History & Heritage in Dartmoor National Park
Mardon Down Giant's Grave, Moretonhampstead, Dartmoor National Park
According to Phil Newman in his excellent 'The Field Archaeology of Dartmoor', 'it was Dean Jeremiah Milles of Exeter, President of the Society of Antiquaries, who first undertook archaeological fieldwork on Dartmoor barrows in 1752 on Mardon Down (Grinsell 1978, 87), and the literature of the early...
Dartmoor Railway, Okehampton, Dartmoor National Park
Dartmoor Railway at Okehampton Station in Okehampton Dartmoor Railway is based at Okehampton Station in Okehampton on the north west border of Dartmoor National Park. Once the railway station for Okehampton, today Dartmoor Railway specialises in leisure trips. Heritage trips and special events...
Birch Tor and Vitifer Tin Mine (Disused), Postbridge, Dartmoor National Park
The moorland east of The Warren House Inn is heavily scarred by centuries of tin mining. It's topped by Birch Tor. Birch Tor and Vitifer Tin Mine is the name given to a group of mines worked in this area. When you visit, you'll walk in, by or above scooped up of the moorland by the tinners....
Wallabrook Bridge, Chagford, Dartmoor National Park
Walla Brook is a narrow stream that flows from Dartmoor's north plateau to join the North Teign River by Teign-e-ver Clapper Bridge. Walla Brook rises below Hangingstone Hill, passes between Watern Tor and Wild Tor before cutting across a wide area of boggy moorland. Just before it meets the Nort...
Golden Dagger Tin Mine (Disused), Postbridge, Dartmoor National Park
The area south of the B3212 near The Warren House Inn was heavily mined in past centuries. The local landscape is shaped, in part, by the Birch Tor and Vitifer Mine, the Headland Tin Mine, Bushdown Mine and the Golden Dagger Tin Mine. The wonderfully named Golden Dagger Tin Mine is the furthest sout...
Challacombe Medieval Hamlet, Postbridge, Dartmoor National Park
Dartmoor's most famous deserted medieval settlement sits below Hound Tor towards the eastern side of the National Park. An English Heritage site, it attracts plenty of visitors and bus loads of school kids learning about Dartmoor's past. Clearly, it's not the only deserted medieval settlement on Dar...
Ilsington St Michael's Church Lych Gate, Ilsington, Dartmoor National Park
Just west of Ilsington St Michael's Church is Ilsington St Michael's Church Lych Gate. A local information board reads: 'The first building on this site that we know of was likely to have been of medieval origin, for in the year 1639 it was being used as a schoolroom for about 30 b...
Chagford The Church of St Michael the Archangel, Chagford, Dartmoor National Park
By Chagford square, The Church of St Michael the Archangel was dedicated in 1261 by Bishop Branscombe of Exeter Cathedral. If the name's familiar to Dartmoor walkers, it's because there's a Branscombe's Loaf up on Corn Ridge near Yes Tor and High Willhays which form the highest ground...
Ilsington St Michael's Church, Ilsington, Dartmoor National Park
Another Dartmoor church rebuilt in the 15th century, Ilsington St Michael's Church is thought to have been first constructed during the 11th century. Look out for the ruins of Ilsington Manor House in the north eastern corner of the churchyard. There's also an alarming story associated with&...
Ilsington Manor House (Ruins), Ilsington, Dartmoor National Park
In the north eastern corner of Ilsington St Michael's Church are the remains of Ilsington Manor House. A Dartmoor National Park Authority information board tells the story of the manor house and provides floor plans and drawings. George Ford 'is thought to have rebuilt the house in...
Throwleigh St Mary the Virgin Church, Throwleigh, Dartmoor National Park
According to the 'Church of St Mary the Virgin Throwleigh' guide, 'the first recorded rector was in 1248, but most of the present church dates from the 15th and 16th centuries'. On the edge of Dartmoor's high north moor, the church is close to Shilstone Tor and the vast bulk of Cosdon Hill which is...
Nattadon Hillfort, Chagford, Dartmoor National Park
Dartmoor National Park is known for its rich prehistory. From burial chambers to stone rows, standing stones to enigmatic stone circles, visitors come from around the world to see its ancient monuments and settlements. There are also many interesting features from later periods. If you like walking,...
Standon Down Settlement, Mary Tavy, Dartmoor National Park
In his book 'The Field Archaeology of Dartmoor', Phil Newman writes: 'Some hut settlements [on Dartmoor] are unenclosed, but have connecting walls between individual huts. This is a different approach to the arrangements of space around the houses, and shows no apparent need for an outer enclosur...
East Hill Hillfort, Okehampton, Dartmoor National Park
By the north border of Dartmoor National Park, at the northernmost point of the moor where the land sweeps down to Okehampton and the Mid Devon countryside, is a spur of land above the place where the East Okement River meets the smaller Moor Brook. Marked as a 'Settlement' on the Ordnance Survey Ex...
Prestonbury Castle Hillfort, Drewsteignton, Dartmoor National Park
There are four 'castles' in the Teign Gorge/Fingle Woods area of Dartmoor National Park. The National Trust's Castle Drogo guards the mouth of the gorge. South of the River Teign, overlooking Drogo, is the Iron Age hillfort Cranbrook Castle. Downstream, towering above the Dartmoor beauty spot Fingle...