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Dartmoor HistoryThe Prehistory Bit...... The majority of the prehistoric remains on Dartmoor date back to the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. Indeed, Dartmoor contains the largest concentration of Bronze Age remains in the United Kingdom, which suggests that this was when a larger population moved onto the hills of Dartmoor. The climate at the time was warmer than today, and much of today's moorland was covered with trees. The prehistoric settlers began clearing the forest, and established the first farming communities. Fire was the main method of clearing land, creating pasture and swidden types of fire-fallow farmland. Areas less suited for farming tended to be burned for livestock grazing. Over the centuries these Neolithic practices greatly expanded the upland moors, contributed to the acidification of the soil and the accumulation of peat and bogs. The nature of the soil, which is highly acidic, means that no organic remains have survived. However, by contrast, the high durability of the natural granite means that their homes and monuments are still to be found in abundance, as are their flint tools. It should be noted that a number of remains were "restored" by enthusiastic Victorians and that, in some cases, they have placed their own interpretation on how an area may have looked. Beardown Man, Dartmoor Numerous menhirs (more usually referred to locally as standing stones or longstones), stone circles, kistvaens, cairns and stone rows are to be found on the moor. The most significant sites include: Beardown Man, near Devil’s Tor – isolated standing stone 3.5 m (11 ft) high, said to have another 1 m (3.3 ft) below ground. grid reference SX596796 Challacombe, near the prehistoric settlement of Grimspound – triple stone row. grid reference SX689807 Drizzlecombe, east of Sheepstor village – stone circles, rows, standing stones, kistvaens and cairns. grid reference SX591669 Grey Wethers, near Postbridge – double circle, aligned almost exactly north south. grid reference SX638831 Laughter Tor, near Two Bridges – standing stone 2.4 m (7.9 ft) high and two double stone rows, one 164 m (540 ft) long. grid reference SX652753 Merrivale, between Princetown and Tavistock – includes a double stone row 182 m (600 ft) long, 1.1 m (3.6 ft) wide, aligned almost exactly east-west), stone circles and a kistvaen. grid reference SX554747 Scorhill, west of Chagford – circle, 26.8 m (88 ft) in circumference, and stone rows. grid reference SX654873 Shovel Down, north of Fernworthy reservoir – double stone row approximately 120 m (390 ft) long. grid reference SX660859 There are also an estimated 5,000 hut circles still surviving today, despite the fact that many have been raided over the centuries by the builders of the traditional dry stone walls. These are the remnants of Bronze Age houses. The smallest are around 1.8 m (6 ft) in diameter, and the largest may be up to five times this size. Some have L-shaped porches to protect against wind and rain – some particularly good examples are to be found at Grimspound. It is believed that they would have had a conical roof, supported by timbers and covered in turf or thatch. Many ancient structures, including the hut circles at Grimspound, were reconstructed during the 19th century – most notably by civil engineer and historian Richard Hansford Worth. Some of this work was based more on speculation than archaeological expertise, and has since been criticised for its inaccuracy. The historical bit.... The climate worsened over the course of a thousand years from around 1000 BC, so that much of high Dartmoor was largely abandoned by its early inhabitants. It was not until the early medieval period that the weather again became warmer, and settlers moved back onto the moors. Like their ancient forebears, they also used the natural granite to build their homes, preferring a style known as the longhouse – some of which are still inhabited today, although they have been clearly adapted over the centuries. Many are now being used as farm buildings, while others were abandoned and fell into ruin. The earliest surviving farms, still in operation today, are known as the Ancient Tenements. Most of these date back to the 14th century and sometimes earlier. Some way into the moor stands the town of Princetown, the site of the notorious Dartmoor Prison, which was originally built both by, and for, prisoners of war from the Napoleonic Wars. The prison has a (now misplaced) reputation for being escape-proof, both due to the buildings themselves and its physical location. The Dartmoor landscape is scattered with the marks left by the many generations who have lived and worked there over the centuries – such as the remains of the once mighty Dartmoor tin-mining industry, and farmhouses long since abandoned. Indeed the industrial archeology of Dartmoor is a subject in its own right. This pursuit has become increasingly popular in recent decades. Watertight containers, or 'letterboxes', are hidden throughout Dartmoor, each containing a visitors book and a rubber stamp. The original intention was for walkers to leave a letter or postcard, which would then be collected and posted by the next person to visit the site. Today visitors take an impression of the letterboxes rubber stamp as proof of finding the box and record their visit by stamping their own personal stamp in the letterboxes logbook. Until the 1970s there were no more than a dozen such sites around the moor, usually in the most inaccessible locations. Today there are thousands of letterboxes, many within easy walking distance of the road. Today there is a club called the "100 Club", membership of which is open to anyone who has found at least 100 letterboxes on Dartmoor. Clues to the locations of letterboxes are published by the "100 Club" in a bi-annual catalogue. Some letterboxes however remain "word of mouth" and the clues to their location can only be obtained from the person who placed the box. Some clues may also be found in other letterboxes or on the Internet, this is however more commonly for letterboxes in places other than Dartmoor, where no "100 Club" or catalogue exist. Letterboxing has become a sport in itself, with thousands of walkers gathering for 'box-hunts' – an in some areas of the moor is particularly popular amongst children, some of the more difficult to find boxes and tougher terrain are however better suited to more experienced adults. Such letterboxes have also been placed in various locations around the world, with a more recent variant known as geocaches. These caches are usually much harder to find, and often require GPS coordinates to locate. Dartmoor - An Observation Rowe, Rev Samuel A perambulation of the Antient(sic) and royal forest of Dartmoor, ... Plymouth : C.E. Moat, 1856. Bowerman's Nose, as it is popularly called, rises from the brow of the headland which projects from Heytor, and the hilly track, between the dale of Widecombe and those of Manaton and North Bovey. It is seen to greatest advantage, when approached from the north by the road we are now traversing: and is found, on examination, to consist of five layers of granite blocks, piled by the hand of nature, --- some of them severed into two distinct masses; the topmost stone (where I presume the nasal resemblance is traced) being a single block. Polwhele seems to have been mistaken in calculating the height at fifty feet: it is rather less than forty above the clatter from which it rises. Conspicuous from its position, and remarkable for its form, it is easy to conceive that this fantastic production of nature, might have been pointed out to an ignorant and deluded people as the object of worship; nor is it unworthy of remark that, viewed from below, it strongly resembles the rude colossal idols, found by our navigators when thy visited Easter Island, in the Southern Pacific; and when seen from the south, on higher ground, it presents the appearance of a Hindoo idol, in a sitting posture. It is only on the spot that we can duly appreciate Carrington's graphic and faithful description, 'On the very edge Of the vast moorland, startling every eye A shape enormous rises ! High it towers Above the hill's' bold brow, and seen from far, Assumes the human form; a granite god, --- To whom in days long flown, the suppliant knee In trembling homage bow'd. The hamlets near, Have legends rude connected with the spot, (Wild swept by every wind,) on which he stands The Giant of the moor.' Heytor rises from the brow of the hill with sombres grandeur, in two distinct piles; and when viewed from the neighbourhood of Kingsteignton, and other adjacent lowlands, under the influence of a sullen and cloudy sky presents a singularly accurate resemblance to a ruined castle, the massive keep of which is represented by the eastern pile. On the top is a rock-basin, two feet and a half in diameter, but much less perfect than Mistor Pan and many others. Foremost amongst these is Croken Tor, which we shall reach by proceeding from Two Bridges along the Moreton turnpike-road, from which town it is distant about eleven miles. This tor has long been celebrated as one of the objects, of far greater interest in reality, which have been passed without notice by those who have commemorated the antient (sic) Parliament Rock. Wistman's Wood is the third of Risdon's 'three remarkable things' in the Forest of Dartmoor. By him it is described as consisting of 'some acres of wood and trees that are a fathom about and yet no taller than a man may touch the top with his hand.' The general description of this wonder of Dartmoor, is sufficient accordance with its present condition to warrant the conclusion that the lapse of more than two centuries has not materially changed its aspect, and that probably for a much longer period it has presented the same singular appearance as now. A description of the county of Devonshire. Exeter : W. Spreat, [1842?] p. 151 Lydford Gorge About two miles south of the bridge is the first cascade, but as the approach to it is rather intricate, a guide is necessary, as the path to the lower ground is not easily found by strangers. From the foot of the lofty hill you are conducted to its summit, where there is a magnificent view of the country, but the river is not discernable. (sic) Descending the hill by a winding path you behold the Lyd, harassed by many obstructions in its way, leaping from precipice at least 140 feet high, and falling into a deep bason (sic) formed by the violence of the waters: hence in a winding direction, it pursues its course to the Tamar, which it joins a little below Lifton, about nine miles from the falls. |
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