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Long house and enclosure 160m north of Widow's Tenement, Lundy

A Scheduled Monument in Area not comprised in any Parish-Lundy Island, Devon

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Coordinates

Latitude: 51.192 / 51°11'31"N

Longitude: -4.6692 / 4°40'9"W

OS Eastings: 213579.273859

OS Northings: 147025.864195

OS Grid: SS135470

Mapcode National: GBR GTVJ.V92

Mapcode Global: VH2S4.09XK

Entry Name: Long house and enclosure 160m north of Widow's Tenement, Lundy

Scheduled Date: 10 June 1998

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1018547

English Heritage Legacy ID: 27639

County: Devon

Civil Parish: Area not comprised in any Parish-Lundy Island

Traditional County: Devon

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Devon

Church of England Parish: Lundy

Church of England Diocese: Exeter

Details

The monument includes a long house and enclosure of medieval date 170m to the
north of the enclosure boundary of the medieval settlement known as the
Widow's Tenement. The long house comprises a low sub-rectangular bank running
north east by south west with a rounded end on the north side and a raised
area with a rounded end on the south side. It is enclosed in an oval stone
walled enclosure orientated north east to south west.
The house measures 8m by 4m internally with the bank 2m wide. The enclosure is
20m by 15m at the widest points.
A hollow immediately to the east of the long house probably represents a small
cairn which has been destroyed by excavation or quarried for stone. It is not
included in the scheduling.

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

Lundy is a small, steep sided island in the Bristol Channel, 16m north of
Hartland Point, north Devon. Aligned north-south, it is 6km long by 1km wide
and supports a predominately moorland vegetation. The 100m high cliffs and
tabular form give it a striking appearance, visible in clear weather from
parts of south west England and south Wales.
Lundy's remoteness and (until the 19th century construction of the Beach Road)
its inaccessibility, combined with a lack of shelter and cultivable soils, has
meant that it has escaped more recent occupation or development. It therefore
preserves a remarkable variety of archaeological sites from early prehistory
(c.8000 BC) onwards, representing evidence for habitation, fortification,
farming and industry. There are also archaeological remains in the waters
surrounding the island - over 150 shipwrecks are already recorded. Most of the
island's archaeology is well documented from detailed survey in the 1980s and
1990s.

Farmsteads, normally occupied by only one or two families and comprising small
groups of buildings with attached yards, gardens and enclosures, were a
characteristic feature of the medieval rural landscape. They occur throughout
the country, the intensity of their distribution determined by local
topography and the nature of the agricultural system prevalent within the
region.
The small farmstead north of the medieval settlement known as the Widow's
Tenement survives well and will contain evidence of the construction and
living conditions within the dwelling. This is one of several of medieval
farmhouses on the island which together provide insights into the capacity of
a medieval population to survive in marginal conditions.

Source: Historic England

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