Brown's House (Ruin), Postbridge, Dartmoor National Park
The West Dart River rises on Dartmoor National Park's high north plateau in boggy, rough cut moorland close to southern England's most remote spot at Fur Tor. The river builds strength as it flows south cutting moorland valleys on its way past Wistman's Wood National Nature Reserve to Two Bridges and Two Bridges Hotel.
The stretch of moorland between the West Dart Head and Two Bridges is packed with evidence of human history and prehistory from settlements to field systems, tinners' huts to a stone row. One more recent sign of human activity is the outline of Brown's House (ruin). Along with Statt's House (ruin) across the East Dart River to the north, Brown's House must be up there as a contender for having been the most remote place to live in southern England.
Whenever we've been at the ruin, we've seen other people enjoying the area's natural beauty and presence so it's not particularly difficult to get to. We've positioned Brown's House on Google maps so zoom in on the 'Satellite' setting to see its location.
At the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth centuries, agricultural improvement was fashionable on Exmoor and Dartmoor. Arguably the most famous example is the work of John Knight around Simonsbath in Exmoor. In 1818, Knight bought about 15,000 acres and enclosed land on Exmoor Royal Forest. On a much smaller scale, Dr Brown tried the same thing on Dartmoor between the West Dart River and East Dart River. Having built the house without the requisite permission, Dr Brown sold it. Subsequent occupiers couldn't make a living in the area and it was left to ruin just decades after it was built. Today, it's an outline of a building and piles of rock as pictured.
To visit, we'd recommend either walking in from the car parking area across the road from Two Bridges Hotel or via the Lichway/Lych Way.
If you are coming from Two Bridges, follow the track up to Wistman's Wood National Nature Reserve. Yomp up the valley wall to Longaford Tor. Follow the grass track to Higher White Tor and then drop down to Lower White Tor. Brown's House is visible on the flank of Wildbanks Hill in front of you. Refer to the Ordnance Survey Explorer OL28 'Dartmoor' map or the Harvey British Mountain Map 'Dartmoor' map for detail.
If you are coming in via the Lichway/Lych Way, start at one of the car parking areas in or around Bellever Forest. Walk through the old gunpowder mills to Longaford Tor. Follow the directions above.
It's nice to incorporate Brown's House into a longer walk. For example, you can take in Rough Tor, Devil's Tor and Beardown Man Standing Stone from the car parking area at Two Bridges. Again, refer to the aforementioned maps for detail.
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