WORTH’S DARTMOOR

Compiled from the published works of the late R. HANSFORD WORTH M.Inst.C.E., F.G.S.

and edited by G. M. SPOONER, M.B.E., M.A. and

F. S. RUSSELL, F.R.S.

New edition with introduction by G. M. SPOONER, M.B.E., M.A.

Third impression

DAVID & CHARLES NEWTON ABBOT LONDON NORTH POMFRET (VT) First impression of this edition published 1967 Second impression 1971 Third impression 1981

This book was first published by the executors of the will of the late R. Hansford Worth in 1953 and was reprinted shortly afterwards. This edition has been requested by many Dartmoor lovers. The attention of readers is drawn to the new introduction by Mr. G. M. Spooner.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Worth, Richard Hansford Worth’s Dartmoor. 1. Dartmoor, Eng. I. Spooner, G. M. II. Russell, F. S. 942.3’53 DA670.D2

ISBN 0-7153-5148-6 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 80-85491

Printed in Great Britain by Whitstable Litho Ltd., Whitstable, Kent for David & Charles (Publishers) Ltd Brunel House, Newton Abbot, Devon Published in the United States of America by David & Charles Inc North Pomfret Vermont 05053 USA CONTENTS Introduction to the 1967 Edition page vii Editors’ Preface x Editor’s Notes xii Foreword 1 The Physical Geography of Dartmoor 3 The Granite of Dartmoor 47 The Vegetation of Dartmoor 64 The Ancient Dwarfed Oak Woods of Dartmoor 74 The Dartmoor Hut-Circles 99 The Prehistoric Pounds of Dartmoor 133 Dartmoor Barrows and Kistvaens 163 The Stone Rows of Dartmoor 202 The Dartmoor Stone Circles 248 The Dartmoor Menhirs 265 The Stannaries 272 The Dartmoor Blowing-House 289 The Tenants and Commoners of Dartmoor 329 The Moorstone Age 355 On Dartmoor Tracks and Guide-Stones 392 The Dartmoor House 403 On Dartmoor Place-Names 419 Appendices 431 I, The flow of Dartmoor rivers, 431. II, Notes on Granite, 447. Ill, On two stone implements, 450. IV, Stone rows and astronom­ ical theory, 452. V, Index to Dartmoor localities for barrows, cairns, and kistvaens, 457. VI, Stray notes on the Teign Valley, 468. VII, On Dunnabridge Pound and Crockem Tor, 475. VIII, Dartmoor railroads, 479. IX, Dartmoor and the Services, 485. General References 497 Locality Index 500 Subject Index 515 v I commend Dartmoor to the regard and the protection of all who desire to preserve unspoilt an ancient land, old when the hut­ dwellers built their homes, now older but unchanged. R. H. W. INTRODUCTION TO THE 1967 EDITION

ew could have foreseen, in 1954, that the second impression of this book would be sold out in three years; still less that a need for a further printing would arise. Yet this is what has happened, and for very good reasons. FIt is now easier to appreciate the long-term value of this book amongst the informative literature on Dartmoor, if only because it contains so much basic factual matter. The demand for a reprinting has been impossible to ignore. Warning, however, must be given that various advances in our knowledge of Dartmoor have been made since Hansford Worth was active. More especially, the archaeological picture has been much affected by the modem growth of this branch of study. New excavations with modem methods, and reassess­ ment of the results of older work, are showing a more complex situation during the prehistoric period than Worth was prepared to admit. Anyone wishing to know more about the human occupation of Dartmoor in its appropriate con­ text at different periods during the last two millenia b.c. should refer to Aileen Fox’s recent well-illustrated book on the early history of the south-west (South-West England in the Ancient Peoples and Places series, Thames & Hudson, 1964). Excavations apart, discoveries are still being made of hitherto undetected prehistoric structures, to reward observant explorers. The number of huts (p. 99) is now known to be well over 2,000, and at least three types of settlement can be recognized; there are five additional stone-rows (p. 202), one of which, discovered by Commander and Mrs. A. H. Woolner, across Harford and Ugborough Moors, is almost of megalithic dimensions; an overlooked stone­ circle with a diameter of 124 ft can be added to the top of the list on p. 260. Of medieval and later structures finds can even more readily be made: for example, at least six additional blowing-houses (p. 289) have been detected, and the total number of warrener’s vermin-traps (p. 157) of which remains have been traced now exceeds 50.1 The medieval settlement of Dartmoor is, indeed, attracting growing interest. Herdsman’s quarters datable to the thirteenth century have been excavated by Lady Fox on Dean Moor, and there must be others elsewhere. Mrs. Minter’s exciting work at Hound Tor has disclosed a stone-built hamlet viii INTRODUCTION TO THE 1967 EDITION abandoned about 1,250 a.d., with evidence of earlier wattle dwellings, re­ novated several times. Current excavations by the Ministry of Works are throwing new light on the history of Lydford as a Saxon burgh. There is still much to be learnt of the early history of Dartmoor farming and other activity in historic times,2 provided the evidence is not obliterated by modem marginal­ land reclamation projects. As regards the physiography and geology of Dartmoor, much more is now known to specialists that can be gleaned from the Geological Memoir of 1912 and other pre-1960 writings (including Worth’s), but the picture has still to be presented in a coherent form intelligible to the general reader.8 The present revision-work on their maps by the Geological Survey is much to be welcomed. Some of Worth’s ideas presented in the chapter on ‘Physical Geography’ will no doubt need modification: for example, it is possible for structures re­ sembling tors to form below the ground surface. Thanks primarily to the efforts of Dr. I. G. Simmons,4 some pollen analyses of Dartmoor peat are now available, giving us the first real glimpse of the vegetational history of Dartmoor since the close of the Ice-Age. Readers of the chapter on Wistmans Wood (one of the sites now in the care of the Nature Conservancy) may have difficulty in squaring some of Worth’s observations, and older ones, with what can be seen today. This is because, as has only recently been appreciated, the wood has put on much new growth during this century. It has become more ‘normal’, and at the same time has lost some of its former richness in mosses and fems, and also perhaps some of the impression of weirdness conveyed to visitors in former days. In short, this volume must now be read or consulted in historical perspective. As Worth himself advocated many years ago, Dartmoor is now adminis­ tered as a National Park, with various areas, sites, or features given at least nominal protection of some degree. There is no doubt Dartmoor’s special appeal and value to the nation in the future will depend much on the manner in which its destructible assets, with which much of this book is concerned, are respected and conserved. In this aim we cannot rely wholly on official measures, though these must increase: the co-operation of the public is vital. To the public, then, this reprint is dedicated. G. M.Spooner 5 September 1966

1 R. M. L. Cook, Transactions of the Devonshire Association, Vol. 96, p. 190. 2 See, for example, the studies by Mrs. C. D. Lineham and H. French in recent Transactions of the Devonshire Association. 3 The need is partly met by Dartmoor Essays issued by the Devonshire Association in 1964. 4 Transactions of the Devonshire Association, Vol. 94, p. 555: Vol. 95, p. 180. he publication of this volume fills me with pleasure and grati­ tude. Pleasure in the fulfilment of my dear husband’s expressed wish that many of his papers and reports concerning Dartmoor Tshould be reprinted and published in book form. Gratitude to those good friends of ours, who have made that publication possible. First I would like to thank Mr. F. S. Russell and Mr. G. M. Spooner, who have been responsible for editing the book, making all the necessary arrangements for publication, and for seeing it through the press. The main burden of editing the text has fallen on Mr. Spooner, who has not only made the selection of matter for publication, but has also himself roamed over much of Dartmoor to check and verify many of the observations, thus ensuring as far as possible that the book should be accurate and up to date. His work is deeply appreciated. My best thanks also are due to Mr. E. N. Masson Phillips for his great help, especially with reference to the geology of Dartmoor; and to Mr. H. E. Turner for so generously providing the facilities of a centre for the collection of subscriptions. There are others, including Mr. H. P. R. Finberg, who have given help. To all I offer my most grateful thanks for their untiring efforts to make this Dartmoor book a success. Annie E. Worth EDITORS’ PREFACE

ichard Hansford Worth was bom at Plymouth on 5 November 1868, the son of R. N. Worth, journalist, historian and geologist. He was educated at Plymouth High School for Boys (now RPlymouth College), and became a civil engineer. His interests were many. He was a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, a Member of the Mineralogical Society, and a Fellow of the Geological Society of London; he was also a Member of the Newcomen Society. He was a Founder Member of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. He made many original contributions to knowledge, but will be best remembered for his painstaking studies of Dartmoor in all its aspects. He died in Plymouth on 11 November 1950. A full obituary is printed in the Transactions of the Devonshire Association, Vol. 83, pp. 17-21. Hansford Worth’s antiquarian work, following that of his father, was primarily devoted to recording observable features, eliminating the ‘personal equation’ as far as humanly possible, and avoiding speculation. His preoccupation with this approach—which made him reluctant not only to theorize but to interpret—can well be understood in view of the extravagances among past writings on Dartmoor anti­ quities, not excluding those of his senior contemporaries. (See, for instance, Appendix IV.) If archaeologists are ever able to give us a coherent picture of the kind of people who occupied the moor in pre­ historic times, it will only be because a sound foundation has been laid of reliable field observations on surviving material evidence. Much is owed to Hansford Worth for this. It had been his intention to assemble his published works on Dart­ moor into book form, and indeed a number of his later papers in the Transactions of the Devonshire Association were written to form chapters in the projected book. He died before he could fulfil his hopes, but he left a sum of money for the publication of such a book, the proceeds of the sale of which were to go to the Devonshire Association. That a need existed for a reliable source of information of this kind has long been felt, now more especially since the establishment of the Dartmoor National Park. Its appeal should be wide, since so much of editors’ preface xi the well illustrated archaeological matter refers to the numerous stone remains distributed over the moor, free to be viewed by any passer-by. When Mrs. Worth gave us the opportunity to act as editors of this book we gladly undertook the task as a labour of love in memory of Mr. Worth, and as a duty towards the nation since it was evident that a complete work of this nature would stand as a permanent reference book for all those interested in Dartmoor. Indeed, the kind help which Mrs. Worth has given us has made this duty a pleasure. Owing to present-day costs of printing final publication was only made possible by the many subscribers who willingly came forward in response to our appeal. We are grateful to Mr. H. P. R. Finberg for examining the proofs and for advice, especially on typography; Mr. E. N. Masson Phillips for much valuable advice in all stages of preparation, his help with the geological and prehistoric sections being particularly appreciated; Lt.-Col. G. W. G. Hughes and Mr. A. G. Madan for their help in en­ abling us to sort required blocks and photographic negatives respec­ tively; Mr. C. E. Birkett Dixon for reading the manuscript of the chapter on barrows; Mr. Bernard Hickey for drawing the endpiece maps; Mrs. D. B. Carlisle for compiling the subject index; and Dr. D. P. Wilson, who kindly also supplied two additional photographs, and Dr. J. S. Alexandrowicz for preparing fresh prints for illustrations requiring new blocks. Acknowledgements are also due to the Councils of the Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and Art; the Plymouth Institution and Devon and Cornwall Natural History Society; and the Torquay Natural History Society; from whose publications this work has been compiled. In conclusion we wish to record our thanks to the printers, Messrs. Latimer, Trend & Co. Ltd., for the care they have given to printing the book and their helpful advice in many matters which has proved so valuable in a private publication of this nature. G. M. S. F. S. R. EDITOR’S NOTES

he task before us was to ensure that Hansford Worth’s writings were so selected and arranged as to give the most complete and coherent account possible of Dartmoor, at least with respect to the many aspects that he Thad expressly studied. This aim was practicable because several summary articles had clearly been written with a view to incorporation as chapters of a Dartmoor book, and fell naturally into place. Where no summary articles existed (e.g. for stone circles) extracts from avail­ able writings treating the subject have been combined with a minimum of manipulation of the text. In the same way when two articles partially covered the same subject, each contributing something lacking in the other (e.g. Dart­ moor house), or when a supplementary had followed the main account (e.g. blowing-houses), the texts have been merged. The chapter on barrows, and this alone, has a more complex origin, as explained below. As a policy, no alterations to the original text have been made other than those involving trimming of the punctuation, insertion of references, adoption of standard abbreviations, and other purely editorial treatment. Occasionally a word or phrase has been amended, when there are good grounds for believing that the author would himself have changed it; and obvious mistakes of tran­ scription or overlooked printer’s errors in the original have been corrected. To the last-mentioned category belong several corrections to the raw data of position references, particularly to longitude and latitude bearings. These have been checked throughout the book, mainly in detail on 6-inch O.S. sheets, and have been amended when any difference greater than I second has been discovered. Any other editorial intrusions into the text are clearly indicated as such. These include a few revised measurements or check observations, especially with regard to stone rows (pp. 202-47). Where, again, opinions opposing those of the author have been put forward with good claim, or where there is need to draw attention to more recent observations, an editorial footnote has usually been inserted. This has been done in justice not only to the reader seeking the most authoritative information, but also to the reputation of the author who has had no opportunity of qualifying opinions that are now being perpetuated in his name. Illustrations. To reproduce some 160 photographs and 130 line text-figures would have been prohibitive had not most of the blocks been available. About 30 text-figures required new blocks, which have been made from printed reproductions of the originals. Some 25 half-tone blocks were required, of which only two had to be made from previous printed reproductions: several editor’s notes xiii of the original negatives were found from which new photographs were printed and two illustrations were recovered from lantern-slides. One was re-taken in the field by Dr. D. P. Wilson. By these means all the illustrations in the original articles have been reproduceable. Several additional photographs have been included—a selection from the available store of Worth’s blocks. Finally, to fill a gap, two extra photographs of hut-circles have been reproduced (Pl. 25B and 26a); as well as Dr. Wilson’s view of Down Tor row and circle (Pl. 61). The endpiece maps, which cover Dartmoor in four sections, were repro­ duced from amended drawings of Mr. B. Hickey, by permission of the Ord­ nance Survey. Reference is frequently made to the 6-inch maps of the Ordnance Survey. The Numbers by which the separate maps are distinguished are clearly indi­ cated in Fig. 12 on p. 101, and the plan there shown may serve as a key. Place-names. No attempt has been made at uniformity in the spelling of Dartmoor place-names. As the author well realized, no uniformity is at present attainable, or even desirable. Many official spellings or forms adopted on current maps have no historical basis, and are not necessarily worthy standards. Care has been taken, in the Locality Index, to enter all the variants of one name used in the book, as well as to distinguish between different places with the same name (of which there are all too many examples). Articles reprinted. A list of all articles reprinted in whole or in part is given at the end of these notes. Numbers in heavy type are assigned to these articles and are used throughout this explanation of the source of the contents of the book. The Foreword is composed from the introductory paragraphs of 5, with an insertion on the Worth family taken from 31. The Physical Geography chapter is the main subject matter of 5, comprising pp. 51 to 98 of the original (the remaining appendices being reproduced here as Appendix I, q.v.). Two insertions have been made (p. 18) from a later MS. (32), and a photograph of the Dewerstone Rock added (Pl. 4). The account of the Dartmoor Granite is taken from an MS. article on Dart­ moor geology (32), apparently intended for a book on Dartmoor. It deals strictly with the geological origins and structure of the rock, leaving later chapters to deal with the uses to which, as a stone, it is put by man. This is the most technical of all the articles printed here, but its interest and value have been pointed out by Mr. E. N. Masson Phillips, who has prepared the typescript for printing. Two figures, copied from rough sketches, have been reproduced (Figs. 9 and 10); but other intended sketches were not available. Some of these, however, had been published in earlier papers, and the reference has then been given. Many of the rock specimens referred to can now be seen in Torquay Museum. A short survey of the Vegetation of Dartmoor is a reprint of 12, with the addition of Pl. 20. The systematic names of the flowering plants and fems have been brought in line with the Flora of Devon, and that of the Reindeer Moss corrected. The ancient dwarfed oak woods were the subject of a joint paper by xiv editor’s notes Christy & Worth (36), of which Worth’s contribution is here reproduced. See note on p. 98. The next six chapters deal with the material that Dartmoor supplies for archaeological study and interpretation—remains of stone huts, pounds, graves, rows, circles, and menhirs. These, as generally accepted, are the legacy of an extensive colonization of the moor during the Bronze Age by a pastoral people simple in their habits but prone to expend energy in constructing monuments associated with burials. Their culture was essentially that of Early Bronze peoples, as Worth insisted, though possibly surviving into later periods of the Age in semi-isolation. Though the Early Bronze Age provides the first evidence of habitation, Dartmoor prehistory starts much earlier. There is growing evidence, yet to be adequately collated, that palaeolithic, mesolithic, and neolithic hunters visited the moor. One of Worth’s contributions to the evidence is given in Appendix III (p. 450, Pl. 90). A good account of Hut-circles (to give the huts their usual name) is available (23). Three photographs showing remains of these dwellings (Pl. 25 A, b, Pl. 26), and a list of chief references to date, have been added here. The account of the prehistoric pounds is a reprint of 21. The chapter on Barrows is an attempt at combining the summary articles written by Worth, in the 21st, 56th, and 69th Reports of the Barrow Committee (33, 34, 35), omitting matter not relevant to Dartmoor. Parts of the kistvaen section have been rewritten to bring statistics up to date, without, however, affecting previous conclusions. Fig. 58 has been revised and re-drawn. Some additional illustrations have been introduced: Fig. 51A from the 29th Barrow Report, Pl. 33A from the 53rd, and Pl. 33B from the 57th. Pl. 40A was pub­ lished in ‘Before written record1 (15). Figs. 49 and 50, for which new blocks were required, were re-drawn. It is feared that this compilation necessarily falls short of any account Worth himself might have written with the same object in view. In bringing the survey up to date, for instance, he would no doubt have compared Dartmoor barrows and their contents with those of other parts of south-west England. For the Stone Rows, 26 and 27 are combined. Several obvious printer’s errors and errors of transcription have been corrected. Some revised measure­ ments have been incorporated. A new photograph of the Down Tor row and circle has been added (Pl. 61). The matter in the editors’ Addendum has not been included in the sections which summarize various attributes of stone rows. To cover the Stone Circles, sensu stricto, the essential parts of 8,16 and 20 have been fitted together. Figs. 80 and 81, which were originally published on a larger scale and printed on folders, have been reduced without loss of detail. The Menhir chapter is a reprint of 18. Some account of the activities and customs of the Stannaries is derived from a long extract from 3, with a short section (on tin production) from 19. The field evidence to be obtained on Dartmoor from the remains of ‘blowing­ houses’, or ‘tinners’ mills’, is found in 19, expanded by its supplement 25. Some editor’s notes XV illustrations (Pl. 68 to 71) have been added from more detailed articles, to which a list of references is given on p. 328. Established customs relating to tenure and Rights of Common are key topics in the next chapter, reprinted from 22. There follows a description of various commodities that at one time were hewn from slabs of surface granite, or ‘moor- stone’—reprinted from 29 and 30, with ten photographs added (Pl. 72 to 76). Some observations on tracks and guide-stones are derived from 10 and 37. One of the illustrations, that of the little clapper bridge in Snap Lane, Wills­ worthy, on the route of the Lichway, is here reproduced from the original in colour, and inserted as Frontispiece. It is a pleasant example of the author’s water colour work, which, in his earlier years, provided a favourite pastime. ‘Dorf ’ was his private nom de plutne. The chapter on the Dartmoor House is derived from 13, to which certain sections of 11 have been grafted. The illustrations formerly appeared in either 11 or 13 or both, except Pl. 80 and 82 which have been added. The last chapter, on Place-Names, is a reprint of 4. Among the Appendices will be found a selection of articles or passages giving supplementary information bearing on the main subject-matter. They do not in any way exhaust the author’s writings on Dartmoor. Appendix I gives supplementary data on the subject, introduced on pp. 35- 42, of the flow of Dartmoor rivers and their liability to flood. It contains Appendices II to VI of the 1930 Address (5), with some additions from 14. Plate 88a is a substitute for the missing original. Appendix II adds a little on Dartmoor granite, derived from 6, with an addendum to the list of references on p. 63. Appendix III, reprinted from 7 and 9, combines the descriptions of two stone implements, examples of casual archaeological finds. The extract reprinted as Appendix IV is from an address delivered as long ago as 1906 (2). It is included as an appendage to the stone-row chapter not only because, as a withering exposure of humbug, it provides entertaining reading, but also because it serves as a reminder of the influences which unprejudiced investigators have had to contend, even in this century. On Dartmoor the advance of knowledge has been arrested by the over-imaginative recorder, the over-enthusiastic restorer, and even (as here) by the scientist of repute who extra­ vagantly exploited a pet theory. The necessary corrective to these tendencies was a strictly objective attitude which concentrates on exact observation and record­ ing, keeping speculation to a minimum. This fact Hansford Worth, in his earlier years, realized more clearly than any of his contemporaries. It provided incentive to his researches and affected his outlook to the end. Appendix V combines in condensed form the indices to references to barrows, etc., given as appendices to the 21st, 56th, and 69th Barrow Committee’s Reports (33,34, 35). Appendix VI is a reprint of 24. Appendix VII is extracted from 17: in it, apart from special associations of Dunnabridge and Crockern Tor, will be found references to the medieval use of pounds. editor’s notes Appendix VIII is a reprint of that part of 1 that concerns Dartmoor. In supplying answers to possible enquiries on derelict Dartmoor ‘tramways’, it re­ introduces Worth’s earliest published paper, written in 1888. A revealing pass­ age (on p. 483) shows that even at this date Worth visualized Dartmoor as a potential National Park. Finally Appendix IX, a reprint of 28, gives Worth’s deposition in 1947 at the Exeter Inquiry on the services* land requirements, an event long to be remembered by those present. His recommendations, it is fair to say, have not been wholly ignored; but his misgivings and main theme of dissent will hold force so long ever as parts of Dartmoor are used for battle-training.

G. M. S. ARTICLES FROM WHICH THIS BOOK IS COMPILED

(1) Worth, R. Hansford, 1888. Early western railroads. P.L, Vol. 10, pp. 78-92 (2) — 1906. President’s Address. P.L, Vol. 14, pp. 187-220 (3) — 1910. The Stannaries. P.L, Vol. 15, pp. 21-45 (4) — 1926. A note on Dartmoor place-names. T.D.A., Vol. 58, pp. 359-72 (5) — 1930. Address of the President. T.D.A., Vol. 62, pp. 49-124 (6) — 1930. Weathered granite. P.L, Vol. 17, pp. 187-90 (7) — 1931- A flint implement of palaeolithic type from Dartmoor. T.D.A., Vol. 63, pp. 359-60 (8) — 1932. The prehistoric monuments of Scorhill, Buttem Hill, and Shug- gledown (Shoveldown). T.D.A., Vol. 64, pp. 279-87 (9) — 1934. On a stone implement found near Wheal Jewell, Marytavy. T.D.A., Vol. 66, pp. 315-16 (10) — 1934. Dartmoor tracks. P.L, Vol. 17, pp. 350-6 (11) — 1935. The Dartmoor House. Trans. Torquay Nat. Hist. Soc.: 1934-5, pp. 23-30. (12) — 1937. The vegetation of Dartmoor. P.L, Vol. 17, pp. 285-96. [Lecture given in 1933, revised] (13) — 1937. The Dartmoor House. P.L, Vol. 18, pp. 34-47 (14) — 1938. The Dartmoor catchments. British Waterworks Assn.: Rep. of General Meeting: 1938, 27 pp. (15) — 1938. Before written record. [Chapter in] The Book of Plymouth, pp. 137-164, British Medical Association, Plymouth (16) — 1939. Two stone circles on Dartmoor, Swincombe Valley, and West Dart Valley, with a note on the ‘Grey Wethers’. T.D.A., Vol. 71, pp. 321-8 (17) — 1939. In account of meeting held on Dartmoor, on 25 August 1938. Proc. Teign Naturalists' Field Club for year 1938 (18) — 1940. The Dartmoor menhirs. T.D.A., Vol. 72, pp. 191-9. (19) — 1940. The Dartmoor blowing-house. T.D.A., Vol. 72, pp. 209-50 (20) — 1942. A stone circle in the Plym Valley. T.D.A., Vol. 74, pp. 207-10 (21) — 1943. The prehistoric pounds of Dartmoor. T.D.A., Vol. 75, pp. 273- 302 (22) — 1944. The tenants and commoners of Dartmoor. T.D.A., Vol. 76, pp. 187-214 (23) — 1945. The Dartmoor hut-circles. T.D.A., Vol. 77, pp. 225-56 (24) — 1946. Stray notes on the Teign Valley. T.D.A., Vol. 78 pp. 161- 170 (25) — 194^* Dartmoor blowing-houses (Supplement). T.D.A., Vol. 78, pp. 281-4 (26) — 1946. The stone rows of Dartmoor. Part I. T.D.A., Vol. 78, pp. 285- 315 (27) — 1947. The stone rows of Dartmoor. Part IL T.D.A., Vol. 79, pp. 175- 86 (28) — 1947. Dartmoor and the Services Public Inquiry, 16 July 1947. T.D.A., Vol. 79, pp. 211-25 (29) — 1949. The moorstone age, Part I. T.D.A., Vol. 81, pp. 311-31 (30) — 1950. The moorstone age, Part II. T.D.A., Vol. 82, pp. 329-48 [With Addendum by E. Masson Phillips, 1951, T.D.A., Vol. 83, pp. 298-9] (31) — MS. No. 1. ‘By way of Preface*. [On the origins of the Worth family] (32) — MS. No. 2. ‘On the structure of Dartmoor’ (33) Barrow Committee of the Devonshire Association, 1902. Twenty-first Report. [Edited by R. Hansford Worth]. T.D.A., Vol. 34, pp. 104-146 (34) — 1937. Fifty-sixth Report, [do.] T.D.A., Vol. 69, pp. 75-110 (35) — 1950. Sixty-ninth Report, [do.] T.D.A., Vol. 82, pp. 45-8 (36) Christy, Miller, & Worth, R. Hansford. 1922. The ancient dwarfed oak woods of Dartmoor. T.D.A., Vol. 54, pp. 291-342 (37) Prowse, David C., & Worth, R. Hansford. 1934. On some guide-stones standing on the course of the old track from Tavistock to Ash­ burton. T.D.A., Vol. 66, pp. 317-22

T.D.A. = Transactions of the Devonshire Association. P.I. = Reports and Transactions of the Plymouth Institution. FOREWORD

Y great-grandfather was bom at Huckworthy Bridge, and for five previous generations, at least, his people had their homes in Sampford Spiney, Walkhampton, or one of the adjoining Mmoorland parishes. As to occupation the Worths of Walkhampton have been farmers for the more part, many have been agricultural labourers in their younger days, some throughout their Eves. They have certainly been tinners, witness Francis who died in 1631 leaving his tinner’s tools in his will, and John who was jurat for the Stannary of Plympton in 1553 and who probably came from Sheepstor. Many practised trades, were masons or stone-masons, or followed similar occupations. At times the near town of Plymouth drew some of them from their home, but the townward drift was never marked. To-day the wastage is probably much greater, but there are many descendants of the original stock around and near the old home parish. If this illustrates the stability of our minor country families and their voluntary attachment to a limited homeland, it may also suggest that the motive of such attachment is a very real local patriotism, apt to remain active in such as become exiles and in their descendants. As a Dartmoor man by descent, and, I hope, by adoption, I owe much to my father’s country, not the least to my association with a group of investigators of whom I was the youngest, and am now the last. Ormerod, Pengelly and Spence Bate, all of whom added to our knowledge of Dartmoor, I knew only as a boy may know his father’s friends. I have since learnt the value of their work, as the introduction of a new method; the subsequent pursuit of which gave us what I have elsewhere called “the golden age of Dartmoor Archaeology”. In the years 1827 and 1828, Henry Woollcombe, Hamilton Smith, John Prideaux and Samuel Rowe conducted a survey, the results of which were presented by the last named in a paper read to the Plymouth Institution, on the 9 October 1828. Rowe continued the work, and in 1848 published the Perambulation, which is still of great value, an essential of the literature of Dartmoor. Interest in the subject remained, as occasional papers in the Trans­ 2 DARTMOOR actions of the Devonshire Association evidenced, but it was many years before real advance was made. My father and I were steadily at work; we had conceived the idea that greater precision, more accurate and complete description were necessary if there were to be addition to our knowledge. To this end I engaged in a closer survey of our quarter of the moor, and especially in the preparation of plans and photographs. No doubt this marked progress, but we were to have a colleague who became the first systematic excavator of prehistoric Dartmoor. The story of Robert Burnard’s introduction to archaeology presents an unforeseeable chain of causes. His firm had waterside premises on the Cattewater, in the development of which considerable dredging operations became necessary. The material dredged interested him; and, partly as the result of an invitation to lecture at the Plymouth Institution, he inquired somewhat particularly as to its nature, deciding that, except for recent contribution by the clay-works, it was such as might be expected to be yielded by the debris and waste from the works of tin streamers. His paper on the dredging vvas followed by others on the stream works of Dartmoor; the first of which he read on the 22 March 1888. Always a lover of Dartmoor, his new interest quickly extended itself from the antiquities of historic time to those prehistoric. Meanwhile, in 1889, I had published a descriptive account of the valley of the moorland Plym, with special reference to the prehistoric remains; this I had followed, in 1892, with a similar paper on “The Erme, Yealm and Torry”. In the same year my father read his first paper on “The Stone Rows of Dartmoor”. Bumard was not content with the wide gap in our knowledge which must remain after the most careful survey, and in August and Septem­ ber 1893 he attacked the problem with the spade, selecting the groups of huts at Broadun and Broadun Ring for investigation. He associated with himself in this inquiry the Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould. The results which they obtained were so far unexpected that it became evident that further sites ought to be examined. In the following year, 1894, at the invitation of Mr. Bumard, the excavators were joined by Richard Nicholls Worth, Rev. W. A. Gordon Gray, Dr. Arthur B. Prowse and myself, and thus the first “Dartmoor Exploration Committee” was formed. In later years J. Brooking Rowe, John Duke Pode, Rev. George B. Berry, John Sparke Amery, Rev. Irvine K. Anderson and Basil H. Thomson were, at one time or another, members of the Com­ mittee during its active career. I, the survivor of the earlier members, would express the great indebtedness that we owe to Bumard and his colleagues, and my own sincere gratitude for the kindness and good­ will which I received at their hands. Against those losses which are the penalty of age I set associations and memories of kindly friends, and full-filled Dartmoor days.