Details

The monument includes a Bronze Age bowl barrow with a later, 20th century,
memorial. It is situated on a high upland ridge with commanding views across
the valley of the River Taw and is highly visible from the north and south.
Views from the barrow extend to Dartmoor, Exmoor and to the sea beyond
Barnstaple.
The monument survives as a 17.4m diameter circular mound standing up to
1.6m high. The surrounding ditch from which material to construct the mound
was derived measures from 2.9m wide on the western side to 3.4m wide on the
northern side, and is between 0.1m and 0.2m deep. The ditch has been cut on
the southern side by the construction of a 2.5m wide, 1m deep ditch with a
stone built ha-ha. The top of the mound was partly cut to facilitate the
construction of a stone memorial. A circular paved plinth lies on top of the
mound and this is 6.3m in diameter. Above is a stone pillar dedicated to
Caroline Thorpe, late wife of the Right Honourable Jeremy Thorpe MP, and a
tablet indicates its dedication by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop of
Crediton in 1971. The pillar itself is 3.5m high. On the western side of the
mound a memorial stone bench was inserted which has cut the mound slightly on
this side. There is also a paved area in front of the seat. This was erected
in the 1970s and is dedicated to Stanley J H Verney R.A.F.V.R. 1918-1943.
The bench, paved plinth and paved area are excluded from the scheduling
although the ground beneath these features is included.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Bowl barrows, the most numerous form of round barrow, are funerary monuments
dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most
examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC. They were constructed as
earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple
burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often
acted as a focus for burials in later periods. Often superficially similar,
although differing widely in size, they exhibit regional variations in form
and a diversity of burial practices. There are over 10,000 surviving bowl
barrows recorded nationally (many more have already been destroyed), occurring
across most of lowland Britain. Often occupying prominent locations, they are
a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable
variation of form and longevity as a monument type provide important
information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisations amongst early
prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period
and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of
protection.

The Codden Beacon bowl barrow survives comparatively well and contains
archaeological and environmental information relating to the monument and the
surrounding landscape. This barrow is a prominent feature in the landscape,
which is reflected in its use as a memorial.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS52NE3,

Source: Historic England