Details

The monument includes a prehistoric bowl barrow known as the Cregou or Cregon
and an adjacent medieval enclosure, situated on a false crest on the south
west shoulder of a hill above the Tresillian River, near Malpas.
The barrow has a large ovoid earth and stone mound, 37m across north west-
south east by 22m north east-south west and up to 1.5m high, with a fairly
level top. An oval hollow in the mound north west of centre is considered to
represent an antiquarian excavation, which was extended north west in the
20th century so that it now opens from field level on that side, probably to
facilitate stone robbing or to adapt the hollow as a watering place for stock.
The hollow is 13m across north west-south east by 10m across north east-south
west and has a fairly smooth base, sloping to around 0.8m below field level
and 1.6m below the top of the mound. A rounded protrusion 15m across on the
north west of the mound, forming the west side of the hollow, is considered to
incorporate redeposited material derived from the barrow, probably during the
modern expansion of the hollow.
Hedgebanks 2m-4m wide run along the north east and south east sides of the
mound. That on the north east is considered to have truncated the mound,
leaving a spread of small stones in the field beyond, and forms the south west
side of the adjacent enclosure. A scarp 0.4m high running from the south side
of the mound to the hedgebank to the south east is the remains of a modern
boundary which formerly enclosed the mound.
The enclosure, which lies to the north east of the barrow, is considered to
originate from the use of the mound in the medieval period, perhaps as a
lookout for the Malpas ferry to the SSW or other functions associated with the
neighbouring manorial centre and castle of Moresk. It has a roughly circular,
gently sloping platform measuring approximately 16m across internally, defined
by a curving stony levelling scarp some 5m across and 0.4m high on the north
and north east sides, and by a spread of small stones 5m across on the south
west side where the enclosure runs up to the boundary bank at the edge of the
barrow.

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 Cregou or Cregon bowl barrow 900m south east of Park Farm survives
reasonably well.
Although the mound has been dug into and its form modified by relatively
recent activity, it remains substantially intact, as will parts of the
underlying old land surface and any surviving original deposits associated
with the mound and old land surface. Its location on a false crest of a hill
illustrates well the important role of topography in Bronze Age funerary
activity. Its association with a later enclosure of medieval type demonstrates
the longevity of barrows as important elements in the landscape.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Henderson, C, Essays in Cornish History, (1935), 115
Padel, O J, Cornish placename elements, (1985), 73, 50
Worcester, W , Itinerary, (1487)
Henderson, C, 'Parochial Antiquities' in Parochial Antiquities, , Vol. 3, (1917), 222
Mc'Lauchlan, H, 'Annual Report of the Royal Institution of Cornwall' in Notes on the Manors of Tewington, Moresk, and Tywarnhaile, (1848), 20-24
Mc'Lauchlan, H, 'Annual Report of the Royal Institution of Cornwall' in Notes on the Manors of Tewington, Moresk, and Tywarnhaile, (1848), 21-22
Preston-Jones, A, Rose, P, 'Cornish Archaeology' in Medieval Cornwall, , Vol. 25, (1986), 172
Other
Preston-Jones, A, AM107, (1987)
SW 84 SW 4, JMR, Ordnance Survey Index Card, (1980)
Title: Estate Map at RIC library, Truro
Source Date:
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:
HJ/8/35
Title: Estate map at RIC library, Truro
Source Date:
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:
MMP/27
Title: Estate Map in RIC library, Truro
Source Date:
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:
MMP/27
Title: Ordnance Survey 1:2500 Map
Source Date: 1880
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Title: Ordnance Survey 1:2500 Map
Source Date: 1908
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Title: St Clement Tithe Apportionment Map
Source Date: 1840
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:
1643
Title: St Clement Tithe Apportionment
Source Date: 1840
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:
1637

Source: Historic England