Details

The monument includes a Bronze Age bowl barrow situated on the summit of a
small hill which overlooks the western bank of the lower course of the River
Otter; it has commanding views in all directions.
The barrow survives as a flat-topped mound surmounting a near vertical rim
about 2.5m in height which is found around the entire circumference. This
elevated profile could be the result of earlier ploughing or a landscaping
modification. The barrow is 15.5m in diameter and it displays no visible sign
of having possessed an encircling ditch.
Excluded from this scheduling is all fencing, a stile, and a cattle trough,
although the ground beneath these features is included.

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

Bowl barrows, the most numerous form of round barrow, are funerary monuments
dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most
examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC. They were constructed as
earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple
burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often
acted as a focus for burials in later periods. Often superficially similar,
although differing widely in size, they exhibit regional variations in form
and a diversity of burial practices. There are over 10,000 surviving bowl
barrows recorded nationally (many more have already been destroyed), occurring
across most of lowland Britain. Often occupying prominent locations, they are
a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable
variation of form and longevity as a monument type provide important
information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisations amongst early
prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period
and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of
protection.

The bowl barrow south east of St Mary's Church survives as a very distinct
monument in a commanding position. Despite some probable modification of its
original form (either by landscaping or ploughing) which has elevated its
profile, it will retain archaeological information about the barrow and the
landscape in which it was constructed.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society' in The Barrows of South and East Devon, , Vol. 41, (1983), 28

Source: Historic England