriptions for SX 2470 & SX 2471,
p.268; SX27SE 1444 Craddock Moor, Cornwall Archaeological Unit, Bodmin Moor Cornwall. An evaluation for the MPP, (1990)

Source: Historic England