Historic Dartmoor

Whilst trawling through some old publications in the hope of coming across some mention of a topic I’m researching I came across a brief and totally unrelated piece which has now sidetracked me. It was written in 1902 and referred to an ancient cross that somebody had discovered which, like …

“The latter will take the rambler by Yeo Mill, which being near South Hill probably occupies the same site as the one mentioned in a forester’s account of the year 1491, in which is an entry of 6d of new rent of John Will, of Hille, for having a course …

“About half a mile beyond Piall Bridge, we shall cross Quick’s bridge, and commence the ascent of the hill towards Tolch Moor Gate, the road being on the verge of a common. About midway we shall notice on our right hand a white gate, opening upon a private lane that …

  “The first part of the way was over East Down, and the road was familiar with us as far as Beetor’s Cross or  Bector’s Cross. Rowe and some guide-books call it by the latter name; the ‘natives’ and other guide-book by the former. We would rather incline to the …

Ever since parts of Dartmoor has been used for training there have been a whole variety of tests carried out but none so strange as the one completed by the ‘Starvation Company’. There is the old adage – “an army marches on its stomach,” which I suppose is fairly obvious …

If you search the online UK Crime Statistics for Moretonhampstead in the February of 2019 you will see that there were three types of crime reported; one case of shoplifting, 1 case of other theft and 1 case of undefined violence/sexual offence. So one could say that in the centre …

It is a well known fact that since 1873 various parts of Dartmoor have been used for military training. Today the areas on which this can take place are clearly defined but that was not always the case. In the August of 1873 some 9,000 soldiers took part in two …

It’s a well known fact that Dartmoor granite is ideally suited for fashioning monuments and gravestones and examples of such can be seen all around the United Kingdom. In the churchyard of St. Michael and All Angels at Pirbright stands a huge monolith of Dartmoor granite. This marks the grave …

It’s many years since I last went to St. Winifred’s church at Manaton and that was just a fleeting visit so on a typical Dartmoor day with heavy showers interspersed with bursts of sunshine I called in again. On walking through the lych gate the sun burst through the grey …

As always, whilst researching something else I came across the following paragraph in a paper written by Samuel Rowe in the 1830 issue of  ‘The Transactions of the Plymouth Institution’; “In a small pasture field about a furlong S. E. of Manaton church, adjoining a parish road, is an enclosure …