Lydford Gorge

A true Newton boy would know they had a large camp up at Milber, still there, well half of it anyway.



Delving further back into the history of Newton Abbot, traces of Neolithic people have been found at Berry's Wood Hill Fort near Bradley Manor. This is a contour Hill Fort which enclosed about 11 acres. - Milber Down Camp was built in the 1st century BC, and later it was occupied by the Romans, coins and roman pavements have been found there. There are remains of a Norman motte and bailey castle on Highweek Hill, this was most probably a lookout post to watch people coming up the Teign Estuary. A village grew up around this castle, which used to be known as Teignweek, but over the years became Highweek (village on high ground). On the low ground by the river Lemon rose another settlement which became part of Wolborough Manor.

To confirm that the Romans also were around Lydford I offer you this to read.


is a well known fact that Exeter or Isca was at one time a Roman centre that was formed around AD 50 - 55. It is therefore surprising that there is very little evidence of them on Dartmoor especially in light of the mineral resources available on the moor. The archaeological record is very sparse but just because there are very few finds etc that does not mean they weren't there it could just means we haven't found them yet? Griffith and Quinnell (Kain & Ravenhill, 2000, p.76) note:



"... there is a marked absence of Roman period finds from Bodmin Moor and Dartmoor. This may reflect real absence of occupation: the frequent, if early, excavations on Dartmoor have investigated numerous hut circles, and peat cutting on both moors has produced no Roman material. However, these moorland lacunae (gaps, missing parts) need not reflect real lack of activity, because settlement may have foci away from the visible stone-walled sites. Moreover the moorland peat is not a good preservative for finds of any kind except lithics."



This really is a strange phenomenon as there is plenty of evidence from other upland areas of England and Wales of Roman occupation. What evidence there is has tended to come from the northern, eastern and western fringes of the moor. There were two Roman forts on the very northern fringes, one at North Tawton and the other at Okehampton and it is suggested that these stood on or near to roads that would have led to Exeter. It has also been suggested that there was a signal-tower platform at Sourton and a fortlets at Ide and once again Okehampton


f you trawl through the ADS records there are various coin findspots at Black Tor, Princetown and fairly recently at Hunters Tor. A hoard of some 200 coins was discovered on East Hill which lies above Okehampton. Strangely enough the Gentleman's Magazine of 1862 mentions a pot full of Roman coins being discovered in a field called 'firestone' which lay opposite Addiscot farm. These were said to have dated from the time of reign of Severus which would date them to no earlier than AD193.

There are basically four documentary sources which possible indicate Roman place-names; the Geography of Ptolemy, the Antonine Itinerary, the Peutinger Table and the Ravenna Table. From these Todd (1987, pp. 202 - 204) suggests that possibly the name of the river Dart derived from Derventio which is found in Ptolemy's Geography. The Ravenna Table also records an indirect link from Tabo to Tavus which is the river Taw. The fort at North Tawton has been identified as Nemeto(s)tatio this once again appears in the Geography of Ptolemy. There are a few more recent moorland place-names with the 'Roman' element such as; the 'Roman Altar', 'Roman Bridge', the 'Roman Camp', the 'Roman Chair' and the 'Roman Cross'. There are also several tales of the Romans that have set themselves in the folklore record. Firstly it was always said that Julius Caesar visited Lydford which I suppose is a nice a place as any to drop into. There are stories of ghostly legions marching up and down Hunters Tor, there was also supposed to have been a Roman camp near Wotter Brook Head. In Chaw Gully there is a mine shaft that is said to hold vast hoards of treasure and this is known as the 'Roman Mine'. Oddly enough the 'Roman Chair' is an outcrop that had been fashioned to look like a stone chair. There is a nearby Iron Age hillfort that traditions claims was once a Roman Fort, hence the name of the stone. Now here's the rub it is located on the same East Hill as where the hoard of Roman coins was discovered - no smoke without fire or what?

I'm so glad you enjoyed it Barton and the copy was yours to keep, I enjoyed making the masterpiece, but will admit it brings tears to my eyes when I watch it. Its just the music and Carol is so much a part of it, even if all you mostly see is her backside. ;D