Monument record MLI43619 - Spellow Hills Long Barrow

Summary

Prominent earthwork remains of a Neolithic long barrow, located to the south of Langton Grange.

Type and Period (2)

  • (Early Neolithic to Late Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • (Early Neolithic to Late Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

Prominent earthwork remains of a Neolithic long barrow, located to the south of Langton Grange. Known locally as the Spellow Hills Long Barrow, and sometimes as the 'Hills of the Slain', the site has been subject to several antiquarian investigations in the early 19th century. These investigations have significantly cut into the earthwork mound, so much so that it has been previously mistaken for a goruop of round barrows. The barrow was said to measure 182ft long, 40ft across at its widest point, and 7ft high. Many human bones were said to have been found during the early 19th century investigations. {1}{2}{3}{4} The long barrow is visible as prominent earthworks on aerial photographs taken of this area to the south of Langton Grange. {5}{6} Scheduled as the earthwork and buried remains of a Neolithic long barrow, located c.500m south east of Langton Grange Farm. It is situated about 82m above sea level, on a southern slope above and to the west of the A16 Alford-Spilsby road. The barrow, known as Spellow Hills, or Hills of the Slain, was originally thought to be three adjoining round barrows, an impression given by the extremely uneven surface caused by antiquarian excavations in the 19th century or earlier. It is aligned south-south-east to north-north-west and is roughly trapezoidal in shape, measuring approximately 55m long by 12m wide, the maximum height being c.2.1m. Material for the mound would have been quarried from an encircling causewayed ditch. This is not visible but is thought to survive buried beneath the present ground surface. No written account of the antiquarian investigations has survived other than a reference in White's Lincolnshire Directory of 1856 which refers to a quantity of human bones having been discovered there. The barrow is known to have had its present appearance when it was documented by Stukeley in the 18th century. Two trenches have been cut into the mound from the north-east but neither reach the original ground surface, or the south-west side of the earthwork. Inroads into the mound have also been made at two points on the north-eastern flank, in the centre and at the southern end of the mound, and there has been quarrying into the western flank from the north west. Oral tradition has preserved various accounts of the origins and use of the Spellow Hills barrow, one of which suggests that an intrusive burial of Anglo- Saxon date was discovered prior to 1855. This barrow, along with other nearby barrows, forms part of a group of long barrows associated with the valley of one of the tributaries of the River Lymn. {7}{8} The Spellow Hills Long Barrow is situated on a south facing slope position, at the head of a valley, 90m above OD. It is aligned on a south-south-east to north-north-west axis, with the long axis traversing the contours. It takes the form of an elliptical-shaped mound, measuring 56m by 12m, though much mutilated. The northern end has been truncated by ploughing (by about 12m), whilst the southern end survives to a height of 2.1m. The quarry ditch is discernible as soilmarks on aerial photographs, and appears to be of elongated oval form with a full-enclosing ditch plan. {9}{10} The name 'Spellow Hills' is derived from the Old English 'spel' and 'hlaw' or 'haugr' which means 'assembly mound'. The earliest recorded instance of the name is in the early twelfth century. The barrow lies just below the crest of a gentle rise, 200m to the west of the A16 which marks the boundary with Dalby parish. The land rises gently to a point 1.2km north where the wapentakes of Hill, Calcewath and Candleshoe and the parishes of Langton, Driby, Ulceby and Dalby meet (TF 406 733). From here there is an extensive view in all directions. It seems highly likely that this was a meeting place for the people from all three wapentakes rather than that of a single unit. {11}

Sources/Archives (11)

  •  Bibliographic Reference: William White. 1856. History, Gazetteer and Directory of Lincolnshire (Second Edition). p.729.
  •  Article in Serial: C.W. Phillips. 1933. 'The Long Barrows of Lincolnshire' in the Archaeological Journal. vol.89, pp.176, 193-6.
  •  Scheduling Record: HBMC. AM 7. SAM 72.
  •  Index: Ordnance Survey. Ordnance Survey Card Index. TF 47 SW: 1.
  •  Aerial Photograph: Paul Everson. 1975-90. RCHM. 2940/30 (1980).
  •  Map: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. 1992-1996. Lincolnshire National Mapping Programme. TF4072: LI.26.1.2.
  •  Scheduling Record: ENGLISH HERITAGE. 1996. SCHEDULING DOCUMENT 27856. MPP 23.
  •  Website: Historic England (formerly English Heritage). 2011->. The National Heritage List for England. http://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/. 1013919.
  •  Article in Serial: Dilwyn Jones. 1998. 'Long Barrows and Neolithic Elongated Enclosures in Lincolnshire: An Analysis of the Air Photographic Evidence' in Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society. vol.64, pp.83-114, no.11.
  •  Index: Dilwyn Jones. 1998. Gazetteer of Neolithic Elongated Enclosures and Extant Long Barrows in (Historic) Lincolnshire. no.11.
  •  Unpublished Document: Aliki Pantos. 2000. Lincolnshire Assembly-Places. no.15.

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Location

Grid reference Centred TF 4015 7221 (46m by 70m) Estimated from Sources
Civil Parish LANGTON BY SPILSBY, EAST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE

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Record last edited

Jan 21 2025 3:16PM

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