MSO7030 - Post-medieval enclosure on Elsworthy (Monument)

A banked enclosure, 12.8 metres square and defined by earthern banks, probably the result of turf removal and of post-medieval date. Its proximity to the unfinished Porlock-Simonsbath railway suggests its possible use as a storage area.

The site is a rectangular enclosure defined by stony banks, approximately 2 metres high and 0.6 metres wide, replaced on the south and east sides by platforms, possibly buildings. There are slight traces of platform on the north side of the interior. There are entrances on the northeast and southwest. The dimensions of the enclosure are 20 paces by 17 paces. There is a small mound measuring 6 paces by 3 paces to the southwest. [1] Centred at SS 8193 4153 is a square enclosure. It has sides 12.8 metres long, defined on the north and west by earthen banks 0.3 metres high - a sharp, inward facing scarp with a spread outer side. On the east and south the sides are defined by a series of amorphous mounds 0.5 metres high, which have been distrurbed by animal burrows. A gap, 2.1 metres wide at the southeastern corner may be interpreted as an entrance. The enclosure has not been terraced into the hillside, and seems to be in part, the result of turf removal. It appears to be of post-medieval date, and its proximity to the unfinished Porlock-Simonsbath railway (MSO7906), approximately 35 metres to the north, might suggest that it was associated with the construction of the line; possibly a compound for storing materials. Also in the immediate area is a complex of substantial quarrylike scoops and hollows, which are probably part of the same phase of activity. [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]