Fairy Toot
Encyclopedia
The Fairy Toot is an extensive oval barrow
in the village of Nempnett Thrubwell
, Somerset
, England.
It is an example of the Severn-Cotswold tomb
type which consist of precisely-built, long trapezoid
earth mounds covering a burial chamber. Because of this they are a type of chambered long barrow
.
Fairy Toot was formerly a chambered cairn
which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument
, on the national monument register as '198102'. The Fairy Toot south-southwest of Howgrove Farm is a mound 60 m long, 25 m wide and now 2.5 m high, retained by a stone wall. Its summit is covered with ash trees and shrubs. Formerly it was considerably higher.
On being opened and essentially destroyed between 1787 and 1835 by the reverends Thomas Bere of Butcombe
and John Skinner of Camerton
, it was found to contain two rows of cells, running from south to north, formed by immense stones set edgeways, and covered by others of larger dimensions. A human skull form the barrow is now in the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery.
At the time it was conjectured to be a work of the Druid
s, but its origins are far older and probably date from the Neolithic period.
Wade and Wade in their 1929 book "Somerset" described it as "a remarkably fine tumulus of masonry, said to have been one of the finest in Britain, in the chambers of which skeletons have been discovered. A few vestiges of it now only remain, the rest has been used as a lime-kiln."
The site was visited in the past as it was known as a place for curing warts.
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
in the village of Nempnett Thrubwell
Nempnett Thrubwell
Nempnett Thrubwell is a small village and civil parish in dairying country on the western edge of Bath and North East Somerset, in the county of Somerset, England. It is about 15 km south-west of Bristol. The parish, which has a population of 189, is sheltered by the Mendip Hills, near the River...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England.
It is an example of the Severn-Cotswold tomb
Severn-Cotswold tomb
Severn-Cotswold is a name given to a type of Megalithic chamber tomb built by Neolithic peoples in Wales and South West England around 3500 BC.-Description:...
type which consist of precisely-built, long trapezoid
Trapezoid
In Euclidean geometry, a convex quadrilateral with one pair of parallel sides is referred to as a trapezoid in American English and as a trapezium in English outside North America. A trapezoid with vertices ABCD is denoted...
earth mounds covering a burial chamber. Because of this they are a type of chambered long barrow
Chambered long barrow
Chambered long barrows are a type of megalithic burial monument found in the British Isles in the Neolithic.Long barrows either contained wooden or stone burial structures beneath the barrow and the surviving megalithic stone in the latter means that they are the ones referred to by archaeologists...
.
Fairy Toot was formerly a chambered cairn
Cairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument
Scheduled Ancient Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...
, on the national monument register as '198102'. The Fairy Toot south-southwest of Howgrove Farm is a mound 60 m long, 25 m wide and now 2.5 m high, retained by a stone wall. Its summit is covered with ash trees and shrubs. Formerly it was considerably higher.
On being opened and essentially destroyed between 1787 and 1835 by the reverends Thomas Bere of Butcombe
Butcombe
Butcombe is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. The village is situated just north of Blagdon Lake, in North Somerset. The parish has a population of 232 and mainly consists of family-owned farmland...
and John Skinner of Camerton
Camerton, Somerset
Camerton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, south west of Bath, lying on the Cam Brook. The parish has a population of 660.-History:...
, it was found to contain two rows of cells, running from south to north, formed by immense stones set edgeways, and covered by others of larger dimensions. A human skull form the barrow is now in the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery.
At the time it was conjectured to be a work of the Druid
Druid
A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....
s, but its origins are far older and probably date from the Neolithic period.
Wade and Wade in their 1929 book "Somerset" described it as "a remarkably fine tumulus of masonry, said to have been one of the finest in Britain, in the chambers of which skeletons have been discovered. A few vestiges of it now only remain, the rest has been used as a lime-kiln."
The site was visited in the past as it was known as a place for curing warts.
External links
- The Modern Antiquarian: Fairy Toot
- The Fairy Toot