GLADMAN

Beautifully sited to the south of the meandering River Wylye, just east of the village of Sherrington, this would be a first-rate monument to visit... if only someone in the locality would see fit to undertake a little pruning of the overwhelming mantle of industrial-strength vegetation once in a while.

This, however, would appear unlikely in the extreme... if only to judge by the farcically sour-faced short woman clearly seriously affronted by me having the temerity to drive down a public road in HER village while she let her dog run out of control. Ignore such ignorant fools, I say... those whose money and privilege cannot even accord them basic good manners.

Yeah, combine a sojourn here with a visit to the wondrous Corton long barrow... or the great Boyton Down Round Barrow (the nearby Boyton Down long barrow was even more overgrown than this one)... and happy days.

I approached via the track ascending from Corton village past Foley’s Cottage – sadly no sign of Eddie Murphy – an unlocked gate eventually allowing access to the appropriate field on the right, that’s just prior to reaching the bridleway descending to Model Farm.

Despite the images here upon TMA, I was somewhat taken aback by the substantial nature of the monument, the obvious damage notwithstanding. The position is excellent, as is the vibe.

With Corton being just a short diversion from the A303... and with limited parking available in a layby near the Dove Inn... I did wonder why I hadn’t been to this wondrous place before?

Set more-or-less due west of the magnificent Eastern White Barrow, the assumption is most folks would look to combine a visit to both, right? Note, however, that the monuments stand approx three quarters of a mile apart, a not insignificant distance upon upland Dartmoor.

Having been used as the building source – not to mention foundation – of a drystone shelter for peat cutters during the 1800’s, the interior of the monument has not faired well. Neither, for that matter, has the former Petre’s Cross, the remains of which can still be seen.

Historic England has this to say:

“This monument includes a round cairn, wayside cross and shelter situated on the summit of a ridge known as Quickbeam Hill. The round cairn survives as a circular stony mound measuring up to 21m in diameter and 1.7m high. The wayside cross is positioned on the cairn, but is inverted. It measures 1.3m high and is of rectangular section with both arms broken off. It was one of four set up by Sir William Petre, who had purchased Brent Manor after the Dissolution of the Monasteries from Buckfast Abbey in 1557 and was used to mark the bounds of the Forest of Dartmoor in 1557 and 1786. The round cairn has been disturbed by the construction of a two roomed shelter within the structure of the cairn itself measuring 11.5m long by 4.7m wide and having a fireplace and chimney. This was constructed in about 1847 by workers at the Red Lake peat ties, in connection with the Naptha Works at Shipley, who re-used the cross as a chimney lintel at the same time. Following the partial destruction of the building the cross was re-erected.”

I approached from the large car park at Shipley Bridge to the approx south-east (SX 681629), a formerly pleasing starting point which is sadly now being used as a revenue cash cow for the National Park... biting the hand that feeds... of tourists bound for the Avon Dam Reservoir and serious walkers alike... and, furthermore, disproportionately impacting access to the countryside for the less well off, for which £4 is a significant additional outlay. Yeah, speaking to a number of locals passing by, the car park charge is apparently VERY unpopular with residents. But since when did the wishes of people who actually live in the locale count for anything? So... given that fiscal targets must be met to provide creature comforts for tourists, at the very least the machine MUST be able to accept card payments!!! My lack of cash placed me in quite a dilemma until a local stepped in to assist me. Shame on those incompetents failing to maintain this ‘facility’ and discriminating against those not meeting their limited criteria. Simply not good enough.

That negativity aside, the trek to c1,548ft Quickbeam Hill is upon a clearly defined, gently rising path, so should offer no technical difficulties except in poor weather. Note, however, that the main track does not directly access the cairn, the intervening terrain proving rather hard going. In retrospect, it’s probably a good idea to gain the crest of the ridge sooner, rather than later, in order to minimise this. Or perhaps I’m simply getting old?

As for the cairn:

Despite being aware it is a ‘whopper’ from the distant view enjoyed from the ‘Heap of Sinners’ cairn upon Huntingdon Warren a few years back, I’m nevertheless pretty well overwhelmed upon arrival by just how big it actually is. The views to be had from the summit are far-reaching, the isolated upland vibe exquisite. Historic England notes:

“This monument includes a round cairn known as Eastern White Barrow situated on a prominent ridge on the north eastern side of Quickbeam Hill. The cairn survives as a circular stony mound measuring up to [c85ft] 26m in diameter and [11.5ft] 3.5m high. A secondary cylindrical marker cairn is situated on top of the summit allegedly built by soldiers during the Second World War. In 1240, 1609 and 1796 the cairn was one of the bounds of the Forest of Dartmoor.”

Mr Cane was clearly on a bit of a downer following his visit here some years back now... hey, it happens, doesn’t it just? However, since the vegetation (judging by his images) was fortunately less overwhelming during my early Spring sojourn, I found myself in a position to disagree. Yeah, I liked it here and would recommend coming, this despite the woods proving a lot more popular with (non-antiquarian-minded) folk than I had anticipated.

Indeed, the eastern of the southern pair (of those monuments marked upon the map, that is – there are, apparently, a further three within the environs of West Wood not troubling the cartographers for whatever reason) is a particularly fine specimen of a bowl barrow, complete with encircling ditch. Its neighbour to the west, although not of comparable stature, is pretty substantial, too... the northernmost example, completing the OS annotated trio, slightly less so.

Access is straighforward from the B2068 – a Roman Road, aka ‘Stone Street’ – although the downside to that demonstrable obsession with ‘straightness’ is the traffic fair motors past; hence, there is some traffic noise to deny a perfect ambience. Note also that it is unwise to attempt to take a direct line (through the break in the trees) from the eastern of the southern pair of monuments to the western... if you value your legs, that is. Industrial-strength brambles all the way.

Incidentally, note that the round barrow at nearby Tumulus Farm (TR 13481 42341) is apparently of Roman origin. Sigh....