Exploration of some of Dartmoor's abandoned buildings by drone.
The farmstead of ‘Twist’ (also known as ‘Twyste’ or ‘Twyst’) is one of two farms mentioned in the Domesday Book for the manor of Cudlipptown (the other being Manor farm) as recorded in the “Book of Peter Tavy with Cudlipptown - Two coats colder than Tavistock. Furthermore, the inhabitants of the farm had venville rights which (for a small annual payment, which was 5d. per year in 1532), allowed them to pasture sheep and cattle on the moor after sunset. They were also allowed to take what they needed for their own use from the moor such as turf and peat for fires and stone for hedging and building. They were not allowed to take green oak or venison.
The farm was deserted in the 20th century and now derelict. There is a sale catalogue for the farm dated 1934 in The Box (Plymouth), ref. 1096/434. From ‘The Place-names of Devon’ published by the English Place-name Society, p232: Twist is called Twyst c1502. It is suggested that the farm name may be originate from the ordinary word ‘Twist’ as there is a sharp bend in the lane here.
The Powder Mills Gunpowder Factory was established in 1844 by George Frean at a cost in the region of £12,000 and was fully operational by 1846. It remained in use until 1897, when it closed as a result of increasing competition from dynamite and a slump in local mining activity. Gunpowder at that time was being used for the mines (e.g Birch Tor and Vitifer), the quarries (e.g Swell tor, Foggintor and Merrivale) and also by farmers to clear rocks from their land.
The production of gunpowder at that time was quite involved (and dangerous) and consisted of combining a mixture of saltpetre (75%), sulphur (15%) and charcoal (10%). The ruined buildings at the Powder Mills site tell the story in which the different stages of the process were carried out. The site is quite spread out and the distances between the buildings are indicative of the safety precautions taken at that time. The mills may also be the reason behind the Hairy Hands legend.
Swincombe Farm (aka Upper Swincombe Farm) and some immediate surrounds including a TA standing stone / gate post, a possible tor and two “bolt” type benchmarks. The main farm consist of a roofless 19th century byre with a further roofless barn/byre and store building close by. There is also a more “modern” (now demolished) farmhouse which had been built in 1913. All the buildings apparently overly earlier structures depicted in 1818 as lodges of Tor Royal estate belonging to Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt.
Hound Tor: To the south-east of the tor, on a north-eastern-facing slope are the remains of Hundatorra, a deserted medieval village. This was built on land farmed originally in the Bronze Age and which may have been used for grazing in the Roman period. The village was excavated between 1961 and 1975. It has four Dartmoor longhouses, many with a central drainage channel, and several smaller houses and barns. These buildings date from the 13th century. The three grain storage barns appear to have been adapted to include corn dryers, indicative of the deteriorating climate. Pollen evidence indicates that farming had stopped by 1350, but recent analysis of pottery suggests that the village was probably occupied until the late 14th or early 15th century.
The settlement is first mentioned in the Domesday Book as belonging to Tavistock Abbey:
The villagers apparently left little behind when they left, though the acidic soil would have destroyed much evidence; the excavations unearthed a single coin from the time of Henry III, and some broken pottery originating from Crockerton in Wiltshire.[3]
Royal Oak Quarry (later known as Foggintor) was worked from the early 19th century until the early 20th century, extracting granite that was taken away on the nearby railway line. Remains on the site include ruins of numerous buildings, large spoil tips and tracks, including that leading to the nearby Swell Tor Quarry, was closely associated.
#dartmoor #hiking #abandoned #history #drone