MDE20397 - Possible rubbing stone on Kentisbury Down (Monument)

Published stone number 14 ("D") and additional stones in this field. SS 6390 4402- D. Erect stone, 3 feet high, width 2 feet 7 inches at base tapering to a point, 12 inches broad at base tapering to 7 inches. It is situated on the spur of a hill where pits, earthworks, trenches and ancient walls abound. Stone number 14 is of known grit 2 feet 11 inches high, 2 feet 3 inches wide and 2 feet thick, triangular in form. [1-4] D (Number 14) - SS 6398 4407. The measurements given by [2] are correct in so far as measurements can be given of objects of irregular shape. The geological descriptions by [3] are correct. The description of the field contained in [3] is romantic. The walls are as ancient as the Enclosure Act and the pits are disused quarries. The earthworks are probably the result of the upcast from these diggings. The trenches may be light cultivation drains. Apart from this there is a certain "unevenness" about the field which is not so readily explained but it forms no pattern. Some of the stones may have come from the quarries but as no rock face is now exposed no definite decision on this point could be reached. [5,16] Stone located and surveyed on field document. [6] SS 6398 4406 - Stone (NAT). [7] D - SS 6396 4407. As described. Surveyed at 1:2500. There are signs that the fields were formerly subdivided. The stone is more likely to be a rubbing stone than a prehistoric standing stone. [8] D - SS 6398 4407. Stone (NAT). [9] SS 639 440. Listed as a stone setting of four stones and also as four standing stones. [10] As described. It remains uncertain whether the stone is a prehistoric standing stone or a rubbing post. If prehistoric, it does not appear to be a setting in the accepted Exmoor pattern, as the group are far too dispersed. [11] Reported to be sharply pointed and have a triangular plan. [12] One of four widely spaced stones located within enclosed fields of rough moorland pasture. This one may be a bubbly [sic - rubbing?] stone. [13] The stone is marked on modern MasterMap data at SS 6397 4407. [14] The site is a recumbent triangular stone measuring 0.75 x 0.72 x 0.33m situated on the northern edge of Kentisbury Down, roughly 5m from a slight ditch in the ground, and approximately 45m south of the road. It is the first time it has been recorded as recumbent and must have collapsed in the last twenty years. There is no visible indication of the original socket for the stone. Due to the apparently shallowness of the stone’s setting, location, and un-weathered surface, it is more likely to be a rubbing stone for grazing livestock or related to the nearby stone and mineral extraction, rather than a prehistoric standing stone. [15] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [17]