Lake Group

Nearest town:
Amesbury (5km ENE)
OS reference:
SU109402
OS sheet:
184
Latitude:
51° 9' 37.37 N
Longitude:
1° 50' 38.79 W
Added to TMA by

Sites within Lake Group

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Images

Image of Lake Group (Round Barrow(s)) by thesweetcheat

Astonishing amber necklace with gold discs, excavated from the Lake group of barrows. On display in the British Museum.

Image credit: A. Brookes (4.11.2012)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Nov 24, 2012
Image of Lake Group (Round Barrow(s)) by Chance

The Lake group Long Barrow is aligned north-west to south-east, stands 2.5 metres high, is 42 metres long and 23 metres wide.
Records suggest it has never to have been opened or excavated in any way.

Image credit: Chance - Aug 2007
Chance
Chance Jun 10, 2010
Image of Lake Group (Round Barrow(s)) by Chance

This Bell barrow seems to have been cleared from trees and was the best preserved barrow within the wood.

Image credit: Chance - Aug 2007
Chance
Chance Jun 10, 2010
Image of Lake Group (Round Barrow(s)) by Chance

The Bell barrows within the wood are safe from the plough but not tree roots and wildlife.

Image credit: Chance - Aug 2007
Chance
Chance Jun 10, 2010
Image of Lake Group (Round Barrow(s)) by Chance

One of the Bowl barrows within the wood showing the damaged caused by animals and vegetation.

Image credit: Chance - Aug 2007
Chance
Chance Jun 10, 2010
Image of Lake Group (Round Barrow(s)) by Chance

The Bowl barrow nearest the wood and on the corner of the track as it skirts the wood.

Image credit: Chance - Aug 2007
Chance
Chance Jun 10, 2010
Image of Lake Group (Round Barrow(s)) by Chance

The most western Bowl barrow has been reduced to virtually nothing but is still just visible.

Image credit: Chance - Aug 2007
Chance
Chance Jun 10, 2010
Image of Lake Group (Round Barrow(s)) by Chance

Looking along the barrows outside the wood from the top of the Bowl barrow in the corner.

Image credit: Chance - Aug 2007
Chance
Chance Jun 10, 2010
Image of Lake Group (Round Barrow(s)) by Chance

Of the barrows in the Lake group, those that stand outside the wood are best preserved such as this Bell barrow and the smaller Bowl barrow.

Image credit: Chance - Aug 2007
Chance
Chance Jun 10, 2010
Image of Lake Group (Round Barrow(s)) by Chance

The Lake barrow group in 1810 showing the long barrow, two disc barrows, large bell barrows, and the smaller, but more numerous bowl barrows. The earthwork on the left ran all the way up to the Winterbourne Stoke group of barrows, while the one of the right was designed to encompass a specific area only.

Image credit: Sir Richard Colt-Hoare, 1810, Ancient Wiltshire, Vol.1
Chance
Chance Jun 9, 2010

Articles

Lake Group

Chance
Chance Jun 10, 2010

Lake Barrow Group

Field notes – Visited 5th Aug 2007

There are three different and separate barrow groups south of Normanton Down, all of which are within the Wilsford cum Lake parish. Apart from the Lake group, there is the Lake Down barrow group (SU 117 393) which is actually on Lake Down, east of Druids Lodge and above Spring Bottom. The other group is known as the Wilsford Barrow group (SU 118 398) and this sits on the spur between Wilsford Down and Lake Down, on the western slope of Spring Bottom.

The Lake group are located just off the track that runs past Normanton Down and onto the A360 at Druids Lodge. These barrows are on private land but in order to get permission to view them you need to walk past them to Westfield farm.
This group contains at least fifteen bowl-barrows, four bell-barrows, two disc barrows and a long barrow. The farm track separates the main barrows of the group, the northern set containing the long barrow and disc barrows sit in a wood, while on the southern side of the track are two bell and three bowl barrows, one of which has been greatly reduced. To the north-west lay a satellite group of four bowl barrows which were completely excavated by Professor William Grimes in 1959 due to the damage they were under from being ploughed down.

Although Colt Hoare and William Cunnington carried out a lot of the excavations in the area, many of the barrows in this group including both the disc barrows, were opened by a former proprietor, Rev. Edward Duke, unfortunately with little, if any record. The Neolithic long barrow however, aligned north-west to south-east, 42 metres long, 23 metres wide and 2.5 metres high, appears never to have been opened or excavated in any way. The bell and bowl barrows which stand in the triangular open area between the two arms of the wood are the best preserved although the one furthest west is greatly reduced. These were the subject of Duke’s excavations in 1807, but there is doubt as to what he found in which barrow.

The barrows within the wood were difficult to photograph when I visited at the height of summer due to the extensive vegetation. There was a stench of death and I think a badger set had been the scene of slaughter. Some of the barrows had certainly been damaged by burrowing, if not by the tree roots that had engulfed them. I couldn’t get too far into the overgrowth to see the disc barrows or the so-called, Prophet Barrow which was said to be the place a French prophet preached from in 1710.

An interesting barrow group if you have the time to walk down from Stonehenge and get permission to look around them but I would recommend you did this in the winter months when the trees are bare and you can get a clearer view of the barrows.

Miscellaneous

Lake Group
Round Barrow(s)
Chance
Chance Jan 1, 2013

Details of barrow cemetery on Pastscape

A barrow cemetery comprising of 22 barrows (Wilsford 37-40, 42-50a) including the Prophet Barrow (SU 14 SW 465) and two confluent bowl barrows (SU 14 SW 469). These include 15 bowl barrows, two bell and two disc barrows. Excavations carried out during the nineteenth century and in June and July of 1959 have located burials, mainly cremations, in most of the barrows. Some were accompanied by grave goods which included daggers, beads and awls. There is however confusion over which barrows contained some of the finds which is a result of confusion over the correlation of Colt Hoare and Rev. E. Dukes barrow numbers to Grinsells barrow numbers due to differences in recent plans to those of Colt Hoare’s, therefore the finds may not be related to their appropriate barrows. The barrows which are mainly affected are Wilsford 47 (SU 14 SW 470), Wilsford 49 (SU 14 SW 472), Wilsford 50 (SU 14 SW 473) and Wilsford 50a (SU 14 SW 474). (2-5)

Sites within 20km of Lake Group

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