Hut circle settlement near Swincombe

Historic England's scheduling record (list entry 1002593) describes an unenclosed stone hut circle settlement on the lower north-facing slopes of Down Ridge, overlooking the River Swincombe. It is a scattered group of up to 21 hut circles downslope of the terminal reave of the Dartmeet coaxial field system, within a field from a later newtake. It lies in the parish of Dartmoor Forest, about 2.4 km west of Combestone Tor and 0.9 km south-west of Hexworthy.

The huts are from 2.8 to 7.5 metres across inside and are defined by generally low double-faced or rubble walls. Entrances are usually not clear, and most of the huts are terraced into the slope. Two are linked by a boundary wall, two have clear annexes, one has a wall inside, and one seems to have a partly attached courtyard. Yards, middens, floors and fainter domestic and farming structures around the settlement survive as buried features. Other remains nearby, some scheduled and some not, are outside this scheduling.

Sources: Historic England list entry 1002593 (updated 11 November 2015), which cites Butler, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities, vol 4 (1993), pages 206 to 207, and PastScape 443364.

• Period: Bronze Age
• Status: Scheduled monument (Historic England list entry 1002593)
• Grid reference: SX 6465 7226 (approximate, from the listing's coordinates)