The Historic Exmoor Perambulation (continued)
Hoar Oak cottage 2 Scottish farmers and was probably built in the Reclamation of the early 19th the Forest Century. It was During the 19th home to a Scottish Century, when the shepherd working Royal Forest was here sometime after undergoing a process of 1867 and was used as a base for a sheep conversion to farm land, flock on The Chains. The house was finally Scottish shepherds abandoned in 1959. SS 742 435 arrived here from the Borders region.These On your way through the Hoar Oak valley shepherds brought with there is a sheepfold 3 on the right. This is them Scotch blackface a circular enclosure surrounded by a turf sheep as well as some bank. Sheep stells were places where sheep of the husbandry could be sheltered from severe winter techniques that had weather and heavy snows and an adequate developed there.The food supply provided for them. SS 745 431 Kittuck Meads Sheepfold 5 is sometimes design of many Exmoor stells, or sheepfolds, can also referred to as Three be traced directly back Combes Foot and is to the Borders. visible on the right as you walk towards Black Barrow. You can now see beech trees growing on its circular bank.This sheepfold is recorded as having been constructed in 1878 following the loss of many sheep during severe snowstorms. SS 822 439
Please Note: Not all of the sites mentioned in this leaflet are on Public Access land. Limited access is granted by the land owners on the day of the perambulation. If you are interested in the historic monuments of Exmoor you can visit www.heritagegateway.ork.uk or contact www.heartofexmoor.org.uk her@exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk or phone 01398 322273.
The Exmoor Moorland Landscape Partnership Scheme is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and our local partners and funders. Part financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development 2007-2013: Europe investing in rural areas.
4
The Historic Exmoor Perambulation
The Historic Exmoor
Perambulation
As you walk the boundary of the former Royal Forest of Exmoor, your footsteps take you through millennia of history, which has left subtle clues in the landscape. This guide will help you to discover archaeological remains, from prehistory to World War II, that can be seen on your route.
The 31 mile perambulation walked today was revived in 1958, but its origin dates back to the 1200s. It began as a way of establishing which land lay inside the Royal Forest boundary, and was subject to forest law. The duty of walking this boundary at least every seven years became an obligation of the ‘free suitors’, owners or tenants of the 52 tenements in the parishes of Hawkridge and Withypool.
The Historic Exmoor
What is a barrow? Barrows are prehistoric monuments formed where earth and stones have been placed over a burial in a prominent location.
rkers Boundary Ma s and Stones, barrow een trees have all b here used to show w f the the boundary o s. Royal Forest lie
Wood Barrow 1 is a Bronze Age barrow thought to have formed a part of the Royal Forest boundary from at least the 13th century. SS 716 425 The original Hoar Oak Tree 4 may have formed part of a line of oaks on the boundary between the Royal Forest and Lynton and Brendon Commons. It is reported that it fell in 1658 and was replaced in 1662 by a tree which lasted until 1916 to be replaced with the current tree. SS 747 430 Black Barrow 6 is a Bronze Age (2000700BC) round barrow. It was mentioned in the 1279 record of the Perambulation. SS 832 442 Alderman’s Barrow 7 also dates to the Bronze Age. Its name is a corruption of Owlaman’s Barrow and before this it was known as Osmund’s Barrow. On the north-west side of the barrow there is an antiquity star, put up in World War 2 to warn gunnery crews on the nearby firing ranges that it was an archaeological monument. 2
The Historic Exmoor Perambulation
Perambulation
White Ladder 8 stone row is located through a gate labelled ‘five barrows ancient monument’. It is thought to date from the Bronze Age and although some parts of it have been ploughed out, the stretches that remain suggest an avenue that could originally have been around a quarter of a mile long. The stones used to construct White Ladder are a mix of quartz, sandstone and slate slabs; mainly arranged in pairs. The visibility of this monument is dependent on the vegetation cover. SS730 373 to SS 733 371 After Five Barrows and White Ladder, Setta Barrow 9 will be visible on the landscape ahead. The boundary wall itself crosses Setta Barrow which dates to the Bronze Age and is a bowl shaped barrow. SS 725 380 Sloley Stone 10 is an engraved boundary stone on the former Royal Forest boundary at Moles Chamber, which bears the inscription ‘Christian Slowly, Lady of the Manor of Gratton’ and the date 1742. The southeast face is inscribed ‘William...Esquire Lord of ye Manor of High Bray’ and also ‘1742’. It marks the meeting of the county boundaries and where the commons of Gratton and High Bray met the former Royal Forest. SS 717 393 continues on back page
The Historic Exmoor Perambulation
3
The Historic Exmoor Perambulation (continued)
Hoar Oak cottage 2 Scottish farmers and was probably built in the Reclamation of the early 19th the Forest Century. It was During the 19th home to a Scottish Century, when the shepherd working Royal Forest was here sometime after undergoing a process of 1867 and was used as a base for a sheep conversion to farm land, flock on The Chains. The house was finally Scottish shepherds abandoned in 1959. SS 742 435 arrived here from the Borders region.These On your way through the Hoar Oak valley shepherds brought with there is a sheepfold 3 on the right. This is them Scotch blackface a circular enclosure surrounded by a turf sheep as well as some bank. Sheep stells were places where sheep of the husbandry could be sheltered from severe winter techniques that had weather and heavy snows and an adequate developed there.The food supply provided for them. SS 745 431 Kittuck Meads Sheepfold 5 is sometimes design of many Exmoor stells, or sheepfolds, can also referred to as Three be traced directly back Combes Foot and is to the Borders. visible on the right as you walk towards Black Barrow. You can now see beech trees growing on its circular bank.This sheepfold is recorded as having been constructed in 1878 following the loss of many sheep during severe snowstorms. SS 822 439
Please Note: Not all of the sites mentioned in this leaflet are on Public Access land. Limited access is granted by the land owners on the day of the perambulation. If you are interested in the historic monuments of Exmoor you can visit www.heritagegateway.ork.uk or contact www.heartofexmoor.org.uk her@exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk or phone 01398 322273.
The Exmoor Moorland Landscape Partnership Scheme is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and our local partners and funders. Part financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development 2007-2013: Europe investing in rural areas.
4
The Historic Exmoor Perambulation
The Historic Exmoor
Perambulation
As you walk the boundary of the former Royal Forest of Exmoor, your footsteps take you through millennia of history, which has left subtle clues in the landscape. This guide will help you to discover archaeological remains, from prehistory to World War II, that can be seen on your route.
The 31 mile perambulation walked today was revived in 1958, but its origin dates back to the 1200s. It began as a way of establishing which land lay inside the Royal Forest boundary, and was subject to forest law. The duty of walking this boundary at least every seven years became an obligation of the ‘free suitors’, owners or tenants of the 52 tenements in the parishes of Hawkridge and Withypool.