Details

The monument includes an Elizabethan stone-built beacon house built on a
flat-topped beacon mound at the southern end of the long spur of Shute Hill
which lies some 8.5km inland from the coast and about 4km west of the town of
Axminster. The beacon commands extensive views of the surrounding countryside
and of the Axe Valley down to the coast at Seaton.
The circular beacon house of `beehive' type (so called after the distinctive
shape of its roof) is about 4m in diameter and has walls of mortared flint
1.9m high with two stone buttresses and a conical roof which was repaired
in 1985. It has an arched entrance 1.2m wide on its southern side, a window
facing north west, three small loop apertures, and a fireplace with internal
chimney. The beacon house sits on top of a raised mound of flint and earth set
against the end of the spur of the hill. This beacon mound is a maximum of 2m
in height and 16m in diameter; its flat top would have been suitable for the
setting of the beacon fire, perhaps within a purpose built fire-basket erected
on a pole.
The order for the placing of a beacon at Shute Hill is recorded in the
Kilmington Parish wardens' accounts of 1562-63 where a sum of two shillings
was paid for `the making of a beacon'. This may refer solely to the erection
of the beacon mound, for in 1567-68 a further two shillings is recorded for
the construction of a beacon house at the same site. A number of provisos are
also recorded in the later account, namely, `that the beacon man should watch
tenaciously from March to October and should be sheltered by a hut without
place of ease (a bed?) nor seats least he should fall asleep'. These provisos
perhaps reflect the real fear of sea-borne invasion and the need for vigilance
felt at that time, although it was not until 1588, a further 20 years after
the construction of the beacon house, that the threat was made real with the
setting sail of the Spanish Armada.
Excluded from the scheduling is an information board mounted upon a stone
pedestal and set onto the beacon mound, although the ground beneath this
feature 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

Beacons were fires deliberately lit to give a warning, by means of smoke by
day and flame by night, of the approach of hostile forces. They were always
sited in prominent positions, usually as part of a group, chain or line which
together made up a comprehensive early warning system covering most of the
country.
Beacons were extensively used during the medieval period. Their use was
formalised by 1325 and although some were used later, for example at the time
of Monmouth's Rebellion in 1685 or during the Napoleonic wars, the system was
in decay by the mid-17th century.
Beacons were initially bonfires of wood or furze, but later barrels of pitch
or iron fire baskets mounted on poles were used. The poles were occasionally
set on earthen mounds. Access to the fire basket was by way of rungs set in
the pole, or by a stone ladder set against the beacon. More unusual beacon
types include stone enclosures and towers, mainly found in the north and south
west of England. Some beacon sites utilised existing buildings such as church
towers.
Beacons were built throughout England, with the greatest density along the
south coast and the border with Scotland. Although approximately 500 are
recorded nationally, few survive in the form of visible remains. Many sites
are only known from place-name evidence. Given the rarity of recorded
examples, all positively identified beacons with significant surviving
archaeological remains are considered to be of national importance.

Shute Hill beacon house and beacon mound survive well, the beacon house
retaining its original walls and with only its roof subject to any signficant
restoration. The `beehive' type construction of the beacon house is
parallelled by few other surviving examples, the best known being at
Culmstock. The Beacon has supporting documentary evidence for two successive
phases of construction in the Elizabethan period when the threat of an
invasion from continental Europe was considered to be high. Documentary
evidence also alludes to the necessity for watchfulness on the part of the
beacon keeper, an intimate detail rarely encountered in the historical
sources. The monument will retain archaeological and architectural evidence
for an unusual type of beacon which was clearly perceived to be an important
feature in the coastal defences of the period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Russell, P, 'Transactions of the Devonshire Association' in Fire beacons in Devon, , Vol. 87, (1955), 290
Youings, J, 'Security and Defence in South-West England before 1800' in The Elizabethan Militia in the South West, , Vol. 19, (1987), 65

Source: Historic England