The Modern Antiquarian. Ancient Sites, Stone Circles, Neolithic Monuments, Ancient Monuments, Prehistoric Sites, Megalithic Mysteries

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Brane

Entrance Grave

<b>Brane</b>Posted by JaneImage © Jane Tomlinson
Nearest Town:Newlyn (6km ENE)
OS Ref (GB):   SW402282 / Sheet: 203
Latitude:50° 5' 46.78" N
Longitude:   5° 37' 59.31" W



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Photographs:<b>Brane</b>Posted by postman <b>Brane</b>Posted by postman <b>Brane</b>Posted by postman <b>Brane</b>Posted by Moth <b>Brane</b>Posted by ocifant <b>Brane</b>Posted by Jane <b>Brane</b>Posted by Jane <b>Brane</b>Posted by Jane <b>Brane</b>Posted by hamish <b>Brane</b>Posted by IronMan <b>Brane</b>Posted by IronMan <b>Brane</b>Posted by Alchemilla <b>Brane</b>Posted by Joolio Geordio <b>Brane</b>Posted by phil Maps / Plans / Diagrams:<b>Brane</b>Posted by Rhiannon

Fieldnotes

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Visited 13.4.10.
What a little cracker this is! Visit, visit, visit!!!
Coming away from Carn Euny, just after you go through Brane farm, the lane takes a sharp left. At this bend there is room to park one car. Next to the public footpath sign is a gate. Go through the gate and follow right hand field hedge down to the bottom of the field. At the bottom right hand corner of the field is another gate - go through gate and turn right. The Grave is approximately 30 metres ahead of you. There is no public access to this site and you should ask for permission at the farm first.
Posted by CARL
22nd April 2010ce

I was camping in Cardinney campsite just two fields away (you can see it over the hedge at the bottom of the campsite)and only 5ft from my tent was a footpath heading right past the chambers field,So I got up early as postmen do and trod the path seldom trod ,boy was it overgrown ,slug's and snail's of many colour's and sizes.there was no footpath sign but it was marked on the O.S map ,then a small jump over the wall and I was there .What a little beauty ,looked to be grown rather than built with a little chamber that one could just squeeze into if you dont mind more slug's than you can count,I dont really have high regard's for farmer's (collectively how much land do they own)so i played a kind of peekaboo with a nearby farmer in his tractor he went one way and i went the other allways keeping the barrow between us, lot's of fun postman Posted by postman
4th August 2006ce
Edited 4th August 2006ce

It's possible (and easy) to gain access via Brane Farm. I was lucky in that someone was around to ask, I had no problem in getting permission, and the cows were safely locked away.

There is a path from the cowshed (obviously used by our bovine friends) down to the gate in the adjoining field, and again to the third field where the chamber lies.

From this direction, the first view is of the rear of the chamber (see photo), which consists of some large stones.

The actual chamber was quite overgrown with weeds and small shrubs on my visit, and I suspect some root damage may occur, as several smaller stones which had obviously come from the chamber were spread about near the entrance.
ocifant Posted by ocifant
24th June 2004ce

We couldn't find anyone to ask about entering the field, so we climbed over the wall and walked along the field edges as respectfully as possible, other than when I fell over in the mud! Ha!

What a wonderful little barrow this is, crouching like a hermit crab on the edge of big field. We were expecting it to be overgrown and gorsey, but some kind soul had recently been along with the secateurs.

It still retains a pleasing amount of height and nearly all of its kerbstones.
Jane Posted by Jane
17th March 2004ce
Edited 17th March 2004ce

Was here May 20th, farmers were all too busy to worry about me, so I got as close as I could and took my photo. From where I stood it looked very neat with its hat of bluebells. It is not the easiest thing to find but can be approached from where the road bends to go to the farm. hamish Posted by hamish
1st June 2003ce
Edited 2nd June 2003ce

This place really is tiny! I rather ignorantly decided to consult my copy of The Modern Antiquarian after arriving at the site, and so only realised then that I was actually in danger of being chased off the land, so I hurriedly took a few snaps then beat a retreat. I will do my research more thoroughly in future. IronMan Posted by IronMan
11th May 2003ce

This small entrance grave is situated on low lying ground near the hamlet of Brane, to the south of Carn Euny. William Copeland Borlase first recorded this monument in 1863. it is illustrated in his book Naenia Cornubiae. in 1865 it was referred to by J. T. Blight as a conical shapedbarrow with a diameter of 15 feetand a height of 9 feet.

ref:
Romance of the Stones by Robin Payne
Posted by phil
3rd December 2001ce

Miscellaneous

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There is an interesting news item about Brane in the Cornwall Archaeological Unit’s Review of 1995-6, which comments that “in 1982 the entrance grave at Brane (SW4014 2818) was described as one of the best preserved chambered tombs in Britain; but by 1989 it had deteriorated to one of the worst cases of erosion in Cornwall. Where the kerbstones retaining the mound were missing, cattle were getting onto the mound, dragging the stones and earth to the ground. With the help of Mike Rosendale of Penwith District Council and the co-operation of the owners, the Wherrys of Brane, a plan to repair the entrance grave was devised. New granite kerbstones were provided to replace the missing ones and the mound was re-formed. Andrew Marment, Marcel Deigan and Morgan Marment carried out the work under the supervision of Mike Rosendale; a watching brief was carried out by Ann Preston-Jones of the CAU”.

If you fancy buying a copy of the Cornwall Archaeological Unit’s Review of 1995-6, called ‘Archaeology Alive No 4’, check out the CAU’s website, which I’ve added on the ‘Links’ page. It is currently being flogged off cheap at 1. No more info on Brane, but a good read in general. The CAU also do lots of other interesting publications, and all in all they seem like real dudes.
pure joy Posted by pure joy
14th March 2003ce
Edited 14th March 2003ce