News

News

100 YEARS AGO THE MANATON CROSS RETURNED

It was 100 years ago this year that a stone cross in the churchyard at Manaton was found again. In 1841 a cross in the churchyard was being used improperly so the new Reverend John Charles Carwithen thought. He did not like the fact the local people would walk the coffin three times clockwise around the old granite cross before it was put into the ground. He asked that this ancient custom be stopped straight away but no one took any notice of him and one day the cross disappeared. Of course the Reverend was blamed but it was said it was not he.

In 1908 some repair work was being done to the church bells at Manaton when one of the work men found by accident, lying in a wall nearby, a piece of granite which looked it like a cross. On calling the Vicar it was agreed it must be the missing cross and plans were made to bring it back into the churchyard. However it did not fit the socket stone so although it could have not been the old cross it was made to fit. Is the old cross still out there somewhere?

THE STATE OF THE
DEVONPORT LEAT

Over the last year the state of the Devonport Leat has got worse and in some places it is so chocked up with plants the water is hardly flowing (see top photo). The area of neglect is from Whiteworks to Raddick Hill. In places the leat is leaking and sometimes the water is very low with fish close to the surface making easy target for the local heron that can often be seen near Whiteworks. There is great concern by locals and walkers that the upper part of the ancient leat is being abandoned. Between the Raddick Falls a pipe coming from the River Meavy tops up the leat and this section to Burrator is in good repair.

A MISSING BOUNDARY STONE HAS TURNED UP

Bob Bruce has discovered one of the Clay Works boundary stones that used to be on Walkhampton Common. In 1835 Sir Ralph Lopes granted a lease to George Stone Barton for the purpose of digging for China clay on Walkhampton Common. Five bound stones marked the sett. From the 12-mile stone near Goatstone Pond, Peek Hill, the boundary of the sett followed a direct line to another bound stone inscribed with CW 1 set up near the hedge of the field called Furzepark that belongs to Waytown Farm. Next it follows the boundary hedges of Waytown, Routrundle, Babyland, Stocktown, Withill, Criptor, Yestor, Daveytown and Huckentor to another bound stone inscribed CW 2 on the western side of Little Kings Tor.

The Little Kings Tor stone is still in place but the other four had disappeared until the end of last year when Bob Bruce found the CW1 being used as a gatepost at Waytown Cottage. Work has been recently done to the entrance of the property and this was when the new gatepost was been put up. Maybe the other three stones will appear one day unless they were broken up and used in the foundations for the Yelverton to Princetown road.

Further reading:: China Clay on Walkhampton Common by Paul Rendell. Dartmoor Magazine Autumn 1990.

HOLMING BEAM TRAMWAY ACCESS

There is now access along the Holming Beam track, which was once the bed of the old tramway that led into Dartmoor Prison. The tramway was built in 1846 by two Plymouth adventures, Jacob Hall- Drew and Peter Adam whose company, called The British Patent Naphtha Company, rented the old war prison buildings to make naphtha. Naphtha is a clear petrol-like liquid obtained by distillation, and was used for heating, lighting and cooking,. It was developed and used later by the prison. When the Naphtha was extracted from the peat a high quality fibre was left and this was used to produce a good strong paper.

You can now walk along the tramway from the Rundle Stone to Two Bridges past the Touch Stone to Fice’s Well and on onwards to Yearlick (Greena Ball on OS) where the peat was being cut for this enterprise. DNPA have put stiles to allow the public to access the tramway. One of the gates where the old stable block used to be (above Fice’s Well) is locked so DNPA have put up wooden planks on the gate allowing access (see photo).

WALLS REPAIRED

One of the field boundary walls, which used to be part of the Dartmoor Prison Farm was repaired and in some cases rebuilt during last winter. The wall just below the old Prison Leat and above the old Holming Beam Tramway took many months to restore.

PRINCETOWN GETS A NEW VILLAGE HALL

After 20 years of using the pubs and the school for meetings Princetown is to get a new village hall. The last hall was knocked down in 1988 and after many years of trying to a get a new building, it is hoped to have a village hall by Christmas. The new hall would cost £1.5 million and with 95 per cent of the money now in place, work will start on building it. The new hall would house a doctor’s surgery, a library, childcare and leisure activities as well rooms for meetings. The High Moorland Community Action Group have been for years trying to get the hall for the village.

DEVONPORT LEAT

HOLMING BEAM TRAMWAY ACCESS

CREAM TEAS FOR WALKERS IN BELSTONE

Calling all organisers of group walks! Would you like to finish at Belstone Village Hall for a great Cream Tea? If so, contact Marion Walpole (01837 840498) with date/S and approximate numbers and she'll see what can be offered. The Hall will be open as usual every summer Sunday for Cream Teas - but Marion would appreciate notice if you intend to bring your group along, to make sure the cream doesn't run out.

RESTORING ANCIENT WOODLAND AT BLACK-A-TOR COPSE

Black-a-Tor Copse, near Meldon, is one of three small, relict ‘wildwoods’ on Dartmoor (the others being Wistman’s Wood and Piles Copse). Natural England, who leases the wood from the Duchy of Cornwall, has long been concerned about the absence of young seedlings and saplings from this important upland oak wood. At the same time, a group of oak trees in the middle of the wood died, victims of naturally occurring honey fungus. Action was clearly needed to help the oaks, and the abundant acorns following the excellent mast year of 2006 was the catalyst.

Sheep appear to a problem at Black-a-Tor Copse. Oak saplings were being nibbled and pruned as soon as they grew more than about 15cm tall above the granite clitter. Grazing at appropriate levels is essential to maintain features such as the abundant mosses and lichens which are characteristic of upland oak woodland, so it would not be appropriate to fence the whole wood. The answer was to install a series of small fenced areas (‘exclosures’) to keep out the sheep, and leave them in place for just long enough to allow the trees to grow out of reach of hungry mouths. Natural England agreed to fund the work.

A great idea in theory, but as Simon Bates of Natural England and Richard Knott of the Restoring Ancient Woodlands Project were to find out, achieving this in practice was to be quite a challenge! The difficulties of transporting 100 wooden fence posts and 300 metres of plastic netting the two miles from the nearest road were overcome when the military offered to airlift the fencing materials by helicopter. This undoubtedly saved hours of back-breaking and ankle-twisting slog up the valley from the nearest access point.

Fencing on such steep, granite boulder-covered slopes was achieved with a fine display of teamwork, involving Natural England staff from Exeter and Yarner Wood, the DNPA Conservation Works team, Trees and Woodlands section, Rangers and a group of volunteers from the Prince’s Trust.

Twenty small fenced exclosures were constructed along the top edge of the wood. It is too early to assess how the oaks, rowans and other vegetation will respond. We are however very pleased with the way the fencing blends in without spoiling the naturalness of the woodland. If all goes well, in five or ten years the fences can be dismantled and perhaps moved elsewhere to give more acorns and oak saplings the chance to grow in this truly ancient woodland.

ANIMAL COMMUNICATION WORKSHOP

If you are interested in learning how to communicate with animals you may want to go to a workshop to learn more. Maureen Rolls from Princetown is running a number of workshops throughout the year. On Saturday 12th April and Saturday 14th June they will be Ipplepen near Newton Abbot. There was an article about Maureen in September/October 2007 issue of the Dartmoor News. Further details on 01822 890668.

NEW CLAPPER BRIDGE FOR RIVER CROSSING

A new clapper bridge was placed over the River Lemon (SX 771 760) near Ilsington last year. The bridge was put up by the DNPA and is in memory of Hilda Mary Taylor who loved Dartmoor.

HUCCABY CHAPEL

St. Raphael’s Chapel at Huccaby is to have some major work done to the building. During last year the local people were busy raising money to repair the old chapel. The north and east walls of the building are suffering from extreme damp with many of the roofing slates broken; the coping stones and the render can no longer withstand the Dartmoor weather. The chapel was originally built in 1869 by the then Rector of Lydford, the Rev. Morris Fuller. It was built as a chapel and school and it is believed to have been built on the site of some very old cottages.

PRISON WORKERS SHELTER

The old building beside the Prison Leat has had its roof taken off. This building above Fice’s Well was built in 1988 by Pat (Paddy) Taffy and was used by Prison staff and inmates who looked after the Prison’s water supply. In the 1990’s a couple of days a week men worked to maintain the leat and they would have lunch in this building which had a stove. It was in the late 1990’s and Paul Rendle was leading a walk along the leat and had planned to stop at the building for a coffee break as it was very cold and windy. When they got there he saw that prisoners were using the building, so he decided to take a break a little further on past the building. At the coffee break he discovered one of his ladies was missing and then he spotted her talking to the men at the building. As he got closer he could see she was getting to know one of them too well so he had take this lady to one side and explain she should not be talking to him as he was a prisoner. She was not happy that she was taken away as, as she said later, she fancied him!

The Prison Leat was last used a few years ago but is no longer flowing and in places covered in reeds and grass.

RESTORING ANCIENT WOODLAND A
BLACK-A-TOR CROSS
(Photo DNPA)

PRISON WORKERS SHELTER

HUCCABY CHAPEL

NEW CLAPPER BRIDGE

WALLS REPAIRED