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Merryton Low II

Round Barrow(s)

Fieldnotes

The hill Merryton Low forms the highest point of Morridge to the North-East of the Staffordshire Moorlands village of Thorncliffe. There are two barrows on Merryton Low, one on the summit and this second one to the South-West of the summit some 350m away.

Merryton Low II is obviously not as easy to locate as Merryton Low I simply because it has not got a concrete pillar on top of it! However, it is located just a short distance off to the West of the path that leads from the summit down the southern slopes of the hill. The top of the barrow is just about visible from the road that leads from The Mermaid Inn up to The Mermaid's Pool.

The barrow has a somewhat flattened top with maximum dimensions of 12m by 11m in diameter and up to 0.8m high. This barrow has an unusually narrow aspect to it and is sub-oval in shape (almost cigar shaped in fact). The western tip of the barrow looks as if it is aligned with Bosley Cloud over on the Staffordshire-Cheshire border.

Merryton Low II is not known to have been excavated and is not thought to be one of the three barrows on Morridge mentioned by Plot (Plot, R. "A Natural History of the County of Stafford-shire" 1686. Ch.X. Para.19, Ch.X. Para.21.)

Merryton Low II does not appear on the OS Landranger or Explorer maps covering the area.

Site visited:- 17th April 2013

Scheduled Ancient Monument No.=1008974. Scheduled as bowl barrow 350m SW of Merryton Low. NMR=SK06 SW13, R.S.M. No.=22415, S.M.R. No.=04186.
BrownEdger Posted by BrownEdger
24th May 2013ce
Edited 24th August 2014ce

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