A Book of Dartmoor: Second EditionBaring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
History
A Book of Dartmoor: Second Edition
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Dartmoor (England)
A walk that will richly repay the pedestrian is one up the valley of
the Narra Tor Brook, between Sheeps Tor and Down Tor. He follows the
Devonport leat till he reaches the turn on the right to Nosworthy
Bridge. He passes Vinneylake, where are two interesting _caches_, one
cut out of the conglomerate rubble brought down from the decomposed
rocks above. This is now used as a turnip-house, but it is to be
suspected it was anciently employed as a private still-house. In a
field hard by is another, more like some of the Cornish structural
fogous. It is roofed over with slabs of granite.
The ascent of Deancombe presents many peeps of great beauty. At the
farm the road comes to an end, and here the tor must be ascended.
East of Down Tor is a very fine stone row, starting from a circle of
stones inclosing a cairn, and extending in the direction of a large,
much-disturbed cairn. There is a blocking-stone at the eastern end, and
a menhir by the ring of stones at the west end of the row. The length
is 1,175 feet.
I visited this row with the late Mr. Lukis in 1880, when we found that
men had been recently engaged on the row with crowbars. They had thrown
down the two largest stones at the head. We appealed to Sir Massey
Lopes, and he stopped the destruction of the monument, and since then
Mr. R. Burnard and I have re-erected the stones then thrown down.
On the slope of Coombshead Tor are numerous hut circles and a pound.
From the stone row a walk along the ridge of the moor leads to Nun's
Cross. This bore on it the inscription, "CRUX SIWARDI." It is very
rude; it stands 7 feet 4 inches high, and is fixed in a socket cut in a
block of stone sunk in the ground. It was overthrown and broken about
1846, but was restored by the late Sir Ralph Lopes. By whom and for
what cause it was overthrown never transpired. The inscription with the
name of Siward is now difficult to decipher. On the other side of the
cross is "BOC--LOND"--three letters forming one line, and the remaining
four another, directly under it. The cross is alluded to in a deed of
1240 as then standing.
[Illustration: ON THE MEAVY]
Nun's Cross is probably a corruption of Nant Cross, the cross at the
head of the _nant_ or valley. The whole of Newleycombe Lake has been
extensively streamed. The hill to the north is dense with relics of
an ancient people. Roundy Farm, now in ruins, takes its name from the
pounds which contributed to form the walls of its inclosures, many of
which follow the old circular erections that once inclosed a primeval
village. The ruined farmhouse bears the initials of a Crymes, a family
once as great as that of the Elfords, but now gone. It is interesting
to know that the farmer's wife of Kingset, that now includes Roundy
Farm, was herself a Crymes. One very perfect hut circle here was for
long used as a potato garden.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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