MDE9014 - Post-medieval inclosure allotment on Holdstone Down (Monument)

Part of a rectangular enclosure and the remains of two buildings were seen on aerial photographs dating from 1946 and 1978 north of Holdstone Farm. [1-3] A plot, corresponding with one of the 1870s Parliamentary Inclosure strips, exists on the southwestern side of Holdstone Down at SS 6141 4755. It is defined by low stony banks 0.5 metres high and 1.2 metres wide. The interior of the plot is largely featureless except for its northeastern corner. Here, a well-defined platform survives, which measures 17 metres by 8 metres with a revetment or stony scarp 1.3 metres high on its downslope side. A central break in the scarp is occupied by a ruinous flight of stone steps. On the upslope side of the platform an irregular hollow has been cut into the hillside. This is probably largely a quarry for the platform itself. Other feature include a small yard on the downslope side of the platform and a number of hollows to the west, possibly associated with water supply or sanitation. A second enclosure of similar type exists on the northern slopes of Holdstone Down (see MDE9015). Surveyed at 1:2500. [4,5] A post-medieval building is visible as a platform and associated earthworks on aerial photographs on the western side of Holdstone Down. At least five sides of the structure are visible in the northeastern corner of a boundary which is depicted on the modern Ordnance Survey map. The structure appears to consist of at least two cells, possibly connected by means of the ruined staircase referred to by the above authority, measuring 16 metres long by 20 metres wide and aligned northeast. It seems likely that this structure is related to the 1870s phase of Enclosure, and possibly represents a settlement which was never completed. Neither the enclosure nor the structure are depicted on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map. [6-8] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [9]