| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
King Arthur's Hall
St Breward |
North Cornwall
NGR: SX 12980 77650 |
| |
 |
| |
King Arthur’s Hall is situated in an area of open moorland that
extends north towards the settlements and ritual monuments of Louden
Hill, eastwards towards Garrow Tor and south to Hawkstor. The
monument consists of fifty-six stones which originally stood upright
forming the internal face of a steep sided rectangular bank. The
stones, which may originally have numbered as many as 140, vary in
height, the largest not exceeding 2m. The bank has slumped and may
conceal other fallen stones. In the centre of the south side one of
the stones has been set at right angles to the bank, obviously a
deliberate choice and possibly marking some significant feature –
the opposite position on the north bank is unfortunately disturbed.
There is an entrance through the bank in the south-west corner – it
is not stone lined and a rise in ground at this point may indicate
that the bank was originally continuous, and the ‘entrance’ is a
modern feature. The interior is slightly hollow with traces of rough
paving in the north west corner. The interior fills with water
during periods of heavy rain, and the contemporary ground level, if
any traces survive, has not been identified.
The date and purpose of the
site
remain obscure. The first reference to it is in a
document dated
1584, at which time it had already enjoyed a long
association with
King Arthur who was reputed to have frequented the site, and hence
gave his name both to the site itself and the area of moorland in
which it lies. Many suggestions
have been put forward
for its origin and function, ranging from a Neolithic mortuary house
or enclosure, a
Bronze Age ceremonial or ritual monument to a mediæval animal pound
serving the Hundred of Trigg (the name of the
administrative area during the mediæval period).
The monument has suffered some damage by cattle in the past and a
(gated) fence now surrounds the site to protect it from further
disturbance.
The site lies in open moorland with full open access via an
east-west footpath, following the line of a mediæval boundary bank
between the manors of Blisland and Hamatethy.
Sources
Barnatt, J, 1980.
Lesser Known Stone Circles in Cornwall. in Cornish Archaeology
19, pp.17-30.
Johnson, R. and Rose, P, 1994. Bodmin Moor: An Archaeological Survey.
Vol.1: The human landscape to c1800. English Heritage. ISBN 0953
3796.
Payne, R, 1999.
The Romance of the Stones: Cornwall's Pagan Past. Alexander
Associates. ISBN 899526 66 8 |
| |
| |
|
|
|
Ground & Aerial photographs |
|
|
