A HISTORY OF DEVONSHIRE 



partake of the character of fortifications, only defending the inhabitants and their herds from the 

 raids of the wolf and the boar, these will, in common with all those structures known as ' Pounds,' 

 fall within the section devoted to Pre-historic Man. 



MISCELLANEOUS EARTHWORKS 



SB? 





"?«&>.,.,. 



'5Sft|i% 







'^Zi 



•CALC V rccT 



Seunrsn Samts 



Banks at Braunton. 



[Class X] 



Under this category we include those ruins of segmental trenches found in places on the clif6, 



and others which do not fall into the foregoing classes. 



Braunton (O.S. viii, lo). — Upon the shoulder of the cliff above Saunton Sands, on the 



southern side of a 



point projecting 



westwards into the 



Bristol Channel — 



about eight miles 



in a straight line 



from Barnstaple— 



are five parallel « ~^'<i^<^'' '"UWrrf^inttw^ymtuu,'.^^^^^ 



banks extending 



1,400 ft., running 



north-west by west 



to south-east by 



east, with another 



bank obliquely 



crossing them. 



Their height varies 



from one to three 



feet, and the prin- 

 cipal agger rises to 



4 ft. at its south- 

 eastern extremity. 



Above the most inland entrenchment the ground continues to rise, and below the outermost 



the rounded descent is so great that it is difficult to retain a foothold. The position overlooks the 



long stretch of sand dunes and burrows which provide an inviting beach for disembarkation and 



cover for an enemy. 



That the defences have been reduced in strength in modern times is evident from the descrip- 

 tion left to us by Lysons, who says that in his day this camp, which was called the ' The Castle,' 



and covered an area of 4 acres, had a large vallum and fosse on the north, the only accessible side.^ 

 Flint-flakes have been found in abundance at this camp. 



Dartmouth (O.S. cxxxiv, i). — Gallants' Bower. Overlooking 

 the entrance to Dartmouth Harbour on the east, some 300 feet 

 above the town, and 600 ft. inland from Castle Cove, is an earth- 

 work of somewhat fantastic shape. The camp is kite-shaped, with 

 the entrance at the south-west, but the broad rampart widens into 

 natural platforms at the four corners and in the middle of the west 

 side. It is defended by a natural scarp on the north and west, and 

 signs of additional works are at the entrance and two sides. 



This camp is mentioned by Fairfax in one of his despatches to 

 the Parliament. 



East Portlemouth (O.S. cxxxviii, 3). — On Rickham Com- 

 mon, opposite Salcombe Harbour and Blackstone, are seventeen lines 

 of entrenchments of the same character as those at Braunton. They 

 run more or less parallel to the coast, from the south-west to the 

 north-east. These banks range from 200 ft. to 600 ft. in length, 

 and the one nearest to the line of the cliff has a semicircular 

 terrace at the south-western end. 



SouTHLEiGH (O.S. Ixxxiii, 5 and 9) and Branscombe. — Two 

 miles inland from the south coast, and north of Berry Cliff Camp, 

 stands the Three Horseshoes Inn, on the road from Ottery St. Mary 

 to Colyford. Both north and south of this inn is an extensive 







.:^i:^ 









SCALE or PEET 

 100 200 



900 



Gallants Bower, Dartmouth. 



' Lysons, Mag. Brit, vi, 352. 

 624 



