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Merrivale Menhir
Trip No.133 Entry No.11 Date Added: 17th Jul 2019
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 14th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4
Merrivale Menhir submitted by AngieLake on 10th Apr 2015. This shot shows the "smaller pillar" that Butler describes, in relation to the menhir and the cairn 6 pit. He says: "The menhir, 3.1 m high, still stands in its original position, 42 m almost due south from the centre of the stone circle. There is no evidence that the smaller pillar, 2 m long, lying a few meters away ever stood upright, but it was erected in 1895 in the pit alongside, toppling again a few years later. Between these two stones cairn C6 (3.0 x 0.3 m) has a central pit. Three st...
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Log Text: Merrivale Menhir: This tall stone made up for the small size of the stones of the stone circle, and I enjoyed visiting here. My goodness, with the three stone rows, the fallen menhirs, the cairn and the pits, it was certainly interesting here. I'd taken my notes for this site with me, but the wind was so strong I was unable to get them out and read them! Now having the Butler series of "Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities" has made it much easier to understand the layout and complexities of the site, as far as I'm able.
Merrivale 6
Trip No.133 Entry No.10 Date Added: 17th Jul 2019
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 14th May 2019. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4
Merrivale 6 submitted by Anne T on 8th Jul 2019. Comparing my photographs to those on Sandy G's Stone Rows of Great Britain website, the only stone visible of Merrivale Row 6 is in the foreground of this photo. Standing just to its west, looking east.
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Log Text: Merrivale 6 stone row: Only one stone was visible of this row, and thankfully we had Sandy G to point out the location of the row and the only stone of this very short row visible - the western most stone. So many features around the Merrivale Menhir. I'm really glad we had our guide for the day, and also, at home, the Butler "Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities" (volume 3) to help interpret all the different stones, cairns and pits.
Merrivale Second Menhir and Cairn
Trip No.133 Entry No.12 Date Added: 17th Jul 2019
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 14th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4
Merrivale Second Menhir and Cairn submitted by Anne T on 9th Jul 2019. To show the relationship of these monuments with the tall Merrivale Menhir, the recumbent granite pillar is in the foreground, with its pit immediately behind it; the cairn is visible as a low mound behind it (just right of centre) The tall menhir is in the background. The cairn is 5.5m from the menhirs and the granite slab 2m from the cairn. Row 4 runs from the centre to the middle left of the photo; the western stone of row 6 is to the left hand side of the menhir.
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Log Text: Merrivale Second Menhir, pit and cairn: All these monuments were so close together, it was a bit mind-boggling. I made sure I wrote down the monuments and the photo numbers so I didn't mix them up when I processed the photos later (the wind was still gusting strongly so we didn't get my folder with pre-printed notes out in case they blew away).
As a group, we were fascinating with all the pits around here and spent some time exploring them and taking grid references. Dave P later contacted me to tell me these had been documented by Butler in his Volume 3 of "Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities".
Leeden Tor
Trip No.133 Entry No.13 Date Added: 9th Jul 2019
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 14th May 2019. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 5
Leeden Tor submitted by Brian Byng on 7th Feb 2002. Leeden Tor - Cairn at upper end SX 5653 7147.
A scrappy row 107 m long but with only 4 stones still upright. Cairn 6m dia
with large central pit. Runs NW - SE with cairn at uphill N W end. The cairn
Has a reeve cutting across it and the row has another reeve cutting across.
Reeve - local word for a prehitoric field boundary maade from roughly
assembled granite blocks now sometimes only traces exist as here. Reeve
building on Dartmoor circa 1400 BC. Seems likely that the rows pred...
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Log Text: Leeden Tor Stone Row: It was now the afternoon of 14th May. Having driven from Merrivale to the small car park nearest this site at SX 56725 71397, we had 10-15 minutes to spare before everyone arrived. In the meantime, Sandy led us up the hill to look at this stone row. By this time the wind was howling around us, with strong gusts that threatened to blow me over - thank goodness for my walking poles! I took a little satisfaction in watching the small group of soldiers out on exercise also being pummelled by the wind.
When the stones in the row and the cairn at its head were pointed out to me, I could see the alignment and also its relationship to the reave.
Whilst this stone row is near the car park, the tussocky grass made walking a little tricky.
Black Tor (Meavy)
Trip No.133 Entry No.14 Date Added: 17th Jul 2019
Site Type: Multiple Stone Rows / Avenue
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 14th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4
Black Tor (Meavy) submitted by Brian Byng on 7th Feb 2002.
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Log Text: Stanlake Stone Row (aka Black Tor): Our second stop of the afternoon, and our hope was that as we crossed the road and descended from the slopes that we'd be more sheltered from the wind. Not a chance! However, this did not spoil my enjoyment of the next few sites.
From the Leeden Tor stone row, we crossed the main road, ending up in what -after a spell of wet weather - would have been a boggy dip, but at the time of our visit was relatively dry. Even so trying to find a way across that I, and my wonky knees could manage, was a little amusing. Angie stopped to have her photographs taken against the Tors and woodland behind.
This double stone row is partly hidden by a dry stone wall/earthen bank, put up when the landowner enclosed his land, telling his workers to ‘enclose up to and including the stone row’ according to Sandy.
We had intended to come back and photograph this stone row on the way back, but because I couldn’t make it to the sites we'd planned to go to later in the afternoon because of the steep drops by the leat, we didn’t return this way.
Black Tor Stone Row Cairns (Stanlake)
Trip No.133 Entry No.15 Date Added: 17th Jul 2019
Site Type: Cairn
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 14th May 2019. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4
Black Tor Stone Row Cairns (Stanlake) submitted by Anne T on 10th Jul 2019. The three cairns which can be found at the south western end of the Black Tor/Stanlake Stone Row.
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Log Text: Black Tor, cairns at south-western end of the stone row: These cairns lie just to the south western end of the stone row, to the south of the field boundary containing the northern side of the stone row and just to the west of another field boundary which runs NNW-SSE. Whilst I vaguely recognised these as cairns, without Dave Parks and his magic GPS, and Sandy G coming to give us an explanation, I might have dismissed these as being relatively unimportant. Wrong!
These cairns are recorded on Sandy’s Site Report 4 for the stone row (diagram 6, page 12) but again it was too windy to get these out and study them in any detail. I would really have loved to have spent more time here on a lovely, bright sunny day.
These run just to the west of another field boundary which runs NNW to SSE and just south of the field boundary containing the stone row.
Stanlake Settlement
Trip No.133 Entry No.16 Date Added: 17th Jul 2019
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 14th May 2019. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 4
Stanlake Settlement submitted by AngieLake on 29th May 2019. With the men out of the way we can see the abundance of lovely bluebells inside the hut circle on this sunny, but very windy, 14 May!
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Log Text: Stanlake Prehistoric Settlement: Walking down slope from the western end of the stone row, we soon came upon a very interesting, complex and intriguing mix of hut circles, dry stone walls and other features. I lagged behind the group a little, trying to determine what I was seeing as I saw it, but failed miserably - there was so much to take in!
Sandy waited for his Intrepid Dartmoor Expedition Group around the spot marked 6 on his plan (taken from his survey report for Meavy Valley Archaeology: site report 1, figure 3, which I've added as a link to Angie's main site page text.
It is interesting that in his report, Sandy links this settlement to the nearby production of tin, with a large tin works just to the south of the Devonport leat.
Having studied point 6 for some time, we wandered over the hut circles and attached compounds, walking to the south and west, and back round to the long house, of which very little now remains, but there are low banks in the ground, partly cut by a modern field wall.
I was sad to leave, as I could have spent at least another couple of hours here. Yet it was to be my last site of the day, as further to the NW along the Devonport Leat, there was a section of steep drops down into the river and the l eat, and I was unable to proceed any further. As it happened, it was a good job we stopped earlier (it was gone 4pm by this time), as Andy B has caught an earlier train and was waiting in Newton Abbott.
Addiscott Cross
Trip No.132 Entry No.1 Date Added: 5th Jun 2019
Site Type: Ancient Cross
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5
Addiscott Cross submitted by Anne T on 5th Jun 2019. The cross, taken from half way across the minor road (showing its southern face).
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Log Text: Addiscott Wayside Cross: Our first stop on this bright, sunny and breezy day, which made us glad to be out of doors.
The Pastscape entry is indeed correct, as the cross is virtually hidden by the surrounding shrubbery and almost impossible to see until we got closer and the sun bounced off its light yellow surface.
A lovely cross, very well made. It looks as if it could have been carved yesterday, although Pastscape dates it to the 14th century and HE to the 15th.
Ringhole Copse Cross
Trip No.132 Entry No.2 Date Added: 5th Jun 2019
Site Type: Ancient Cross
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5
Ringhole Copse Cross submitted by Anne T on 5th Jun 2019. Standing on the grass verge to the east of the Ringhole Copse Wayside Cross, looking west. Historic England says this cross "(is) on an upland ridge which is the watershed between the valleys of tributaries to the River Yeo and River Taw". With the busy A30 just metres away to the north (right hand side of the cross), the cross felt lonely and isolated. Just think what foot traffic passed it in Medieval times!
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Log Text: Ringhole Copse Wayside Cross: Not on our original list, but we spotted this cross on the map, with only a minor detour to our next few stops for this morning.
This wayside cross is adjacent to, and just south of, the A30, about 20m west of the road which connects the minor roads running over the A30 . Strangely, it looks as if it is in its original spot, although the HE scheduling information tells me that it was relocated to its present position in 1988 when they improved the A30.
The incised cross on the eastern side is clearly visible, but only part of the carving on the western face is visible under the covering of lichen.
Ring Hill Cross
Trip No.132 Entry No.3 Date Added: 5th Jun 2019
Site Type: Ancient Cross
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 1 Ambience 2 Access 4
Ring Hill Cross submitted by Anne T on 5th Jun 2019. A closer look at this tapered stone, lying close to the grid reference point. The fact it had been left (carefully?) by the tree, as opposed to having been deposited roughly with other lumps of stone nearby indicated it might have been important and set aside for a reason.
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Log Text: Possibly the Ring Hill Wayside Cross?: From the Pastscape description, and armed with our GPS, this cross should have been relatively easy to find, but was actually the hardest. We spotted the old footpath coming down the slope and joining the minor road to South Zeal, but the fence posts and gates have been renewed in very recent years. The cross was perhaps 5m to the west of its given grid reference.
There were a few old gateposts lying around near the fence line, so we thought we’d take a very sneaky look. Letting ourselves cautiously in through the gate, we spotted an old granite gate post at the foot of a tree, which matched the description given by Pastscape, so I photographed it. Nearby was the remains of a brick structure, which looked a bit like an old fireplace back, but which is marked as ‘W’ (well) on the HE map.
Oxenham Cross
Trip No.132 Entry No.4 Date Added: 6th Jun 2019
Site Type: Ancient Cross
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5
Oxenham Cross submitted by Anne T on 6th Jun 2019. Approaching the cross along the minor road to its east, showing the cross high up (the cross base sits 1.8m above the road, on the boundary wall of the field), showing its location at the cross roads of these minor roads.
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Log Text: Oxenham Wayside Cross: This wayside cross was placed high above a cross roads of two narrow, busy minor roads, where it was difficult to stop. I took photos while Andrew moved the car out of the way. I tried to get a photograph from inside the field, but the gate had been nailed shut with wire underneath, so I did the best I could in between tractors, cars and large farm trucks whizzing past.
St Andrew's Cross (South Tawton)
Trip No.132 Entry No.5 Date Added: 7th Jun 2019
Site Type: Ancient Cross
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4
St Andrew's Cross (South Tawton) submitted by Anne T on 6th Jun 2019. The alleged cross shaft, as seen just from its eastern side. Located just inside the gate at the northern side of the churchyard.
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Log Text: Alleged wayside cross shaft, St Andrew's Church, South Tawton: This ‘cross shaft’ (gate post?) can be found at the gate at the end of the path running north from the west end of the church. Whilst it has more recently been identified as a gatepost, it look remarkably like a couple of other cross shafts we’ve seen in the area.
Of more interest was the granite grave cover, located right in the middle of the lych gate. According to the church guide, this is dated to the medieval period and was set in the north jamb of the north doorway in 1903.
Moon's Cross
Trip No.132 Entry No.6 Date Added: 7th Jun 2019
Site Type: Ancient Cross
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5
Moon's Cross submitted by Anne T on 7th Jun 2019. First view of Moon's Cross as we approached, driving south along Fore Street from South Tawton.
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Log Text: Moon's Cross, between South Tawton & South Zeal: From St Andrew’s Church in South Tawton, we headed south along Fore Street towards South Zeal. At a cross roads just outside South Tawton, there is the remains of a cross shaft in a socket stone. As the road is quite wide here, it was easy to park just south of the cross shaft, near the barn of the nearby farm.
Lying by the side of the cross shaft and its socket stone is a large stone by the side of the cross; at first glance it looked just like a boulder, but closer inspection indicated it might have been shaped. Is this just another gate post, or could it be a cross shaft fragment?
Sticklepath Methodist Chapel Cross
Trip No.132 Entry No.9 Date Added: 8th Jun 2019
Site Type: Ancient Cross
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5
Sticklepath Methodist Chapel Cross submitted by Anne T on 8th Jun 2019. This cross-in-miniature is high up above the road, acting as a finial on the northern side of the Methodist Chapel. Pastscape says it was reused here in approximately 1816 (when the chapel was built). Photo taken from the south eastern side of the chapel 'garden', which is the only place we could get a decent view of the cross.
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Log Text: Sticklepath Methodist Chapel Cross: A very small cross with socket stone being used as a coping stone on the apex of the roof of the Methodist Chapel.
To see the cross better, we let ourselves into the small ‘garden’ of the chapel (being used as a dump for building materials and rubble), and took a bit of a blurred photo. It does seem like a wayside cross in complete miniature, but instinct tells me it’s just a fancy roof finial which has been reused from another site/location.
Worth stopping off to see, especially with the Lady Well and the Sticklepath pre-Conquest boundary stone just west of the chapel.
Lady Well (Sticklepath)
Trip No.132 Entry No.10 Date Added: 8th Jun 2019
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 2 Access 5
Lady Well (Sticklepath) submitted by KiwiBetsy on 29th Aug 2006. The Lady Well invites visitors to 'Drink and be thankful.'
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Log Text: Lady Well, Sticklepath: This well is right beside the road. The grid reference given by Pastscape must be the original site of the well, as it actually is at SX 63904 94124.
The ambience of the well was dreadful at the time of our visit, as it sat immediately next to a set of roadworks, and also in deep shade at the time of our visit. Pleased to have seen it, and ticked it off our list, but that’s about all.
The boundary marker is nearby, just up hill, literally on the other side of the road junction.
Oxenham Arms
Trip No.132 Entry No.8 Date Added: 7th Jun 2019
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4
Oxenham Arms submitted by TheCaptain on 26th Apr 2004. Oxenham Arms, South Zeal, Devon SX651935.
An enormous and magnificent menhir built into the wall of a tremendous pub on the main street in the village of South Zeal, Devon.
In fact, the pub is believed to have been built by monks in the twelfth century around the menhir. As the pub website says "A very interesting part of the house is the small lounge behind the bar. In this room, set in the wall, is a monolith and the theory of archaeologists is that the monastic builders placed the...
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Log Text: Oxenham Arms Menhir & Roman Stone: We originally headed off to the wrong pub, at the north western end of the village, but having thought the name of the pub wasn't what we remembered, we found the Oxenham Arms just down the hill from the village cross.
Walking into the pub from the bright sunshine of the street took my eyes some time to adjust, but we welcomed the coolness and the opportunity of a long, cold, icy drink.
I asked the barman if I could ask a cheeky question, and he said “on the scale of 1 to 10, how cheeky?” I replied “4”. He said “that’s not cheeky”. He very patiently told us where to find the standing stone, and also told us about the Roman pillar in the restaurant at the back. He very kindly said it was OK for me to take photos.
He also added (tongue in cheek?) that they thought it had taken 40 years to carve the granite standing stone, although how he knew, I don’t know. The stone apparently continues in one of the rooms upstairs.
Lovely atmosphere here. If we go back to Devon, I’d like to go for a meal here. A chance to see a couple of fine stones and have a drink at the same time - only the second time ever (the first being at the Templar Preceptory at Rothley).
There are several notices hanging on the wall and I’ve typed this up.
South Zeal Cross
Trip No.132 Entry No.7 Date Added: 7th Jun 2019
Site Type: Ancient Cross
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5
South Zeal Cross submitted by Anne T on 7th Jun 2019. The cross, as seen from the small communal garden next to the small but lovely Chapel of Ease, just to its south east. Historic England says: "(The cross) is an integral part of the South Zeal townscape. It is very special being one of the few medieval boroughs in Devon where a significant number of its late medieval houses survive to a greater or lesser extent".
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Log Text: South Zeal Cross: Driving the short distance from Moon’s Cross into South Zeal, this is a busy little working village, not just a place for tourists to travel to Oh the cars that were parked up and down the street, but we managed to find a space just south of the village cross.
This is a tall, imposing monument, standing just north east of the small, but quaint St Mary’s Chapel and a small, beautifully kept communal garden. As we drove south east down the main road through the village (towards the Oxenham Arms) the cross dominated the village; standing further south east, as the village is on a hill, the cross towered above us.
Whilst visiting the cross, it's worth popping into the tiny, but welcoming St Mary's Chapel next door. Now turned into a place of rest and contemplation for modern day pilgrims.
Sticklepath Boundary Marker
Trip No.132 Entry No.11 Date Added: 8th Jun 2019
Site Type: Marker Stone
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4
Sticklepath Boundary Marker submitted by Anne T on 8th Jun 2019. The southern face of the cross, which had a cross carved in relief upon it. We were unable to make out any carvings at the time of our visit.
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Log Text: Sticklepath Inscribed Boundary Stone: This stone is only within 20m of Lady Well, separated by a minor road junction. At the time of our visit, the ambience was spoilt by roadworks which had been set up next to, and almost up to it.
With the stone sitting on top of a retaining wall between the pavement and the main road running through Sticklepath, and a footpath running up slope to its WSW side, Andrew stepped onto the bank and photographed all sides of it for me at close quarters.
Despite peering closely at each side of the stone, we were unable to make out any clear carvings on it at all. The only thing that was clear was the hole for the ball finial which topped the stone at some time in its past.
Belstone Boundary Marker
Trip No.132 Entry No.12 Date Added: 9th Jun 2019
Site Type: Marker Stone
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5
Belstone Boundary Marker submitted by Anne T on 9th Jun 2019. Having parked down the narrow lane just to the west of this boundary stone, this was my first view of it as I approached the road junction.
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Log Text: Belstone Boundary Marker: Only 1km from the Sticklepath Boundary Stone, this supposedly pre-Conquest stone at the junction of the B3260 and a minor dead-end road which goes north east to a farm.
I got some strange stares from the cars as I photographed this stone, which is no longer on the parish boundary, presumably to accommodate road improvements. Had it not been for the busy road, this would have been in a gloriously peaceful countryside location, with lovely views northwards (the hedge to the south was too tall to see over).
I think the description in the Pastscape entry has been confused with the Sticklepath BS, near Lady Well, as this stone is triangular in shape and the only marking we could see was a partial bench mark on its front.
The acute angle of the minor road junction with the B3260 made the turn right out of the busy road a little tricky, but possible after waiting for a sufficiently large gap in the traffic.
Belstone Ring Cross
Trip No.132 Entry No.13 Date Added: 9th Jun 2019
Site Type: Ancient Cross
Country: England (Devon)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4
Belstone Ring Cross submitted by hoya105 on 23rd May 2019. Inside St Marys Church, in the lovely village of Belstone with its Holy Well and great pub!
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Log Text: Ring headed cross at St Mary The Virgin, Belstone: A lovely little village, with not only the ring headed cross in the church but the Coronation Stone and the old stocks on the village green.
The church has a lovely atmosphere, tucked away to the west of the little village shop cum pub. The church had a slim guide book which made interesting reading, and I went through it during our visit to make sure we didn’t miss anything special.
The ring-headed cross is against the south wall of the church, near where the nave and sanctuary join. It’s base had been covered with an Easter scene.
We wandered back to the village green and had tea and cake in the Old Schoolroom Tearooms. This was to be my first experience of “toilet twinning” – there were photos of toilets in other countries that the tearoom toilet had been twinned with – brilliant!)