Details

The monument includes a single roomed dwelling cut into the foot of a steep
south facing slope overlooking Newleycombe Lake. The dwelling includes a
rectangular room measuring 7.2m long by 3.6m wide defined by a 0.7m wide
drystone wall standing up to 1.4m high. The interior is filled with loose
rubble and the entrance is in the western part of the southern wall. An open
ended outshut is attached to the western side of the dwelling. This measures
4m long by 2.6m wide and is denoted by a 1.4m high drystone revetment around
its northern and western edges. A narrow revetted passage leading through the
nearby corn ditch boundary to this building represents access to the moor and
road network. The corn ditch denotes the outer edge of Crazy Well Farm and
includes an inner bank measuring 2.5m wide by 1.4m high, which is revetted by
drystone walling on its outer face. The ditch from which material was
quarried to build the bank lies adjacent to the wall and measures 2m wide by
0.8m deep. This corn ditch would have prevented livestock from the open moor
straying onto the enclosed farmland.
The building is certainly of historic date and was undoubtedly occupied in the
19th century. It may have medieval origins, but most likely represents an
18th century small scale colonization of the Moor by a part time tinner.

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 provides direct evidence
for human exploitation of the Moor from the early prehistoric period onwards.
The well-preserved and often visible relationship between settlement sites,
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.
Of more than 600 post-medieval farmsteads recorded on Dartmoor, around 100 are
now deserted. Although some of these were established as late as the 18th and
19th centuries, many have their origin as medieval settlements, some perhaps
dating back to as early as the 11th century. Those founded in the post-
medieval period represent a time in which arable farming increased in
popularity on the Moor, resulting in a large number of new farms being built
on previously unenclosed moorland. Many of these farms were abandoned after a
relatively short time and provide rare examples of planned single period
farmsteads.
Most deserted post-medieval farmsteads survive as single farmhouses associated
with a variety of outbuildings, including: ash houses, barns, cow houses,
dairies, hulls, stables, linhays, shippons, cartsheds, dog kennels and
lavatories. Other features commonly found with farmsteads include gardens and
a farmyard which acted as a focal point for many farming activities.
In most cases, deserted post-medieval farmsteads are associated with
contemporary field systems, many of which still remain in use for grazing or
cultivation.
Deserted post-medieval farmsteads will provide information about the
developing character of agricultural exploitation within an upland landscape
during the historic period, and reflect a response to changing environmental
and economic conditions. Surviving examples are relatively rare away from the
moorland areas in south west England, and consequently those on Dartmoor
provide a major source of evidence for this type of site.

The post-medieval building at Crazy Well Farm, 300m south of Crazy Well Pool
survives well and will contain information concerning the relationship between
this dwelling and the nearby Crazy Well Farmstead as well as land use in this
area during the post-medieval period.
Settlements of this type are common in Cornwall, but are much rarer on
Dartmoor, although examples do exist in the vicinity of some tinworks. As a
group of monuments they represent one of the few sources of archaeological
information concerning the relationship between tinworking and agriculture.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Haynes, R.G., Ruined Sites on Dartmoor - Middleworth, 1966, Unpublished Manuscript

Source: Historic England