MSO7653 - Selworthy Beacon (Monument)

Minehead Without 1. At SS 91884799 a mound 20 paces across by 3 feet high, probably a barrow. Probably used as a beacon. Visited by Grinell 11 September 1959. [1] Marked "Selworthy Beacon" on Ordnance Survey Archaeological Division 6 inch map. [2] 1 at 'A' [1] SS 9188 4798 is Selworthy Beacon. A modern cairn stands on what may be the remains of a truncated cairn though it may only be a beacon platform. [3] In good condition. [4] The cairn on Selworthy Beacon is part of a group of cairns which lie on the ridge to the east of the Beacon, close to Hill Road. The cairn was surveyed using differential GPS as part of the RCHME East Exmoor project, and lies at SS 91873 47986. The cairn is defined by a roughly circular stony platform, 10.4 metres north to south, 11.5 metres east to west and 1.1 metres high. A modern stone cairn lies in the centre of this platform, and the Ordnance Survey triangulation pillar lies on its eastern edge. The ridge looks out over the Bristol Channel to S Wales on the north, and over to Dunkery Beacon to the south. [5] The association with a post medieval beacon site comes from the 1st edition OS map for the area, which does not mark the cairn but calls the area "Selworthy Beacon". [6] SS 91864798. The prehistoric cairn was probably modified for use as a fire beacon during the 16th century. Monument scheduled on 3 September 2002. [8] The Bronze Age burial cairn is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs. The cairn is centred at SS 9186 4798 and is as described above. [9-11] The Scheduled Monument Condition Assessment of 2009 gave the site a survival score of 8. [12] The site was surveyed in October 2015 as part of the 2015 Exmoor Scheduled Monument Condition Assessment. It was given a survival score of 7. [13] The site is recorded on 2018 MasterMap data and labelled Selworthy Beacon. [14] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [15,16]