Clayhanger is a hamlet and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

Mid Devon Mid Devon is a local government district in Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, t ...

district of

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England. At the time of the 2011 census it had a population of 127.

Roman fort

Clayhanger is close to the site of a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

fort at Cudmore Farm, overlooking a small tributary of the River Batherm, (although the fort mostly lies in the parish of Bampton). The site of the fort is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

because it is still in a good condition and is considered to be the best surviving example in the south west of England. It is rectangular in shape and approximately 100 m across on each side, with an 8 m rampart and four outer ditches.

Cropmarks Cropmarks or crop marks are a means through which sub-surface archaeological, natural and recent features may be visible aerial archaeology, from the air or a vantage point on higher ground or a temporary platform. Such marks, along with parch m ...

inside the site probably show the locations of buildings from the period of the fort. Roman tile and

samian ware Terra sigillata is a term with at least three distinct meanings: as a description of medieval medicinal earth; in archaeology, as a general term for some of the fine red ancient Roman pottery with glossy surface slips made in specific areas ...

have been recovered from the site.

References

Villages in Mid Devon District Roman fortifications in Devon {{Devon-geo-stub