Details

The monument includes two standing stones, a recumbent stone and the
archaeologically sensitive area between and around those features. The site is
located on the north west side of Honeycombe Hill 120m south east of the
confluence of Chetsford and Embercombe waters. The monument is 26m long and
orientated north east to south west. The recumbent stone lies at the north
eastern end and is slightly offset from the line towards the north. The
standing stone at the south west end is a flat slab, set firm and vertically
in the ground, 600mm high, 600mm wide and 150mm thick. The middle stone of the
row lies 16.68m to the north east of the first one, is firm and upright in the
ground and is 200mm high, 270mm wide and 140mm thick. The recumbent stone lies
9.45m to the north east of the middle stone and is 820mm long, 320mm wide and
320mm 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.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

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 Wilmersham Common West stone row survives well and will retain
archaeological and environmental evidence relating to its use and development.
Its importance is enhanced by the proximity of a second stone row lying 200m
to the south east.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Quinnell, N V, Dunn, C J, Lithic Monuments within the Exmoor National Park: A New Survey, (1992), 55
Other
McDonnell, R R J, (1993)

Source: Historic England