Pillow mound near Blackaton Cross

This pillow mound is part of Trowlesworthy Warren, one of Dartmoor's surviving examples of a managed warren system. Pillow mounds, also called 'lynchets', are low artificial ridges built to provide dry habitat for rabbits or hares, which were valuable resources in medieval and later periods. The mound lies in the open moorland northeast of Blackaton Cross.

Today it appears as a subtle earthwork in the landscape, best understood as part of the broader pattern of human use that shapes Dartmoor. Walking across Trowlesworthy Warren, you encounter the accumulated traces of centuries: walls, cairns, and structures like this mound that reveal how moorland communities managed their resources and shaped their environment.

Historic England listed designation: Pillow mound 790m NNE of Blackaton Cross, forming part of Trowlesworthy Warren