Five Barrows

Also known as:
Five Burrow Hill and White Ladder
Nearest town:
South Molton (11km S)
OS reference:
SS732368
OS sheet:
180
Latitude:
51° 6' 57.14 N
Longitude:
3° 48' 42.5 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Five Barrows by formicaant

This is the northern most barrow in the eastern half of the group.

Image credit: Mike Rowland 11/06/09
formicaant
formicaant Jun 12, 2009
Image of Five Barrows by formicaant

This low barrow is south east of the central barrow.

Image credit: Mike Rowland 11/06/09
formicaant
formicaant Jun 12, 2009
Image of Five Barrows by formicaant

This large barrow is south west of the central barrow.

Image credit: Mike Rowland 11/06/09
formicaant
formicaant Jun 12, 2009
Image of Five Barrows by formicaant

This is immediately east of the central barrow and is a rarity this far west as it is a bell type.

Image credit: Mike Rowland 11/06/09
formicaant
formicaant Jun 12, 2009
Image of Five Barrows by formicaant

This large , low barrow is just west of the one with the trig point on it.

Image credit: Mike Rowalnd 11/06/09
formicaant
formicaant Jun 12, 2009
Image of Five Barrows by formicaant

This is the central and largest barrow of this group, with trig point.

Image credit: Mike Rowland 11/06/09
formicaant
formicaant Jun 11, 2009

Articles

Five Barrows

formicaant
formicaant Jun 12, 2009

I went to this group prior to visiting Setta barrow which is a few hundred yards north east. They are a varied group in terms of size and are spread east to west across the ridge of a high hill. Some show signs of having been excavated, particularly the central one with the trig point on it.
The setting for these barrows is quite spectacular, with views across many miles of Exmoor. There are at least 6 other barrows within a short distance and an iron age hillfort a couple of miles to the north east.
One of the barrows in the group is a bell type barrow and is a real rarity , wessex fancy barrows aren’t usually found this far west.
I counted 8 in this group, all of which are pictured here. Having read Rhiannon’s previous info I did not attempt to look for the stone row.

Miscellaneous

Five Barrows
Barrow / Cairn Cemetery
Rhiannon
Rhiannon Aug 16, 2005

MAGIC counts eight barrows on this ridge, but according to Shirley Toulson (who confusingly says there are nine) the name ‘five barrows’ has arisen because that is the number visible on the skyline from below.

The White Ladder (at ss732371) is a nearby stone row discovered in 1977 when bracken had been burnt back.*

(’The Moors of the Southwest: 1/Sedgemoor and Exmoor’ 1983)

*on a very fleeting visit in April 2007 I could not see hide nor hair of this row. Disappointing, as on the 1:25000 map the stones are marked as a tempting row of dots. Having said that the vegetation was very tufty and I didn’t have time to spend long looking.

Sites within 20km of Five Barrows

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