Deserted Sites and Rabhit-Warrens on Dartmoor, Devon by CATHERINE D
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Deserted Sites and Rabhit-Warrens on Dartmoor, Devon By CATHERINE D. LINEHAN This paper summarizes the evidence for enclosures and homesteads on Dartmoor from the time if Domesday onward. Part I lists the known deserted sites, including those for which there is asyet no identified name or documentary evidence. A fuller description is given ofthe deserted sites in Okehampton Park;' of three sites in a rabbit-warren on Spitchwick Common in Widecombe-in-the-Moor; if a group of sites in Corn wood; and if Butterberry in Peter Tavy. Maps are given of these four special areas (FIGS. 52, 54, 56, 58), together with a distribution-map C!f sites on Dartmoor as a whole (FIG. 47), and sketch-plans ifa number if individual sites. I Part II contains a summary of the written evidence for rabbit-warrens on Dartmoor, anda list ifI6 sites which contain pillow-mounds. INTRODUCTION HE upland region of Dartmoor in Devon contains some II 1,000 acres (FIG. 46). Of this the Duchy of Cornwall owns about 29,000 acres of un T enclosed land, together with certain areas of enclosed land. The remainder, estimated at about 59,000 acres, consists of 'venville commons' land subject to certain rights by Scale of Miles local villages." o 5 10 20 30 40 Dartmoor has long been Scale of KJlometr~5 known and studied for its pre 20 40 60 historic remains and mining activities. Little interest, how ever, has been shown in its many deserted homesteads, or in the old rabbit-warrens with their pillow-mounds, known locally as 'burys' or 'buries'. Field-work during the past four years has led to the recording FIG. 46 of I 6 warrenscontainingmounds MAP OF SW. ENGLAND SHOWING POSITION OF (TABLEIII,p. 124) and ofover 100 DARTMOOR r The scale of all these sketch-plans is 96 ft. to I in. The measurements were taken from the inner faces of walls, and, on the pillow-mounds, from the centres of the surrounding ditches, which are indicated by hachuring. Walls of buildings, where visible, are blocked in, and, where they can only be assumed, indicated by broken lines. Enclosure-walls, hedge-banks, etc., are shown by double lines, and these, as well as streams, pounds, etc., are named. The sketch-plans are so orientated that the houses slope downwards from the upper to the lower end. This indicates the fall of the land except in the few instances in which the houses are built along the contour, where it is shown by an arrow. 'L. Dudley Stamp and W. G. Hoskins, The Common Lands if England and Wales (1963), p. 185. 113 114 CATHERINE D. LINEHAN ","'MPTO 5 5 "1C'pBELST~NE • SOUTH TAW TON 57 , •• 53 J /- ·SOUTH ZEAL 58·-;~54 ( ,vJ;3 56 ( ~ ) 780 • THROWLEIGH -SRIDESTOWE 1\ ~ I At (yr·""CH..!!A""G'--'FO<.e~~~ogAMPSTEAP I I ~~":s~~:;':~ 1 0 NORTH ~DFORD ! OVEY ~- 9 ~. 6L. 62 250 50· 48 I 1 W4';'y 400 o. MANA 0 I 3R\ ,~ 37. 42035 39 MARY 630 61 I '1 \lil. J'"i 036 .:> , 88 92) I. 4344-r 3 0 PETER TAVY 89 99 o~, (22· .24 W'4 0 WIDECOMBE- • 86 .82 :i '8J ~IN-THE-MOOR ILSINGTON TAVISTOCK 08' 21.. 2 95 :9'3 1.·8 _,-::90 (- SAMFORD / 30 15 ~ 6'7 23. ). SP1NEY. ~/ )~233 • 19 ;=~~3mND~~2. 1. '/WHITCHURCH 065! 84.. 109 ~ 10; MQQ!l. l-, WALKHA"PTON 083 0/ /Palgnlon" I ASHBURION ? ~ 1) M '1 80/ ! Reservoir 21 V • ~ ~ , / .HOLNE Burratcr 71 r ~o. Res :~.....-v _5 l' StlfWIOR.''l3 74 I ~ W81g?~ UCKFASTLEIGH elY' (MEAVy 720';<'.;' 68 I\ 1080 7ui '/;'" 67 \':J-~9 :;};~~W~ 0 7: • PARISH >. WfJ\ 15•• 14 ~ I' 1- fB:IQB. 66• 16. 012 013 o SITE , , BRENT if: WARREN \ CORNWOOD • I r' 1 0 I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Miles UGBOROUGH IwwwI IwwwI ! IwwwI lweeee! • I"""" ....., ....., I"""" 1 1 ....., I""""i I"""" 1 0 """2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14- 15 15«me. FIG. 47 MAP OF DARTMOOR, DEVON showing positions of parishes, deserted sites and rabbit-warrens Reproduced by permission ofJohn Bartholomew & Son Ltd. KEY TO FIG. 47 Site Site no. Parish Name no. Parish Name 1 Ashburton Cold East 9 Chagford Ridge Ley Rushlade 10 Stiniel Cottage 2 " 3 Bovey Tracey Haytor Down 1 1 Corn'~ood Ford Barn 4 Buckfastleigh Lambsdown 12 Ford Waste Scorriton Down 13 Harrowthorn g Buckl~'nd in-the-Moor Higher Pudsham 14 Hawns 7 Pudsham Down 15 High House 8 Stone 16 Parkland Newtake DESERTED SITES AND RABBIT-WARRENS ON DARTMOOR !I5 17 Dean Prior Dean Moor 61 Peter Tavy Butterberry, II 18 Harford Lower Piles 62" Redford 19 Holne Combestone Wood 63" Wapsworthy 20 Holne Moor 64 "" White Hill 21 " Holne Ridge 65 Sampford Spiney Combe Hill 22 Ilsington Holwell Tor 66 Shaugh Prior Blackalder 23 Mountsland 67 Hen Tor 24 " Pinchaford Down 68 " Shavercombe 25 Lydford Assycombe 69 " Willings Walls 26 Brimpts, Dolly's Cott 70 She'~pstor Legis Tor 27 " Brownberry 71 Outcombe 28 Believer 72" Ringmoor Down 29 " Broom Park 73" Sheepstor Warren 30 " Cocks Lake 74 Whitten Knowles 31 " Hexworthy 75 South Brent Corringdon New- 32 Swincombe, Bishop's lands Brake " House 76 " Gingaford Swincombe Cottage 33 " 77 "" Yalland Warren 34 " Whiteslade 78 Throwleigh Shilstone Combe 35 Manaton Beckham, West 79 Ugborough West Glaze River 36 Black Hill 80 Walkhampton Crazywell Farm 37 Blissmoor, Hayne 81 Hucken " Down 82 Merrivale Warren 38 Challacombe, I 83" Roundy Farm 39 " Challacombe, II 84 Routroundle 40 " Cripdon 85" Yes Tor Farm 41 Great Houndtor 86 Whitchurch Staple Tor Farm 87 Widecombe-in-the-Moor Blackaton 42 Hayne 88 " " "Blackaton Tene- 43 Holwell ments Holwell Cottage 44 " 89 " " Blackmore 45 " Holwell Lawns 90 " Blackslade 6 Houndtor, I 1 " " Bonehill, Lower 4 " 9 " 47 " Houndtor, II 92 Combe 8 Manaton Rocks " " 4 " 93 " Corndon Down 49 Meavy Higher Cadworthy 94 " " Corndonford, Little 50 North Bovey Lower Hookney 95 " " " Dinna Clerks near Leapra Farm 96 " " " Drywell ~~ Ok~ham'pton Okehampton Park, 97 " " " Eastern Combe Chapel 98 " " Hut Holes 53 Okehampton Park, 99 " " Langworthy " IA,B,C 100 " " Natsworthy, Berry 54 OkehamptonPark, II " " Pound 55 " Okehampton Park, 101 North Rowden " III 102 " " Vaghill 56 Okehampton Park, " " " Yar Tor " IV ~~~ Sha~gh Prior" Shavercombe Foot 57 Okehampton Park, 105 Spanish Lake " V 106" " Trowlesworthy Tor 58 Okehampton Park, 107 Sheepstor Gutter Tor " VI 108 " Legis Lake 59 Okehampton Park, 109 Walkhampton Newleycombe " VII 110 Riddipit 60 Peter Tavy Butterberry, I " WARRENS Site Site no. Parish Name no. Parish Name W.I Lydford Beardown W.IO Sheepstor Sheepstor W.2 Huntingdon W.II South Brent Yalland W·3 " Wistman's Wood W.12 "" Zeal Burrows W·4 No;:h Bovey Headland W.13 South Tawton Skaigh W·5 Shaugh Prior Hen Tor W.14 Walkhampton Merrivale W.6 Trowlesworthy W.15 Widecombe-in-the- Vaghill and Eastern W·7 " Willings Walls Moor Combe W.8 Ditsworthy W.16 Ugborough Redlake Tramway Legis Tor W·9 " 9 116 CATHERINE D. LINEHAN abandoned dwelling-sites (TABLE II, p. 124). The majority of the sites appear to be homesteads with one building, as Dinna Clerks, Widecombe-in-the-Moor (FIG. 48, a), Blackslade, Widecombe-in-the-Moor (FIG. 48, b), Blackalder, Shaugh Prior (FIG. 48, c) and Shavercombe, Shaugh Prior (FIG. 48, h); two buildings, as Manaton Rocks, Manaton (FIG. 48, d) and Cold East, Ashburton (FIG. 48, e); or three buildings, as the site near Leapra Farm, North Bovey (FIG. 48,]) and Holne Ridge, Holne (FIG. 48, g), although settlements of up to 13 buildings have been found, as Blackaton, Widecombe-in-the-Moor (FIG. 49).3 The long-houses vary from 18 to 80 ft. in length, and from 9 to 15ft. in width; they usually lie with the long axis at right angles to the contour, and have a cross-passage with opposed entrances towards the lower end. Occasionally, however, they are built with the long axis along the contour, with an entrance on one side only, as, for example, Hawns (FIG. 57, c) and Parkland Newtake (FIG. 57,]) in Cornwood. Nearly all the larger houses, and at least one house in most of the settlements, have a small room at the upper end. Pairs of houses have also been noticed, lying within a few feet of each other and of much the same dimensions, as in Okehampton Park, site 53 A (FIG. 53, d) and site 56 (FIG. 53, c), and also at Yar Tor, Widecombe-in-the-Moor (FIG. 55, a). William Crossing, whose Guide to Dartmoor, first published in 1909, remains the most accurate survey available, notes several unoccupied farmhouses, and also mentions the ruins of rectangular buildings, sometimes in connexion with tinning works in the valley bottoms. He also warns his readers against confusing rabbit burys with prehistoric barrows, but he dearly did not consider later features of more than passing interest. R. Hansford Worth, who died in 1950, was another man with an intimate knowledge of Dartmoor. He described some of the early stone houses, and noted a number still occupied or only recently abandoned. In his collected works plans are given of cross-passage long-houses of early type; he also gives photographs and details of broad and narrow quoins in ruined buildings at Challacombe (Manaton),' and Yardworthy (Chagford), dating this type of stone work 'not later than 1600'. Worth was also interested in the blowing-houses and their contents; and he gives careful measurements and details of three on the Walkham river above Merrivale bridge. He failed, however, to record a long-house site only a few yards from the most northerly blowing-house on the E.