MDE9009 - Post-medieval buildings on Holdstone Down (Monument)

The remains of a rectangular building with a partition wall and possibly the remains of associated outhouses were noted on aerial photographs taken in 1946 and 1978, on the northwest side of Holdstone Down. [1-3] A cairn, about one metre high, has been built from the ruins of the site to the southeast. The site is highly vulnerable to damage by visitors as it is near the coastal path. [4] Two structures centred at SS 6118 4799. The principal building is centred at SS 6118 4799. It is rectangular in shape and may originally have been two-celled. On its eastern side it has been terraced slightly into the hillside. It is constructed of stone and measures 5 metres by 8 metres with walls 0.4 metres thick, standing to 0.5 metres in height. It is surrounded by spreads of robbed stone and several small modern cairns. Rubbish has been dumped into its interior. The second structure lies to the north at SS 6117 4800. It consists of a rectangular hollow 0.7 metres deep, measuring 4.2 metres by 8 metres. There are no obvious signs of walling and no entrance is visible. Surveyed at 1:2500. [5,6] The remains of a pair of ruined structures, probably dating to the post-medieval period are visible on aerial photographs to the north of Holdstone Down. The buildings appear on aerial photographs to share a central dividing wall, with the building to the east measuring 10 metres long by metres wide, and the western building measuring approximately 5.5 metres wide and 10 metres long. No obvious entrance is visible for either structure on the aerial photographs, and neither structure is depicted on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map. [7-9] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [9]