Trans-Dartmoor Packhorse Track: Part 7 – Water Hill to Chagford

Part of Hemery’s ‘Walking Dartmoor’s Ancient Tracks: A guide to 28 routes’, Track 9 – Chagford to Plymouth Route

This section was from Water Hill to Chagford, a distance of 5 miles.

Part 6 – Trans-Dartmoor Packhorse Track: Part 6 – Postbridge to Water Hill

Background

My feet stride on the tarmac as I climb Manor Road into Chagford, the end point of this trans-moor route. In a series of walks, I have gradually picked my way east, from a starting point at the edge of the National Park at Roborough, finishing here on the other side of the moor.

Before turnpike roads opened up Dartmoor in the late 18^th century, this packhorse track was one of the most important routes across the moor. It connected Chagford on the east, bifurcating at Two Bridges to Tavistock, in the west, with a second branch heading, through Roborough, to the ports at Plymouth, Stonehouse and Dock (Devonport).

Road from Hillehead Farm looking back towards Metherell. Author’s own image.

Moorland ‘edge’ market towns like Tavistock and Chagford had important economies linked to both tin and wool. Trade in these commodities and communications were therefore vital and these market places would have been busy (by medieval standards) with people coming and going. Chagford, Tavistock and Ashburton were appointed Stannary Towns by AD 1305 – towns with the administrative right to assay, stamp and tax tin (DNP, 2017). The documented tin industry boomed between the 14^th to 16^th centuries. Not an industry we give much regard to today, wool was a major English export from the 13^th until the early 18^th centuries. Tin, fleece and cloth would therefore have been prime commodities on the backs of pack animals, making their way, not just for local buyers, but onwards for trade to ship overseas.

Chagford’s famous Ironmongery stores (2008). Image by Brian Snelson, Wikimedia Commons.

When understood in terms of tin and wool, it is easier to get a sense that this packhorse route was not just any old track, but a route of considerable commercial importance, connecting products to cities and ports beyond. Chagford, whilst it may be my final destination, is better thought of as a node, connecting traders in all directions but particularly east-west between Exeter and on through to Cornwall. This point is no better illustrated than through Ogilby’s strip maps of major routes in his Britannia, published in 1675. This road atlas picks out this route as the most important way between Exeter and Truro.

With turnpike road improvements by-passing Chagford, the 19^th century mining boom busting, and the wool trade fizzling out to international textile competition, by the end of the 1800s, Chagford probably thought it had seen better days. But places can re-invent themselves and find new raison d’être. Whilst Chagford may have been side-lined by the turnpike network, the opening up of Dartmoor to carriage, and later motorised transport brought in new business. Firstly, well-heeled middle-class ‘tourists’ and later a democratisation of transport and tourism to the masses. The demographics of residents also changed. With its small-moorland town heritage, and its strong character and community identity, Chagford has been able to draw people in from different places and new professions. Whilst some rural south-west towns have, and continue, to economically struggle, Chagford has developed a new niche in Dartmoor’s socio-economic history. Some of these themes, of roads, wool, tinning and tourism will feature in these 7 Interesting Things …

7 Interesting Things

1. Assycombe

Assycombe probably means ‘valley of the asses’. The earliest surviving record of it is in a Duchy of Cornwall document of 1488 (Gover et al , 1931). Hemery is dismissive of the interpretation but doesn’t offer an alternative (Hemery, 1983, p747). Hemery might not like the idea but I am enamoured by the suggestion of braying mules with melancholy faces grazing these slopes.

Track between Water Hill and Assycombe. Author’s own image.

But why might this area have been noteworthy for the density of its asses? I can think of two good reasons. Dartmoor is covered by tin works but nearby, the Birch Tor, Vitifer and Golden Dagger Mine landscape is particularly heavily worked. Tin extraction is long evident here; just over Water Hill, by the Warren House Inn, is a place called ‘The King’s Oven’, a tin blowing house first recorded in AD 1240. Tin extraction is labour intensive work, and once extracted, tin needs transporting. A fair few donkeys would be needed for their ‘donkey-work’. These donkeys would need to be sourced from somewhere, and perhaps grazed ‘off-site’ (one can only imagine how churned up, muddy, and devoid of vegetation the ground would have been when it was being ‘worked’).

Asses being asses. Royalty free image. Pixabay.

Another reason for donkeys being here may relate to why I am walking this route in the first place – it is an important pack-animal route. Pack animals (ponies and asses) would have to be reared and purchased somewhere. It is possible also that, whilst some of the ‘jobbers’ working the route had their own animals, there might have been times when extra beasts needed to be hired when taking on bigger jobs. Close to Chagford, next to a major tin working zone and right on the main trans Dartmoor road – I would have thought this was an ideal place if you were in the donkey business.

2. Hurston Ridge Stone Row

There are over eighty stone rows on Dartmoor, more than half the total national population. Some are short and some are long. Some are single rows, some double and some triple. Some have prominent stones and others, have stumpy stones that can barely be seen. Some stone rows have been re-erected by ‘antiquarians’.

The Hurston Ridge stone row is a wonderful example of a double stone row, not because it is the biggest or longest and not because it is the most dramatic or beautiful (although it is very pleasant). The reason why this stone row is noteworthy is because of the law of superposition!

Hurston stone row is book-ended with a blocking stone at its bottom and, at the up-slope end, by a cairn. According to English Heritage (2011) the row is crossed by a reave, then by an enclosure, and finally a hut circle, thus providing chronological limits to when it could have been constructed. This stone row is therefore interpreted as dating to the Late Neolithic; some time around 2400 – 2000 BC) (HER^a, undated).

‘This is the only site on the Moor where major classes of prehistoric monument have such a clearly defined chronology. All of the components survive well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence for the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed.‘
English Heritage 2011

3. Waye Barton

Of all the places I have passed along this route since starting at Roborough, none has been so etymologically linked to the route as Waye Barton. Recorded as Way in 1435 and Westway in 1504, it doesn’t take a genius to work out why. This highway I am treading used to be the ‘west way’ out of Chagford. The name is also preserved in the name of the hill that climbs towards Waye Barton – Waye Hill (Gover et al, 1931).

Road, heading off the moor and eastwards towards Waye. Author’s own image.

Waye Barton is a grade II listed building, dating back to at least the 17th C. On the First Edition 25 Inch OS map this place is noted as a Pheasantry, which is not a label I recall ever seeing on a map before. According to Yardley (2015), writing about the history of the pheasant, ‘pheasant rearing became a serious commercial endeavour from the mid 19th century’, so perhaps this was a short-lived farm-diversification enterprise? The label is mysterious though. In 2021 the Chagford Local History Society reported in their March Newsletter some extracts from a diary written for the years 1888 to 1890, found in the barn at Waye Barton. The pulling of mangels, storing of potatoes, and trapping and ferreting for rats in the ricks all feature, but I cannot see any mention of pheasant husbandry!

OS Six Inch Published 1885. From National Library of Scotland.

For each year the farm diarist gave a useful summary, such as this one for 1890:

‘Very cold sunless summer. Potatoe crop plain. Turnips fairly good. Mangels small. Corn fairly good; oats very good. Apples partial. Honey scarce. Grass very plentiful. Beautiful Autumn. Patchy hay harvest; corn harvest wet at beginning but very good after. Extraordinarily good weather for potato digging & mangel storing. Very severe frost through the Christmas time. Good luck with livestock. Cauliflowers & other vegets. Killed* *(presumably the hard frost killed the vegetables)’
Chagford Local History Society, March 2021

Mangel-Wurzel and Sugar Beet seed advert A. Currie & Company. Henry G. Gilbert Nursery and Seed Trade Catalog Collection. Garden and farm seeds : spring 1912. From Wikimedia commons.

4. Old Town Mill

If Chagford has its place on the highway across the moor, serving tin and wool trades, then one might expect to see vestiges of these commodities in the Chagford landscape. Constructed in the dwindling days of the British woolen industry, the building now known as the ‘Old Town Mill’ or ‘Moorlands’ was erected on the corner of High Street and Manor Road, where the packhorse route exited the town, up West Way Hill and on over the moor.

Old Town Mill, Chagford. Image by Martin Bodman, Wikimedia Commons.

According to Rice (2002, cited in the HER^b, Undated) the mill was established in the early 1800s by an entrepreneur called John Berry. Initially this woolen mill spread across several sites and was not the unified large building it later became. There was the mill, a drying shed, and a warehouse as well as weaving lofts (presumably where the light was better?), workers houses, and even at one stage, a chapel. Beyond the nucleus of the town was also a tucking mill, also known as a fulling mill. It was positioned on the nearby Teign. Here the cloth would be pounded by water-powered hammers to clean it of all the dirt and oils contained in the virgin wool and shink and felt it to toughen it up. In the latter days of the industry soap was used for the cleansing but in earlier times Fullers Earth or urine was the cleaner of choice. Vestiges of this industry are recorded in the Chagford landscape through place names such as Rackfield and Rack Park, where cloth would be dried on tenterhook racks.

A driving-stock fulling mill from Georg Andreas Böckler’s *Theatrum Machinarum Novum*, 1661

Whilst the Old Town Mill mill is the biggest and most visible remnant of the woolen age, we should remember it was just a bigger and more industrial version of a woollen industry that was active in Chagford for centuries. The town would have been full of cottage workers, carding, spinning and weaving wool in their own homes.

5. The Market House

Iconic in Chagford’s urban landscape is its octagonal market house, topped off with its louvred lantern, slate roofed ‘spire’ and weather-vane (HER^c ,Undated). It occupies a central place in the town square and was built in the 1860s, on the site of a former ‘shambles’ market house [a place where meat was butchered and sold] and court-house. Then, as now, this focal point of the town would have been a place of destination for those travelling the highway.

The Market House, Chagford. Author’s own image.

Chagford, being a stannary town, was able to hold stannary courts, where legal matters relating to the tinning was conducted and these were held at the court house. On the first day of August 1616 one of these tin-courts was held[1]; but this was a court that ended in tragedy. The event was recounted a few years later, in 1630, by Westcote who wrote:

‘the chamber wherein it was kept stood upon pillars, and those decayed, and the assembly at that court greater than ordinary, the pillars and timber cleft in sunder and the walls fell in, and the steward, a gentleman of good descent and a counsellor-at-law, and nine others were suddenly slain; many more had their arms and legs broken, being covered in the timber and stones: but that which seemeth most strange, a little child was taken up from among the slain not anything hurt; which is not to be slighted, though not to be made a wonder: for we know who saith that their angels do always behold the face of our Father which is in heaven.’
Westcote, 1845

6. The Three Crowns

Of the various inns in Chagford, the Three Crowns is the one which receives the most attention. With its long roadside frontage, unembellished yet imposing granite stonework, a two story porch and thatched roof, the building tells you it is singular and noteworthy. Beyond its architectural appeal, it also has a homicidal history (and of course ghost stories) as a result of two unconnected murders; that of Mary Whyddon, shot by a jealous lover on returning from the church in 1641, and Sidney Godolphin, a cavalry officer shot after the civil war battle at ‘Bloody Meadow’ in 1643 at nearby Fingle Bridge (Quick, 1992)

The Three Crowns, Chagford. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Built by the notable local Whiddon family in the 16^th C, probably as a Dower House, the building became an inn, known as The Black Swan by the late 17th century and by the late 18^th the name had changed to The Three Crowns.

However, widow Whiddon’s grand 16^th century Chagford abode is even older than it looks. Below the 16^th century structure have been found the remnants of an even older town house (HER^d, Undated). Twentieth century building works revealed the cobble floors of a narrow medieval town house into which, at a later date, had been inserted a granite hearth. It is thought that this, and several other medieval properties, were partly demolished when the Whiddon property was built with its new fireplaces inserted into the remains of the older structures. A fire that occurred in the 18th century gutted both the building. The inn was refurbished and re-roofed, but the medieval remnants that had been incorporated into the 16^th C design were demolished.

In 1867 a chap called Horace Waddington published an article about a visit to Dartmoor with his two friends including their overnight stay at the Three Crowns.

‘the immense thickness of wall, the up-and-down oak floor, the low ceiling, all made me reflect how many and varied scenes this old house had perchance witnessed … but a truce to these dreams, as a shout from the adjoining guest-room summons me to breakfast; and our trio fall to work on a pile of unexceptionable mutton chops, backed up by tea and coffee, hot buns and honey, and choicest bread and butter.’
Waddington, 1867, p275-276

7. Early Tourism and James Perrott

With its mining years over and the woollen industry waning, 19^th century Chagford successfully slipped on a new identity linked to tourism, particularly from the 1850s, when train travel enabled the middle classes to access the moor (Devon Perspectives, undated). Its popularity was maintained into the 20^th century with ‘motor vehicle’ tourism as exemplified by the comments of Pilkington-Rogers writing in 1930 who praised the ‘supreme popularity of the moorland resort‘ saying:

‘the little town bristles with means of accommodation, hotels and boarding houses and apartments; in summer the public throng its streets in cohorts, and charabancs make it a favoured haunt; while even in winter it has many visitors for its climate’s sake’
Pilkington-Rogers, 1930, p153

As well as the hospitality sector, another tourist industry niche became profitable – that of guiding across the moor. Of the early guides, James Perrott (1815-1895) of Chagford is the most celebrated (Devon Perspectives, undated). Obituaries tell of Perrott being a shrewd man who had the emotional nouse to read the character and needs of the people he was guiding, and that he shared his expansive knowledge of the moor with quaint speeches, humour and a twinkle in his eye.

James Perrott c. 1862. Image from the Dartmoor Trust Archive www.dartmoortrust.org

Horace Waddington, whom we met above, staying at the Three Crowns in 1867 used Perrott as his guide and from his reportage we can enjoy a few details of a day in the life of a 19^th century Dartmoor guide. Waddington writes, on ascending to Watern Tor:

‘ “Ah! that was a breather! the sharpest burst we shall have today,” says Perrott, and all somewhat breathless we vote a brief halt under the lee of one of the towering piles of granite … Snugly sheltered from the now violent south-easterly gale, we took ten minutes for a social pipe and a trifling ” wet.” Perrott’s flask met with general approbation; not for its contents (I had better brandy in my own), but for the ingenious device by which you could drink without stopping, and without trouble, or danger of spilling.’
Waddington, 1867, p279-280

After ‘marching’ across the morass in which Cranmere Pool resides, Waddington says:

‘As soon as we were fairly quit of it, luncheon-time was proclaimed, and all, throwing themselves on the heather, brought out their several stores; bread and cold meat quickly disappeared; after which Perrott produced cake, home-made and heavy … while a bottle of claret was both light and refreshing … Pipes were lit, and some good stories went round … Before starting afresh our cards were inserted in the empty claret bottle, which was placed in such a position as to invite the attention of the next passer-by.’
Waddington, 1867, p282

It is at Cranmere Pool in 1854 that Perrott gave birth to the still popular hobby of Dartmoor Letterboxing by building a cairn and placing in it a bottle there in which visitors could put their calling cards. In this description by Waddington we can see Perrott satisfying his clients expectations by giving them the full Cranmere Pool letterboxing experience.

Seeing as this was the last part of a route that I have walked in seven sections, I think some brief reflection is in order.

Because this route, for most of its length, follows the A-roads between Roborough and Chagford, this is not a typical moorland track to walk. Who wants to follow a main road across the moor when you can get away from tarmac and walk mostly anywhere? It is a route I know very well from years of traversing west to east and back west again in the car. There has been a pleasure though, in seeing this familiar road corridor through slow walking feet rather than speedy tyres. I have noticed buildings, ruins and complexions of landscape I have not seen before. More importantly, this long route has changed the way I think about Dartmoor. Superficially I knew about the various changes that have occurred here in the last 250 years, primarily since the turnpikes began opening up the moor to travel and ‘improvement’. Walking this route I have really ‘felt’ this development – in the villages of Yelverton, Dousland, Princetown and Postbridge, the inns, new bridges, newtakes etc – none of which was here until the end of the 18^th century.

Packhorse travel, when this route was in its hey-day, really was a journey across wilderness, punctuated by the odd remote farmhouse. I am guessing that the smattering of these along the route, also acted as inns, offering basic hospitality, much needed in the miles of nothingness. Outside of towns, farms on ‘ways’ were known to perform this secondary function.

It is quite a long way from Chagford through to the Plymouth area and one thing, despite all the research I put into the forty-nine ‘interesting things’ I have looked at along the way, is a clear idea about how the packhorse business worked. How far would a man travelling from Chagford go before returning home? It would not be possible to go to Plymouth and back in one day, and overnight stays would incur costs. Like the postal service, did the ‘jobbers’ work stages, handing goods over to a man who would move it along on his patch so that he could return home each evening? If so, where on this route were the handover places? Did the men work solo or as teams? Were they in charge of just one animal or more? Did they commission extra animals if they were asked to take a big load? How seasonal was their work? I presume there was much more trade in the summer months than the winter, so how did they manage their time and money with these annual cycles?

Soon I will move on to the Tavistock branch of this packhorse network. Perhaps I might find answers to some of these ‘operational’ issues when I walk and write some more.

The Route

Taking up the route from the previous section (Trans-Dartmoor Packhorse Track: Part 6 – Postbridge to Water Hill ) which ended at Caroline Cott, head north, skirting the edge of Water Hill.
Veer north-easterly taking a route between Water Hill and Assycombe Hill. I found, as is typically the case, the hollow track was evident for sections and then disappeared to nothing.
Head for the Hurston Ridge stone row. From here the path is much clearer.

Follow the track which heads NNE along the edge of the Metherall Brook. After a while you will pick up the stone wall field boundary which should be on your right.
This track then merges with the Fernworthy road as you head off the moor. This is the last of the moorland walking on this final stretch to Chagford.

OS 2nd Edition 6 Inch to 1 Mile showing the route from Hurston to Tunnaford

Stay on this road, passing Hillhead Farm and the turning to Higher Corndon and proceed through Tunnaford to Waye Barton.

OS 2nd Edition 6 Inch to 1 Mile showing the route from Tunnaford to Waye Hill

At Waye Barton, where there is a strung-out crossroads, take the road to the east (right) and this heads down Waye Hill.
Ascend up Manor Road and into Chagford town centre.

OS 2nd Edition 6 Inch to 1 Mile showing the route from Waye Hill to Chagford

[1] There is dispute over the exact date. The HER, citing Lysons (1822) and the TDA (1876) gives the year as 1817 whilst Risdon (1811) says the disaster struck on 6^th March 1618.