Nympsfield, Frocester, Gloucestershire (GLO 13)
SO 7939 0132. 6km south of Stroud. Within Coaley Peak Country Park beside the B4066 between Stroud and Dursley. English Heritage and Gloucestershire County Council. Finds in Gloucester City Museum.
Nympsfield long barrow is similar in plan and situation to the nearby Hetty Pegler's Tump, but smaller and with only one pair of side chambers. The absence of capstones, removed long ago, allows an appreciation of the layout and design of the chambers at Nympsfield even if some of the atmosphere is missing.
The mound is trapezoidal, 27m long and 18m wide at the east end. Reconstructed in 1974, the mound would originally have been much higher at the east end, completely covering the chambers. The forecourt opens to the east, at the back of which is the entrance to a central passage leading to a pair of side chambers and a small end-chamber. Constricting stones sub-divide the passage and restrict access to the chambers. Excavations in 1862, 1937 and 1974 recovered the remains of between 20 and 30 individuals. In the forecourt were the remains of hearths and a small pit suggesting funerary rituals had taken place here when the barrow was in use. Like many long barrows, the forecourt at Nympsfield was blocked with rubble and soil at the end of its life, so preventing further access. Key things to look for here are: the shape, size and escarpment edge position of the barrow; the arrangement of the chambers; and the use of constricting slabs to demarcate the individual elements within the chamber area.
A fine round barrow, known as the Soldier's Grave (SO 794 015), lies near Nympsfield long barrow, in woodland behind the public lavatories at the northern end of Coaley Peak Country Park. Tentatively dated to the later third millennium BC, this barrow is 17m in diameter and in its centre (marked by a hollow) excavations in 1936 revealed a boat-shaped cist containing the remains of at least 28 individuals.
About 2.4km north of the Coaley Peak Country Park is another fine long barrow, The Toots (GLO 76), situated on the escarpment edge on Selsley Common (SO 827 031). This barrow has not been excavated.
Further reading: Crawford 1925, 119-22 (C42); Clifford 1938a; 1938b; Saville 1979a.
Text © Timothy Darvill.
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