Civil War redoubt near East Linnacombe

Historic England's scheduling record (list entry 1020269) describes a Civil War redoubt in an elevated position with wide views over Dartmoor and the valley of the River Thrushel. It is a square enclosure with two ditches. A square central platform 13.9 metres across and 0.7 metres high carries a slight bank up to 3.6 metres wide and 0.2 metres high. Round the platform is a ditch 2 metres wide and 0.2 metres deep, beyond it a second bank 1.8 metres wide and 0.2 metres high, seen on all sides but the west, and a second ditch up to 2.4 metres wide and 0.3 metres deep, visible on the north, south and east and buried on the west. A slight bank to the south-west may show the original entrance. It lies in the parish of Sourton, about 2.4 km north-west of Shelstone Tor and 2 km north-east of Sourton.

The earthwork resembles the Scots Redoubt at Newark, dated 1646, and was possibly put up in 1642 to guard the Cornish side of Okehampton. A partial excavation in 1986 showed the outer ditch was much less substantial than the V-shaped inner one, and tip lines in the inner ditch showed there had once been a substantial bank round the central platform. Medieval pottery was also found. A stock-proof fence on the west side is excluded, though the ground beneath it is included.

Sources: Historic England list entry 1020269, which cites the Devon County Sites and Monuments Register (SX59SW2, 1994).

• Status: Scheduled monument (Historic England list entry 1020269)
• Grid reference: SX 5459 9191 (approximate, from the listing's coordinates)