King Arthur's Hall - On OS109 at grid ref: 12963/77623

This is a very puzzling site. There is a rectangular enclosure bank, over six feet high in places and some 160 feet by 65 feet. The inside is lined with apparently random stones, upright, angled or lying flat. Romantics would have us believe that the enclosure was once roofed, hence its name, but its sheer size makes that most unlikely. Its age is a puzzle; its existence was first recorded in 1584 when it was apparently already known as King Arthur’s Hall. According to Craig Weatherhill, in his Cornovia, it could date from the Neolithic period, as do similar enclosures in Ireland and Wales. Some have suggested that it could simply be a cattle enclosure but its interior wetness makes that unlikely. It is noticeable that inside the bank and stones is a well defined rectangle of mares tail grass, inside that a rectangle of cotton grass. This suggests a lining of some sort that holds the moisture. Could it just be that it was a man-made pond or even reservoir to water the cattle on the moor or provide a water source for settlements nearby. Whatever its purpose, the sheer size suggests a place of some importance. It still feels like a special place, perhaps because of its location. Despite nearby farms and villages, you feel total isolation on the high moorland, your views of the higher land of Garrow Tor, Rough Tor and Brown Willy only heightening that feeling.

Detailed walk incl. King Arthur's Hall; go to St. Breward Walk 03

King Arthur's Hall-Roughtor, Brown Willy behind

There is a slightly similar, but much smaller, enclosure at 20283/75596 at the south-western corner of Smith's Moor, on the way to Goodaver Stone Circle. I like to call it 'Arthur Smith’s Hall'. You will find reference to it on a Bodmin Moor Walk.