MDE21526 - Possible prehistoric enclosure west of Lynton Station (Monument)

Remains of a possible prehistoric enclosure , much reduced by ploughing, include a roughly ovoid platform cut back into the slope, which contains a small subcircular contiguous platform, possibly a hut platform.

SS 7173 4872. The remains of a possible prehistoric enclosure are situated in a pasture field at about 255 metres above Ordnance Datum on a fairly steep southeast facing hill slope. Best seen in ideal lighting conditions in early evening from West Lyn Farm (some 800 metres across the Glen Lyn Gorge to the southeast). This enclosure has been so reduced by ploughing and it merges so effectively into the surrounding slope that precise measurements are not obtainable. Its main feature is a roughly ovoid platform, about 20 metres northeast to southwest by 8 metres internally, cut back into the slope around the north uphill side to a depth of about 1.3 metres and with a frontal scarp up to 6 metres wide and 1.3 metres high. Set into the slope on its north side is a small subcircular, contiguous platform, about 9 metres northeast to southwest by 6 metres internally, possibly the stance for a hut accessed from the northeastern side above the large platform. Probing revealed some stone beneath the turf. This denuded feature could be no more than a disused quarry. The location on the 1887 Ordnance Survey map is shown as a patch of gorse. It does not however have the ragged appearance of a quarry and it is magnificently situated with panoramic views from the northeast around to the south. Its form suggests that it may be a small homestead or a prehistoric settlement. Surveyed at 1:500. [1-3] Enclosure on farmland above Lynbridge to the south of Lynton. [4] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [5]