MSO6842 - Edgerley Stone, Bill Hill (Monument)

Summary

A boundary stone marking the county boundary between Devon and Somerset, and the former boundary of Exmoor Forest. It is a standing slab 1.5 metres high, of uncertain date, and was named 'Longstone' in a survey of 1651.

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Type and Period (4)

Protected Status

Full Description

Edgeley Stone is marked at SS 7195 4070 on the 1st and 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey maps. [1,2] This boundary stone is called 'Longstone' in 1651 in a Survey of Exmoor Chase, but is given the name 'Edgerley Stone' on the 1675 Map of Exmoor [3], which shows it as somewhat crescent shaped and apparently recumbent. It now stands a fully five feet high in the fence on the north side of the Challacombe road and is one of the principal and best known of the boundary stones. In lawsuits of 1677-8 it is spelled 'Edgerley Stone' and 'Edgerlystone'. The Enclosure Award of 1815 marks it 'Edgerly Stone'. [3,4] The stone slab is not really dateable. It measures 1.7 metres high and 0.6 metres across, and was used as a county boundary stone. Published 1:2500 survey correct. [5,6] The stone defines many boundaries, including the Challacombe and High Bray Commons, the Exmoor-Challacombe parish boundary, the western boundary of the Forest of Exmoor, as well as the Somerset-Devon county boundary. [7,8,9,22] The stone may be a (prehistoric?) standing stone. [10] A large rough stone stands about 5 feet high in the northern bank of the road from Simonsbath to Challacombe (B3358). Until the enclosure of the Forest in 1819 or of Challacombe Common in 1857, it stood alone on the open moor, probably since Saxon times. The only inscriptions on the stone appear to be F. BRAY and F. ISAAC, which were probably the names of the men employed in making the modern fences. The site is undisturbed, 1.5 metres high and 0.45 metres wide. [11] The standing slab at SS 7195 4070 is of a rhomboidal section, 1.5 metres high, 0.8 metres wide and 0.35 metres thick. It is set against a hedgebank and serves as a parish and county boundary stone; it is not known if the stone has prehistoric origins. An Ordnance Survey Bench Mark is cut on the exposed southwest face with two names F.Issac and F.Bray incised, one above and one below it. It is in good condition. [12] SS 720 407. Edgerley Stone. Scheduled. (Listed under 'Burial Mounds and Megalithic Monuments'). [14] The stone measures 1.5 metres high, 0.8 metres wide, 0.35 metres thick. [16] The stone is at right angles to the county boundary. [17] SS 71954070. The Edgerley Stone is known to have been in its present position from at least 1207, when it marked the boundary of the Royal Forest of Exmoor. Scheduling of the monument was affirmed on 6th December 2002, with new national number (was previously Somerset 152). [18] SS71961 40700 Edgerley Stone, an ancient boundary stone serving as a marker for the Devon/Somerset County Boundary [9]; and the Forest of Exmoor Boundary [3]. A Scheduled Monument (Somerset No:152) [15], it is still in situ and in good condition as described by [12]. Surveyed at 1:2500. [19] In private ownership. [20] The Scheduled Monument Condition Assessment of 2009 gave the site a survival score of 3. [21] The site was surveyed in April 2015 as part of the 2015 Exmoor Scheduled Monument Condition Assessment. It was given a survival score of 3. [23] A boundary stone marking the county boundary between Devon and Somerset and the former boundary of Exmoor Forest. It is a thick standing slab measuring 1.4 x 0.64 x 0.28m, of uncertain date and was named “Longstone” in a survey of 1651. It is potentially prehistoric and has been surveyed for this reason. Traces of the names `F Isaac' and `F Bray' have been inscribed into the front of the stone, probably in antiquity as the formal lettering and weathered condition of the inscriptions suggest. Overall the stone is in a very good condition and there has been little change since the previous condition survey. It is only at a significant risk from vehicles on the B3358 and off-road vehicles accessing the gate on the stones eastern side. [24-25] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [26]

Sources/Archives (26)

  • <1> Map: Ordnance Survey. 1868-1896. County Series, First Edition 6 Inch Map. 1:10560. 1891.
  • <2> Map: Ordnance Survey. 1902-1907. County Series, 2nd Edition 25 Inch Map. 1:2500. 1905. 11NW.
  • <3> Monograph: MacDermot, E.T.. 1911. The History of the Forest of Exmoor. Barnicott and Pearce, The Wessex Press. 113-433, The Map of Exmore 1675, Frontispiece.
  • <4> Verbal communication: Various. Various. Oral Information. Notes by OGS Crawford, 1927-28.
  • <5> Unpublished document: Fletcher, M.J.. Field Investigators Comments. Ordnance Survey visit, 4 February 1975.
  • <6> Photograph: Fletcher, M.. 1975. Edgerly Stone Boundary Marker Photograph. 207/J/16. B/W.
  • <7> Monograph: Whybrow, C.. 1977. Antiquary's Exmoor. The Exmoor Press. P.48.
  • <8> Article in serial: Rawle, E.J.. 1894. Final Perambulation of Exmoor Forest. Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society. 40. 171-178. P.174, Part II.
  • <9> Map: Ordnance Survey. 1868-1901. County Series; 1st Edition 25 Inch Map. 1:2500. 1888, Devon 11(1).
  • <10> Article in serial: Fowler, M.J.F.. 1988/1989. The Standing Stones of Exmoor: A Provisional Catalogue of 62 West Somerset Sites. Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society. 132. P.1-13 (Exmoor 13).
  • <11> Report: Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission. Field Monument Warden Report. Site visit, S Weston, 4 February 1975, Correspondence July 1982.
  • <12> Unpublished document: Sainsbury, I.S.S. Field Investigators Comments. RCHME Field Investigation, 23 November 1989.
  • <13> Monograph: Eardley-Wilmot, H.. 1983. Ancient Exmoor: A Study of the Archaeology and Prehistory of Exmoor. The Exmoor Press. Microstudy C2. P.40, 42.
  • <14> Index: English Heritage. 1913-. Schedule of Monuments. Department of the Environment, Ancient Monuments, England 2, 1978. 117.
  • <15> Index: English Heritage. 1913-. Schedule of Monuments. Department of the Environment 1987, Somerset 24 County No: 152.
  • <16> Report: Quinnell, N.V. and Dunn, C.J.. 1992. Lithic monuments within the Exmoor National Park: A new survey for management purposes by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England.. Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. P.49. SS74SW53.
  • <17> Report: Setterington, R.A.. 1990. The Stone Settings of the Parishes of Exford and Exmoor in Somerset. P.9.
  • <18> Unpublished document: Various. Scheduled Monument Notification . English Heritage to Somerset County Council, 20 December 2002.
  • <19> Unpublished document: Sainsbury, I.S.S. Field Investigators Comments. RCHME Field Investigation, 1 May 1995.
  • <20> Verbal communication: Various. 1900-. Somerset County Council / South West Heritage Trust staff comments. Somerset County Council Planning.
  • <21> Report: Bray, L.S.. 2009. Final Results Table: Scheduled Monument Condition Assessment.
  • <22> Monograph: Siraut, M.. Royal Forest, Exmoor: A guide to the Royal Forest of Exmoor. Exmoor National Park Authority. 3.
  • <23> Report: Gent, T. and Manning, P.. 2015. Exmoor National Park Scheduled Monument Condition Survey 2015. Archaedia.
  • <24> Report: Fuller, J.. 2018. Exmoor Prehistoric Standing Stone Condition Survey: 2017-2018. MSO6842.
  • <25> Report: Fuller, J.. 2018. Exmoor Prehistoric Standing Stone Condition Survey: 2017-2018 - Scheduled Standing Stones. MSO6842.
  • <26> Digital archive: Historic England. Various. National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE) entry. 35485, Extant 19 October 2021.

External Links (1)

Other Statuses/References

  • Devon SMR Monument ID: 13965
  • Devon SMR: SS74SW/65
  • Exmoor National Park HER Number (now deleted): MDE1322
  • Exmoor National Park HER Number (now deleted): MDE20381
  • Exmoor National Park HER Number (now deleted): MSO10894
  • Local List Status (No)
  • National Monuments Record reference: SS 74 SW53
  • National Park: Exmoor National Park
  • NRHE HOB UID (Pastscape): 35485
  • Somerset SMR PRN: 33033

Map

Location

Grid reference SS 7195 4069 (point) Estimated from sources
Map sheet SS74SW
Civil Parish CHALLACOMBE, NORTH DEVON, DEVON
Civil Parish EXMOOR, WEST SOMERSET, SOMERSET

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Events/Activities (3)

Record last edited

Oct 19 2021 1:02PM

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