Details

This monument includes 11 stone hut circles and a sub-circular enclosure
situated on a south east facing slope overlooking the valley of the Ford
Brook. The interior of the enclosure measures 60m long by 55m wide and is
defined by a double faced 3m wide and 0.5m high rubble wall. An entrance
survives as a gap in the surrounding wall and faces north east. Two stone hut
circles are built across the northern line of the enclosure boundary wall.
The eastern hut survives as a 5m diameter and 0.4m deep circular hollow
terraced into the hillslope. The western hut includes a faced stone and earth
wall 2m wide and 0.6m high surrounding the interior which measures 6.3m in
diameter. The remaining huts lie outside the enclosure. One hut lies north
of the enclosure and survives as a bank of stone and earth 1m wide and 0.8m
high surrounding a 5m diameter circular internal area. The other eight huts
are clustered together in the area south west of the enclosure and their
internal diameters vary between 4m and 7.3m with the average being 5.61m. The
height of the surrounding walls varies between 0.4m and 1.2m with the average
being 0.81m. Six of the huts have visible doorways.
Stone hut circles and enclosures lying to the north west, south west and south
east are the subject of seperate schedulings.

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

Dartmoor is the largest expanse of open moorland in southern Britain and,
because of exceptional conditions of preservation, it is also one of the most
complete examples of an upland relict landscape in the whole country. The
great wealth and diversity of archaeological remains provide direct evidence
for human exploitation of the Moor from the early prehistoric period onwards.
The well-preserved and often visible relationship between settlement sites,
major land boundaries, trackways, ceremonial and funerary monuments as well as
later industrial remains, gives significant insights into successive changes
in the pattern of land use through time. Stone hut circles and hut settlements
were the dwelling places of prehistoric farmers on Dartmoor. They mostly date
from the Bronze Age, with the earliest examples on the Moor in this building
tradition dating to about 1700 BC. The stone-based round houses consist of low
walls or banks enclosing a circular floor area; remains of the turf or thatch
roof are not preserved. The huts may occur singly or in small or large groups
and may lie in the open or be enclosed by a bank of earth and stone. Although
they are common on the Moor, their longevity and their relationship with other
monument types provide important information on the diversity of social
organisation and farming practices amongst prehistoric communities. They are
particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of
surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

The stone hut circle settlement 600m ESE of Penn Beacon survives comparatively
well and contains archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating
to the monument, the economy of its inhabitants and the landscape in which
they lived. As such, it provides a valuable insight into the nature of Bronze
Age occupation on the south side of the moor.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX66SW100,
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX66SW239,
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX66SW264,
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX66SW265,
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX66SW266,
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX66SW267,
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX66SW274,
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX66SW275,
Gibson, A, Single Monument Class Description - Stone Hut Circles, (1988)
MPP fieldwork by S. Gerrard,

Source: Historic England