Historic Dartmoor

If you look on a modern Ordnance Survey map at grid reference SX 7708 8925 you will see the enigmatic and singular name of “Peregrine”. Was this once or still is the haunt of the Peregrine falcon? Now look at the Ordnance Survey map from 1964 below and the mystery …

There is nothing better for Dartmoor nostalgia than to read words and imagine descriptions and voices from the dim and distant past. Here are a few insights in the life of a ‘youth’ written in 1890 and it’s also a great recommendation for the healing powers of the fresh and …

Over time there have been numerous perilous occupations on Dartmoor – miners, farm labourers, quarrymen, and not to mention lime burners. Dartmoor was and is a primary area for agriculture of which arable farming has been an important aspect. One of the most important conditions for ensuring agricultural crops will …

“Quintin’s Close – on Uphill derives its name from Quintin’s Graveyard, a plot of wasteland lying between the forks of the road adjoining. Quintin appears to be another of the many names given to the Devil, and Quintin’s Graveyard is yet another example of a crossroads at which a suicide …

“A wide ride, higher on the down, bisects the conifer plantation along the crest and continues southward from Dagger Hill towards the cairns, standing in clear ground, on the apex of the down; these, in the days when men rode past them and knew their distinctive pimples from afar, were …

Most of the early reports of Dartmoor Prison paint a stark and sombre picture of prison life behind those imposing granite walls. But here is one from 1909 that almost reads like an advert for the gaol which could have appeared in a travel magazine. Clearly Mr. B. T. Bridges …

Due west of the small moorland village of Drewsteignton lies Bradmere Pool, a large, tree lined, dark, foreboding place which covers about 3 acres. Today the pool is more commonly known as Bradford Pool but in the past it has been called Beechmere Pool. Colonel Hamilton Smith an early antiquarian …

In 1887 William Crossing published his book – ‘The Ancient Stone Crosses of Dartmoor’ prior to which he had spent a great deal of time locating both the standing granite crosses of the moor and those who had not weathered the storms and interventions of mankind and animals so well. …

  The Inspector Calls – those words will strike fear into any business owner when Governmental Inspectors are concerned. Imagine then you owned a gunpowder factory back in the day and all the possible hazards that may exist and the fines for any that are found. Not a visit to …

In the 16th century the importance of Plymouth grew and accordingly so did its population. It then soon became apparent that the existing water supply was insufficient for the demands placed upon it. So in 1576 Robert Lampen lead a team of surveyors in search of a route for a …