

Pillow mound 840m north east of Trowlesworthy Warren House, forming part of Trowlesworthy Warren

List Entry Summary


Name: Pillow mound 840m north east of Trowlesworthy Warren House, forming part of Trowlesworthy Warren

List entry Number: 1014658



County: Devon

District: South Hams

District Type: District Authority

Parish: Shaugh Prior

National Park: DARTMOOR

Grade: Not applicable to this List entry.

Date first scheduled: 07-Jun-2000


Legacy System Information


Legacy System: RSM

UID: 24242

Asset Groupings


List entry Description

Summary of Monument


Reasons for Designation

Dartmoor is the largest expanse of open moorland in southern Britain and, because of exceptional conditions of preservation, it is also one of the most complete examples of upland relict landscape in the whole country. The great wealth and diversity of archaeological remains provide direct evidence for human exploitation of the Moor from the early prehistoric period onwards. The well-preserved and often visible relationship between settlement sites, major land boundaries, trackways, ceremonial and funerary monuments as well as later industrial remains, gives significant insights into successive changes in the pattern of land-use through time. Warrens are areas of land set aside for the breeding and management of rabbits or hares. They usually include a series of purpose-built breeding places, known as pillow mounds and buries, vermin traps and enclosures designed to contain and protect the animals, and living quarters for the warrener who kept charge of the warren. Pillow mounds are low oblong-shaped mounds of soil and/or stones in which the animals lived. They are usually between 15m and 40m long and between 5m and 10m wide. Most have a ditch around at least three sides to facilitate drainage. Inside are a series of narrow interconnecting trenches. These were excavated and covered with stone or turf before the mound was constructed. Vermin traps of various kinds are found within most warrens. These include a small stone-lined passage into which the predator was funnelled by a series of ditches or walls. Over 100 vermin traps have been recorded on the Moor, with the majority lying in the Plym Valley. Warren boundaries were often defined by a combination of natural features such as rivers. Within the warrens themselves smaller enclosed areas defined by a ditch and bank are sometimes found, and some of these may have been specialised breeding areas. Many of the warrens on the Moor contain a house in which the warrener lived. Most of the surviving warren earthworks probably date to between the 17th century and the later 19th century, with some continuing in use into the early 20th century. At least 22 warrens are known to exist on the Moor and together they contribute to our understanding of the medieval and post-medieval exploitation of the area. All well-preserved warrens are considered worthy of protection.

The pillow mound 840m north east of Trowlesworthy Warren House forms part of the nationally important Trowlesworthy Warren and contains information relating to the exploitation of rabbits in the Upper Plym valley. This valley contains the densest concentration of pillow mounds and other structures associated with rabbit farming on the Moor.




This monument includes a pillow mound situated on a gentle north west facing slope overlooking the River Plym. This mound forms part of Trowlesworthy Warren, which includes around 64 pillow mounds and 40 vermin traps scattered along the slopes of Little and Great Trowlesworthy Tors. The boundaries of the warren are denoted by the River Plym, Spanish Lake and Blacka Brook. Trowlesworthy Warren is generally accepted as the oldest surviving warren on the Moor. Sometime before 1292 Samson de Traylesworthie was granted land for rabbit farming by Baldwin de Redvers, Earl of Devon. Many years later in 1551, the warren was leased to William Woollcombe. The warren appears to have remained in constant use until the first half of the 20th century. This pillow mound survives as a 29m long, 6m wide and 1.3m high, flat-topped, oblong shaped mound of soil and stone surrounded by the 2.4m wide and 0.4m deep ditch from which material was quarried during its construction. Other archaeological features surviving in the vicinity of this monument are the subject of separate schedulings. This monument is in the care of the Secretary of State.


Selected Sources

Books and journals
Crossing, W, Crossing's Guide To Dartmoor, (1990), 431
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX56NE419,
MPP Fieldwork by S. Gerrard, (1993)
National Archaeological Record, SX56SE66,

National Grid Reference: SX 57553 65103


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This copy shows the entry on 21-May-2018 at 08:26:59.

End of official listing