Moor than meets the eye

In the second half of a two-part feature, find out how the Moor than meets the eye landscape partnership scheme is ‘bringing communities and organisations together to explore Dartmoor’s past’ and conserve some of its most important heritage assets.

This huge five-year undertaking involving thirteen organisations, led by DNPA has a total budget of £3.8 million, including £1.9 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The last issue looked at the Parishscapes projects where community volunteers have come together and explored projects of local importance. This issue takes a look at some of the other projects supported by the Moor than meets the eye (MTMTE) team in Princetown, which have been designed to research and improve understanding of key heritage sites as well as address a number of factors affecting Dartmoor’s natural, cultural and built heritage. In total 28 projects are planned for the five-year scheme which was launched in 2014.

The MTMTE area contains 34 monuments recorded at 'high’ on the ‘Heritage at Risk’ register; to date, 18 monuments have been successfully removed from the ‘at risk register’ due to MTMTE projects. Higher Uppacott is a grade I listed longhouse from the early to mid-14th century and as one of very few remaining longhouses with an intact shippon or cattle shed at the lower end of the building, it has significant international heritage value. Under guidance from Historic England, traditional skills have been used to renovate this rare example of a Dartmoor farmstead longhouse as a visitor attraction. The main roof has been renovated with a new combed wheat thatch, and a corrugated side roof has been replaced with traditional scantle slating, hot lime mortars have been used for renovating internal walls and for pointing the barn walls, the cross-passage has been re-cobbled and the original shippon has been opened up and restored. Exterior works to provide an authentic historic farmstead setting will commence this spring, and car parking facilities and disabled access to the building will also be improved so that the public will be able to visit this unique project and learn about Higher Uppacott over the centuries.

Many of the MTMTE heritage projects have revolved around investigating the way our ancestors lived and worked on Dartmoor through the ages, and this has involved documentary research, landscape surveys, and in a number of cases, archaeological excavations. A group of dedicated volunteers have been analysing life on Dartmoor alongside medieval specialists in the Moor Medieval project, and this has led to a fascinating series of community archaeological digs in Widecombe-in-the-Moor in search of the ‘lost manor’ of North Hall, one of only four moated medieval manor houses in Devon. The excavations have uncovered some notable discoveries, such as cobbled areas, sections of walling and a surrounding moat, as well as early medieval Islamic pottery, pieces of glass and decorated roof tiles. Local residents, community groups, and university and college students have had an opportunity to take part in this exciting project to reveal the ‘footprint’ of the manor of North Hall.

The MTMTE scheme has also prioritized further excavations to increase understanding of Dartmoor’s internationally important Bronze Age landscape, in particular near Whitehorse Hill where an excavation in 2011 led to the momentous discovery of the burial site and grave goods of an early Bronze Age young woman. MTMTE work has identified possible ‘cairns’ near Hangingstone Hill; one has proved to be a natural structure, while another one is still being investigated - so watch this space. There have also been excavations at the site of the highest and largest stone circle in south west England which was discovered near Sittaford Tor in 2007 - the first stone circle to be found on Dartmoor in over a hundred years.

‘Discovering the Nature of the Bovey Valley’ has engaged the community in managing both the natural and the cultural heritage of East Dartmoor National Nature Reserve, near Haytor Rocks; the area includes open moor, as well as wooded valleys along the River Bovey, and is protected as a Special Area of Conservation and Site of Special Scientific Interest because of its ancient oak wood, heathland and mires which are home to many plants and animals, from the Great-spotted woodpecker to the much rarer Blue Ground beetle and Barbastelle bat. The Barbastelle bat is rarely found in Europe yet thrives in the Bovey Valley, and a project with The Woodland Trust, Natural England and the Bat Conservation Trust was carried out over the course of a year, with the help of bat specialists and volunteers. They monitored bat boxes and used detectors to track movements, resulting in previously unknown data being gathered, which is now being used to manage the landscape and improve future conservation of the species. A woodland programme to thin conifer plantations has enabled native ground flora and the original broadleaf woodland to regenerate; in the process the medieval farmsteads of Boveycombe and Vinnimore were also opened out and as mentioned in the last issue, the Lustleigh Parishscapes volunteers helped to excavate the Vinnimore site.

Other projects have helped to protect Dartmoor’s special moorland birds, and encourage better management of deteriorating haymeadows and wet valley systems, essential for a wide range of flora and fauna. A new trail guide and information display panels at Brimpts Tin Mine are improving awareness of Dartmoor’s world class tinworking heritage. An interactive web-based map has been created to promote a set of heritage trails designed to help people explore local natural and historic features. The list of projects seems endless, but eventually the scheme will come to a close in summer 2019, culminating in the Dartmoor Story - a mobile friendly website which will bring together this vast wealth of information about the unique heritage of Dartmoor over the last 4000 years. This huge venture will leave a physical legacy of restored heritage assets, but perhaps more importantly, it will leave a legacy of long-lasting public engagement and enthusiasm for conserving this beautiful landscape.

Rosemary Best

Over 3000 people have already attended MTMTE events and many more exciting projects and events are planned before the scheme finishes. MTMTE is also working with The Hill Farm Project to provide rural skills training to ensure heritage skills are passed on to future generations. If you’d like to get involved, please email info@moorthanmeetstheeye.org or visit www.moorthanmeetstheeye.org