Priddy Circles

Henge
ST540528

Also known as:

Priddy Henges

Nearest town:

Wells (7km SSE)

OS reference:

ST540528

OS sheets:

182, 183

Latitude:

51° 16' 18.97 N

Longitude:

2° 39' 34.14 W

Added to TMA by

Rhiannon

Images (4)
News (6)
Fieldnotes (2)
Folklore (3)
Miscellaneous (2)
Links (5)
Topics (6)

Images

Image of Priddy Circles (Henge) by postman

The central henge, is kinda faded but still hanging on. The further henge was too much of a tresspass but I think is faded like this and visible through the trees as a curve in the dead grasses .

Image credit: Chris Bickerton

postman Nov 11, 2010

2 comments

The southern henge, if I remember right.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton

postman Nov 11, 2010

The barrow near the roadside, between circles and car

Image credit: Chris Bickerton

postman Nov 11, 2010

Image of Priddy Circles (Henge) by vulcan

This may well be the southern most henge of Priddy Circles?

vulcan May 23, 2003

Articles

Priddy Circles

English Heritage update on the Priddy repairs

juamei Jan 9, 2014

PRIDDY CIRCLE 1 – STATEMENT ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL MITIGATION AND REINSTATEMENT

BACKGROUND

In May 2011, large-scale unauthorised damage took place on one of the four Priddy Circles, a group of large, circular earthworks of prehistoric date which are protected as Scheduled Monuments. In October 2012, following a prosecution brought by English Heritage, the owner of Priddy Circle 1, Mr Penny, pleaded guilty to carrying out the unauthorised works. He agreed to pay for repairs to the monument and other mitigation works at a cost of around £38,000. He was also fined £2,500 by Taunton Crown Court and ordered to pay costs of £7,500.

The circle is designated and protected under the Ancient Monuments & Archaeological Areas Act 1979 and under this legislation it is a criminal offence to undertake works to a Scheduled Monument without the consent of the Secretary State (known as Scheduled Monument Consent).

In addition to a substantial fine and costs, Mr Penny signed a Voluntary Agreement committing him to funding a package of ‘reinstatement’ works, the detail of which was to be approved by English Heritage. Although we argued that some archaeological investigation should be an important part of an overall package of restorative justice works, the court was clear that the focus of the work funded by Mr Penny should be on aspects of physical reinstatement as opposed to archaeological investigation of the damaged areas.

ENGLISH HERITAGE PRESS STATEMENT

Given the national and international significance of the Priddy Circles, English Heritage felt it important that the damage caused to the monument should not be repaired without some archaeological investigation taking place. Therefore, a programme archaeological work was designed by English Heritage, focusing on the parts of the monument that had been either been damaged or disturbed. The work was commissioned to run alongside the evaluation phase of the reinstatement works, which was necessary to inform decisions on whether to restore areas of the circle that had been subject to earthmoving.

Over Spring and Summer of this year, English Heritage, together with archaeological contractors AC Archaeology, undertook a programme of assessment and evaluation, including a geophysical survey of the damaged parts of the site. The results of this work helped in the design of an archaeological excavation which was carried out in September and October 2013, and focused on an area of deep wheel-rutting caused by the creation of a track way through the site during the unauthorised works.

The fieldwork is now completed and post-excavation analysis and recording are currently underway, including the use of specialist scientific dating techniques by English Heritage at our laboratory in Portsmouth. The results will be published in due course, and it is hoped they will advance our knowledge and understanding of this rare and early monument type, in addition to helping inform management decisions for the Priddy Circles and similar monuments elsewhere.

The final part of the reinstatement works is due to take place early in the New Year, when some reconstruction of the bulldozed circle bank will take place. This is a limited piece of work with two objectives – firstly, to restore some of the form and legibility of the circle and secondly to cover over and protect important Neolithic archaeology which had been left exposed by the damage. When this work is completed, Mr Penny’s obligations under the Voluntary Agreement will have been met and the Scheduled Monument will once again be in a stable condition for posterity.

(from heritageaction.wordpress.com/2014/01/09/finally-priddy-good-news/)

Priddy Circles

Priddy Stone Circles vandal, 73, ordered to pay £10,000

moss Oct 26, 2012

7 comments

A 73-year-old man who vandalised a 5,000-year-old stone monument has been ordered to pay £10,000.

Roger Penny, of Chewton Mendip, appeared before Taunton Crown Court after he damaged one of the Priddy Stone Circles, which is on his land.

Penny had pleaded guilty to charges, at an earlier hearing at South Somerset and Mendip Magistrates’ Court.

He was fined £2,500 plus costs of £7,500, but has pledged to pay up to £40,000 extra to help make repairs.

Damage ‘significant‘

Recorder Jeremy Wright said that it was “sad to see a man of your age and good character before the court”.

However, he said: “Your actions may have meant that significant archaeological information has been lost.

“Although some evidence may be available, it’s significance and value has been significantly diminished by the damage you have done.”

Penny has agreed to pay up to £38,000, according to English Heritage (EH), to help put things on the site right again.

An EH spokesperson described the damage as a “major incident”, adding the structure was one of only about 80 henges in England.

They said the loss of the fabric to the henge meant a “really, really rare piece of Neolithic engineering had been lost forever”.

‘Completely bulldozed‘

The damage included the destruction of a circular ditch which was completely bulldozed, and damage to the monument itself, the spokesperson said.

EH is still unsure whether the monument can be restored to its original condition.

In April, the court was told the damage was carried out between April and October 2011.

Magistrates were told work had taken place on land next to the B3195, known as Stable Cottage and Huntsman Cottage, which contained the southernmost circle of the monument.

Penny, of The Grange, Back Lane, Chewton Mendip, was charged in connection with causing or permitting work without scheduled monument consent or development consent contrary to Section 2(1) of the Ancient Monuments Archaeological Areas Act 1979.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-20096114

Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979
legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1979/46

7 Comments

Priddy Circles

Priddy Circles case delayed

Mustard Jun 4, 2012

Sentencing of the man responsible for the destruction of one of the Priddy Circles, an ancient monument high on the Mendip hills has been delayed.

Roger Penny, of Litton, pleaded guilty to permitting the execution of works affecting a scheduled monument at Priddy between April and October 2011 contrary to the Ancient Monuments Archaeological Areas Act 1979 and the case was sent to crown court for sentence. He is now listed to appear before the court on July 6.

thisissomerset.co.uk/Circles-case-delayed/story-16175053-detail/story.html

Priddy Circles

Somerset man charged with damaging Priddy Circles

Mustard Apr 4, 2012

A man from Somerset is to appear in court charged with damaging a prehistoric monument near Wells.

Damage was done to a section of the Priddy Circles, which is made up of four large Neolithic circular henges, at some point in May or June last year.

English Heritage said it is a criminal offence to intentionally or recklessly destroy or damage a scheduled monument without lawful excuse.

The man is due at South Somerset and Mendip Magistrates’ Court on 19 April.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-17614600

Priddy Circles

Damage prosecution decision imminent

baza Mar 10, 2012

From thisissomerset:

Investigations into the damage to Priddy Circles on the Mendip hills have been completed.

A 72-year-old man has been released from police bail and the case has been passed to the jurisdiction of English Heritage who are expecting to decide what action, if any, to take in the next few weeks.

The Priddy Circles are one of the most important neolithic monuments in the country.

The circles, which are contemporary with the first stages of Stonehenge, are a scheduled monument.

One of them was damaged at some point between May 1 and June 23 last year and the damage to the circle outraged the archeological community.

There have been calls for the damaged sections to be reinstated by archeologists at the expense of those responsible.

If convicted those responsible could be fined anything up to £20,000.

They could also be jailed for up to six months and could have to pay to have it reinstated.

The circles could also be compulsorily purchased by the government in order to protect it.

Anyone accused of damaging a monument can say in their defence that they tried to protect the monument while carrying out work. They can also say that they had to carry out the work for safety reasons or did not know that the monument was within the area affected by the works or that it was a scheduled monument.

An English Heritage spokesman said: “A detailed investigation has been carried out by English Heritage in partnership with Avon and Somerset Police into the circumstances surrounding damage to one of the Priddy Circles.

“The evidence gathered in the course of the investigation is now with English Heritage to consider and a decision as to any further action will be taken in the near future.”

Priddy Circles

Outrage as Neolithic Monument bulldozed flat

Ubik Jul 18, 2011

Reports began to circulate in early June concerning damage to one of a series of four remarkable Neolithic monuments in Somerset, southwest England. However, the scale of the damage to the Priddy Circles is only now being fully appreciated.

The four Circles are listed together as a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and as such are under the protection of the State. Somerset County Council confirmed it was working in conjunction with English Heritage to pursue a resolution for this distressing situation, which arose when the landowner, Mr Penny, allegedly used his earth-moving equipment to bulldoze, flatten and reseed the entire southwestern arc of the southern circle.

full story at

pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/07/2011/neolithic-monument-bulldozed-flat-in-england-provokes-outrage

Priddy Circles

Henge

CARL Sep 10, 2013

Visited 7.9.13

With all the attention this site (quite rightly) has received lately due to the unnecessary damage caused I just had to stop off and have a look for myself.

For a B road the B3135 was very busy but we managed to pull over in front of the metal field gate which gives access to the field where the southern circle is.

There is no public right of way into the field and given the recent publicity I would imagine that visitors would be made less than welcome. However, I decided the best approach would be to try to get some height and see what can be seen? I climbed to the top of the gate and balanced myself as I looked for any signs of damage etc.

On the plus side I couldn’t see any bulldozer damage but on the negative side I couldn’t see much of any banking either – except for a section on the north eastern side? The field is quite overgrown and it is difficult to tell what is what.

If this was the section that has been destroyed it would explain why there was little to see and nature has covered up signs of destruction. Either that or the section I was looking at had already been ploughed out / eroded. Unfortunately, looking at aerial photos I think I was viewing the destroyed section?

Either way there is sadly very little left to be seen of the southern circle.

P.S.
I forgot to look for the ‘tumulus’ marked on my O/S map which is located right next to the road, nearer the house. A modern stone wall has been built along this section of road so it may not be possible to see from the road?

Priddy Circles

Henge

postman Nov 11, 2010

We parked by the gate, but didnt block it and quickly jumped it, here is a lost treasure if ever there was one.
The southern henge, once the entire curve has been noted it can be seen to be really huge, higher in some places and flattened in others, its entirety covered in ferns and brambles, what hides the henge from us hides us from the farmer/huntsmen. Swings and roundabouts.

Standing on the bank of the southern henge and looking into the next field the central faded henge can be seen but a fence climb seperates us from a walkaround of it and its other neighbour, but it can still be seen in the field through the trees.

The incomplete henge can be seen from the other north/south road, the arc can be seen by standing on the gate or possibly by going through it.

Priddy Circles

Henge

Rhiannon Jun 11, 2010

1 comment

Here’s an alternative name for the circles I’d not come across before.

The range is still called “Priddy Nine Barrows.” They stand out boldly on the ridge of the hill as you look towards Wells on the road thither from East and West Harptree [...]
Within a quarter mile south of this line, is another range of seven barrows [...]
Near them are some circular banks, called by the peasants “The Castles;” the diameters of which are each 500 feet, the mound is low, and they have no external ditch. They are a quarter of a mile from the barrows opened, and about 250 feet distant from each other.

From the Archaeological Journal, v16 (1859) p150 (in the Rev. Harry M Scarth’s Account of the Investigation of Barrows).

1 Comment

Priddy Circles

Henge

vulcan Aug 13, 2005

A follow up on Rhiannon story of Jesus in Priddy. I heard a story many years ago that the local people of Priddy would use the phrase, ” As sure as the Lord walked in Priddy”. This would be used in the same way as someone today might use the phrase ” Is the pope Catholic?“.

Priddy Circles

Henge

Rhiannon Aug 2, 2005

This is quite peculiar. There is a tradition in Priddy that Jesus visited the tin mines in Cornwall with his uncle, Joseph of Arimathea (“Uncle Joe” probably – no, I’m making that bit up) and then came up to the lead mines at Priddy.

Our Lord when a boy came voyaging with a sailor uncle to Britain. Their trading ship put in at Watchet, and from there He walked across the Quantocks to Bridgwater where He boarded a punt and crossed the lakes and marshes to the foot of Mendip, ending his journey high up at Priddy. Here, say the miners, He walked and talked and worked with them a happy while, and then, loaded with Somerset gear, He went back to Nazareth.

This is in Ruth Tongue’s ‘Folklore of Somerset’ (County Folklore v8), and she heard it locally throughout the first half of the twentieth century. I guess it’s a story about trading metals with far away places to the South.. hm – could this really be a folk memory of actual trading?

A similar story – but necessarily about pre-Jesus times (mentioned by S Toulson in her ‘Moors of the Southwest v1’ 1983) says that the lead from the Mendip mines was shipped to Jerusalem to build Solomon’s temple.

Priddy Circles

Henge

jimit Nov 14, 2003

Southernmost of the four Priddy circles. Excavations in 1956-9 in the NW quadrant revealed that the bank had a stone core with a ring of post-holes on each side. The posts had been of 8” diameter and about 10ft high with stakes between them, apparently erected prior to the ditch, whose upcast was added to the bank probably leaving the posts projecting at least 4-6ft above the earth top. A causewayed entrance was proved for the circle in the NNE sector. Central area was devoid of any structure and no finds were made. {1}

Belongs to the secondary Neolithic and fall into the Henge group of monuments, class 2. Banks average 1m high and the ditch is 0.4m deep. {4}

Bank at best 7m wide and nearly 2m high, interior area flat and about 1m above the surrounding fields. Divided ownership marked by stone wall running NNW-SSE. Part on the W has never been ploughed but is somewhat cut about by old mine workings. On the S the bank is not well preserved. On the E the interior of the circle has been ploughed at some time but the bank is untouched. Some evidence of the stone construction of the bank is visible at some points. Few thorn and gorse bushes on the E side. {5}

Ploughing of centre and surrounding area but not bank in 1984-5. {6}

The interior of the E part of the circle has been ploughed again this spring. One quite large stone has been disinterred and added to the bank. {7}

Many of the surface depressions in and around the Priddy Circles are natural sinkholes, not mine workings as had been assumed. Unsatisfactory ground conditions (the ground remained liable to subsidence) may have been one of the factors that led to the abandonment of the whole ceremonial site before the circles were completed. {10}

Scheduling revised with new national number on 31.1.1997 (was Somerset 119). {11}

See PRN 90072 for inconclusive geophysical survey and discussion. {12}

The monument is basically stable under pasture but there are areas of scrub, nettle, bracken etc growth on the banks. {13}

See PRNs 24043, 24045, 24046 for the other three Priddy circles. {14}

References:
1 Excavation report – PUBSS Taylor, C and Tratman, E.K 1956 “The Priddy Circles...” vol 8(1), 7-17
2 Mention – PUBSS 1960 vol 9(2), 64
3 Excavation report – PUBSS Tratman, E.K 1966 “The Priddy...Henge Monument” vol 11(2), 97-125
4 Detailed records – Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division 1966 ST55SW4 SCPD
5 Detailed records – HBMC Field Monument Wardens report SCPD
6 Personal communication – Dennison, E SCPD 12.09.85
7 Detailed records – HBMC Field Monument Wardens report SCPD
8 Aerial photographs – Slide SCPD 2.040.0004
9 Map – HBMC Field Monument Wardens report SCPD
10 Detailed records – Stanton, WI “Natural sinkholes...Priddy Circles...” PUBSS 17(3) (1986), 355-8
11 Correspondence – EH to SCC (7.2.1997) in HER files
12 Personal communication – Webster, CJ SMRO (14/12/1998)
13 Site visit report – Graham, A. EH field Monument Warden (25/7/2000) report in HER files
14 Personal communication – Matthew Nicholas, SCC (7/7/2003)

Record created by:
Ed Dennison in September 1985

With thanks to the Somerset Museums Service for the link to this information.

Priddy Circles

Henge

Rhiannon Feb 27, 2003

Out here on the Mendips there are four large henges, roughly in a north-south line. The southernmost was partly excavated in the 1960s and they discovered the bank was made of earth, turf and stones, supported both sides by posts and stakes. The funnel-shaped entrance was outlined by posts. They didn’t find anything actually within the henge – no structural features and no little artifacts from the time of its construction: a deliberately ‘clean’ area? A pollen analysis showed that the land was grassy when the henge was being built, rather than it still being surrounded by woodland.

What’s left is probably best appreciated from the air – I saw a local tv programme recently in which they were flying over the area, and the size of the henges was really impressive. (A bit bigger than vulcan’s photographed circle). One would be impressive enough – but why did they need four (or more)? It’s all so very mysterious.

Priddy Circles

Henge

juamei Jan 8, 2014

Academia.edu – 2011 – New Excavations at Priddy Circle I, Mendip Hills, Somerset.

Report on the 2008 excavations at the Priddy circles by Lewis, J & Mullin, D

Priddy Circles

Henge

tjj Jul 21, 2011

Online petition to stop people damaging heritage sites

This has been posted extensively on Facebook and am surprised not to see it here.

Most TMA members have signed already but just in case you missed it .... please sign.

Thank you

Priddy Circles

Henge

Rhiannon Jun 11, 2010

The Prehistoric Society

The Prehistoric Society’s newsletter from April 2010 has a short article about the recent excavations in circle 1 (accompanied by aerial photo by Pete Glastonbury) and results of the carbon dating made. It seems that circle 1, at least, is Neolithic – because of the site’s distinct unusualness, even this had been disputed before. But there are still lots of questions about how the site developed and whether all the henges were made at the same time.