Childe's Tomb

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Childe was a wealthy man and a keen hunter, his vast estate was at Plymstock a small village to the south of the moors. Childe was happiest riding the moor alone, come rain or shine he would roam the wastes in search of game. One winters day he had been hunting on the southern moors when suddenly the sky turned as grey as a goose, the air was cold and still and silence fell all around. The first flakes of snow lazily floated down from the laden heavens and the wind gathered in strength. Before long the hunter was caught in a bitter blizzard, the wind sweeping across the bare tussocks blasting the snow horizontally before it. Childe could hardly see any further that his horses head and the cold was tearing through his clothing. Gradually as each hoof print was obliterated by the snow he realised it was useless the struggle against the storm. He decided to take shelter until the tempest had blown over and so he pulled his horse to the frozen ground and huddled against it for warmth. Time ticked by but still the relentless snow howled across the wastes, the hunter became colder and colder and he knew he would surely perish unless his did something. After a few moments considering his options it was with a sad heart that he decided that the only means of salvation was to slay his faithful horse. Childe drew his dagger and quickly slit its throat, as he did so his rolling tears froze to his face like miniature glaciers. Once the poor animal was dead the hunter slit its belly and dragged out the steaming innards then he clambered inside the bloody cavernous skeleton for shelter.

A few weeks later a travelling moorman found a frozen heap amongst the snowy tussocks. It was the remains of the hunter and his horse, apparently the fresh blood inside the animals had frozen solid, encapsulating Childe in a gory ice tomb for eternity. News soon reached Plymstock that the lord had perished in a blizzard high on Dartmoor. It did not take long for his will and testament to become common knowledge, in it Childe had stated that wheresoever he was buried, the local church would be granted his estates.

The monks of Tavistock Abbey were delighted, as the man had died on their lands then it was only fitting that he be interred at their monastery. However, the people of Plymstock had other ideas. Surely he was from Plymstock so therefore his estates belonged to them, or at least that was their belief. Both parties saw the urgency in recovering the mortal remains of Childe the Hunter and men were sent from both Tavistock Abbey and Plymstock. Now the distance from Tavistock to where the body of Childe lay was about nine miles, but it was thirteen from Plymstock so there is no guessing as to who would arrive first. The men from Plymstock also realised this and decided it was futile to run an un-winnable race therefore they would waylay the Tavistock party on their way back to the Abbey. An ambush was set up beside a crossing place on the River Tavy and the Plymstock men concealed themselves from view.

Somehow the party of Tavistock monks got to hear of the trap that was awaiting and so returned by a less obvious route. The dilemma that now faced them was that there was only one crossing on that particular reach of the Tavy. The waters were too deep and fast to even think about wading across and so the monks constructed a temporary bridge over the river, and so by guile they had foiled the Plymstock ambush and safely got Childe's remains back to the abbey. Here they were buried and the monks of Tavistock inherited all the rich estates of Plymstock.

The spot where the temporary bridge was placed has always been known as Guile Bridge and a mighty tomb was erected at the spot where the body of Childe the Hunter perished. It was said that on the tomb the following words were inscribed:

They fyrst that fyndes and brings mee

to my grave,

The priory of Plimstoke thay shall have.

To this day a large granite monument still stands on the edge of Fox tor mire and is known as Childe's Tomb.

Childes Tomb.

The tomb although marked on many maps is not included on Donn's 1765 map of Devon. Risdon, in his survey of Devon does tell the story of Childe the Hunter, this was published in 1650 and is probably the first mention of the tale. He also speaks of the tomb being one of the "three remarkable" things of Dartmoor. and says "...The second is Childe's of Plimstock tomb." The story is related by Mrs Bray in 1879, pp 213-4, who mentions the Childe's Tomb and its inscription. There is little doubt that the Abbey of Tavistock did own lands at Plymstock. Finberg, 1969, p.3-5, records that the Saxon Eadwig, brother of Edmund Ironside left  the manor of Plymstock to Tavistock Abbey in the late 900's In 1066 the abbey was assessed for Danegeld and included in this was "2 virgates of land," one virgate was anything between 15 - 60 acres of land, depending on soil quality. In 1086 the Exon Domesday records that Plymstock had 4 villani (un-free but land holding people), 9 Bordarii (people holding less land than a villain) and 5 Servi (un-free people bonded to a lord), Finberg p.58. In the same year Plymstock had 1, ploughteam, 4 cattle, 70 sheep and 34 goats which all in all made it one of the smaller Tavistock holdings. In the mid 1400's Plymstock is recorded as growing pill wheat, having a rabbit warren and a dovecote, Finberg 192-3. So it is clear that Tavistock Abbey did own lands at Plymstock but there are no records of any of them being given by Childe. There was however a man named Ordulf, Finberg, p.4 suggests that he was a keen hunter and was killed on Dartmoor through exposure, he had assigned one of his manors for a 'soul-scot' (ecclesiastic heriot, usually the second best chattel) to the church in which he should be buried. In this case it was the manor of Anthony in Cornwall, not Plymstock and the event occurred sometime after 1066. He also mentions, p.226 that on the obit of Ordulf's death a great bell was tolled at the abbey and the monks partook of wheaten bread and wine.

Childe's Tomb - 1826 P. H. Rogers

The actual tomb that stands today, according to Crossing, 1987, p.89-94, was "perfect" until 1812 when it was virtually destroyed by workmen building the nearby farmhouse of Fox tor. In 1826 Carrington recorded the tomb as consisting of a pedestal formed by three steps, a socket and groove for the cross which had its shaft broken. Crossing then goes on to relate how he found the ruined grave and eventually 9 of the 12 pillars that formed the pedestal. He later discovered that three more at the one time Fox tor farm.

The cross was seen in 1823 and 1825 and then it vanished. Crossing records how he found the head of a cross in 1881 in the corner of one of the old Fox tor enclosures but was unsure whether it came from Childe's Tomb. The tomb was restored in 1885 by the Dartmoor Preservation Association and as Harrison notes, 2001, p.69, a new cross and socket-stone were cut. Hemery, 1983, p.360, adds that the stone was cut in Holne. Sandles, 1997, p.28 measures the 'new' cross at a height of 3.37ft (1.03m) and a span of 1.67ft (51cm).

Butler, 1993, pp.218-220, remarks how the tomb was a Christianised cairn. He also quotes how Crossing found the open and robbed kist in 1812. He also describes the kist as having a kerb retaining circle which once surrounded the covering cairn. Outside this re-erected kerb can be seen a circular scatter of what was probably the original cairn stones.

Nobody has ever found the slab that Risdon described with the inscription on so maybe that was poetic licence.

The place of Guile Bridge is generally regarded as either being the Guild Bridge or alternatively the Abbey Bridge, both in Tavistock.

Bibliography.

Bray, A. E. 1879 The Borders of Tamar & Tavy, W. Kent, London.

Butler, J. 1993 Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities Vol. IV, Devon Books, Exeter.

Crossing, W. 1987, The Ancient Stone Crosses of Dartmoor, Devon Books, Exeter.

Finberg, H. P. R. 1969 Tavistock Abbey, David & Charles, Newton Abbot.

Harrison, B. 2001, Dartmoor Stone Crosses, Halsgrove Pub,. Tiverton.

Hemery, E. 1983 High Dartmoor, Hale, London.

Sandles, T. 1997 A Pilgrimage to Dartmoor's Crosses, Forest Pub., Liverton.