MEM22266 - Possible abandoned medieval settlement of "Hantona", Six Acre Farm (Monument)

A cornditch surrounds a primary enclosure with five other field boundaries radiating from it. This may represent an abandoned medieval settlement, named in Domesday. Possible house platforms have also been noted.

An obvious cornditch, about 350 metres in length encloses an ovoid area, which appears to be a primary enclosure with five other field boundaries radiating from it. Recent renovations (prior to Autumn 2005) revealed seashells and medieval pottery within the ditch. Inside the enclosure is a platform in which some basic turf removal revealed a large horizontal stone, possibly forming part of the wall of a building. Both Caffyns and Six Acre Farms descend from the Domesday manor of Hantona ('at the high farm'), later known as Caffyns Heanton. This enclosure (number 357 on the 1839 Lynton Tithe Map) is named in the Lynton Tithe Award "Henton or North Meadow", suggesting there may be an abandoned medieval settlement here and it may be the Domesday "Hantona". [1] Geophysical and topographical survey in 2006 have provided evidence for a second house platform to the north of the enclosure, which may still contain remains of a hearth. A further cornditch and a stone lined sheep creep were also identified. [2] A possible platform to the east that was not covered by the 2005 earthwork survey was noted during a site visit in 2013 and suggests that the enclosure may be secondary. The oval enclosure surrounds springs at the head of a steep coombe. [3]