It is hardly surprising that Dartmoor can be associated with crime and punishment when the infamous convict prison lies at its heart. But notorious gaols go back further than that in the sinister form of Lydford Gaol and the Lydford Law where men were hung first and tried after. The further one delves into the records reveals a land crawling with escaped convicts, murderers and other such felons. Travel must have been a nightmare, where highway men would kill the unwary pilgrim for their purse. The landscape is littered with place-names that testify to the crime and punishments such as Gibbet Hill, Deadman's Bottom, Hangman's Pit, Spitchwick Gallows to name but a few.

One interesting point is that where there have been murders in the small villages and towns they are always called 'The' murder which suggests a singular event thus indicating that serious crime was not a commonplace occurrence. You certainly don't hear of The Exeter or The Plymouth murder as there have been numerous such incidents.

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05/01/2013