Dartmoor, situated
in the county of Devon
in the south west of England, is a National Park of outstanding beauty and with a rich history.
Dartmoor retains traces of many generations of human endeavour and during the course of almost any excursion or walk across the Moor you will find a variety of human imprints: prehistoric megaliths, tombs, mediaeval longhouses, tin mining remains, quarries and farms.
There is a wide range of flora and fauna, many plants and animals being uniquely adapted to life on the inhospitable ground of the high Moor. Every age of man has left some impression and the Moor may thus be regarded in three ways: an open air museum, an open moorland farm and a catchment area for drinking water.
The scenery is spectacular and for the visitor can best be appreciated in the words of a local author (Eden Phillpotts) - ‘The naked beauty of the heathery hills rolling in gentle undulations; rising to the granite peaks (tors); sinking to the river valleys with clear, bubbling waters. It is a place of wonderful, subdued colour and the air is of a quality that those who have not breathed it cannot guess.'
It is an area that offers so many interests for the prospective visitor to discover during all seasons of the year.
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R.A.F. Station Harrowbeer was a Second World War Airfield under the control of No. 10 Group Fighter Command.The station opened on 15th August 1941 and closed in July 1945 when Harrowbeer was put on 'Care and Maintenance' until the 1960s.The three runways were laid on a hardcore foundation made from the rubble of Plymouth after the Blitz.
R.A.F. Harrowbeer was home to many Squadrons and a range of nationalities: Polish, Canadian, Free-French, Czechoslovakian, American, etc. The types of planes operated from R.A.F. Harrowbeer included: Spitfires, Typhoons, Hurricanes, Blenheim, Walrus, Mustangs and Ansons.
Harrowbeer played a vital role in the war by escorting bombers on their missions to search for enemy U-boats and E-boats patrolling the English Channel in the area of the Brest Peninsula. Air Sea Rescue 'Search and Recovery' was another important role which saved many lives. At the height of the Statio's occupancy there was 2,000 personnel.
On the Moor at the Leg O' Mutton corner is the Harrowbeer Memorial Stone that was placed there on 15th August 1981 and unveiled by Group Captain the Hon E. F. Ward who was the Station's first Commanding Officer.
Ravenscroft Residential and Nursing Home was used as the Officers' Mess until 1943 when 276 Squadron A.S.R. took it over as their Headquarters until 1944. Knightstone was the first Watch Office and also the Headquarters for 78 Signals Wing in 1941 and 838 F.A.A. Squadron in 1944.
For more information visit the website: www.rafharrowbeer.co.uk or
contact Michael Hayes at Knightstone Tearooms on 01 822 853679.
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The western part of the Moor has many attractions one of which is its association with Sir Francis Drake which is reflected in the title of this website ‘Drake’s Dartmoor’.
The geographical focal point is Yelverton and the surrounding villages, situated some 11 miles from the famous port and city of Plymouth. Sir Francis Drake was born only a few miles from Yelverton near Tavistock where the remains of a great Benedictine Monastery founded around 974 by the Saxon King Edgar can still be seen. Drake’s first exploits were associated with seafaring and it was in 1566 that he sailed to the Spanish Main for the first time. It was also from Plymouth that Drake with the permission of Queen Elizabeth I sailed on 13 December 1577 in the ‘Pelican’, later renamed the ‘Golden Hind’, on a 3 year voyage that circumnavigated the world. During this voyage he claimed on 17 June 1579 for the Queen the land of ‘Nova Albion’, believed to have been at Drake’s Bay in California but now thought to be in Oregon some 500 miles further north at Whale Cove.
From the treasures amassed on his voyage the Queen, through gifts, made Drake a rich man enabling him to buy a substantial house. His choice was a property near Yelverton called Buckland Abbey which today is run by the National Trust. The name Buckland means ‘land in the book’, that is land held by Royal Charter in this case from 1278 until the Dissolution of the Monasteries by the Cistercian Monks. The monastic church was converted into a home by Sir Richard Grenville who like Drake was a West Country man. It was this gentleman who in August 1585 founded a colony in America on Roanoke Island off the coast of North Carolina. Sadly, for various reasons, the colony failed and was facing starvation when it was unexpectedly rescued by Sir Francis Drake in June 1586. On 24 April 1581 the Golden Hind was moored in London when the Queen came on board and had Drake knighted by the French Ambassador. The 2 Royal Standards that flew on the ship that day are on display at Buckland Abbey as is the 16th century side drum believed to have been used on his last expedition in 1595 and known as Drake’s Drum.
In 1581, to complete his momentous year, Drake was elected Mayor of Plymouth and in 1584 Member of Parliament for Bossiney, North Cornwall. As well as Drake’s interests and activities highlighted above he was also an astute businessman and civil engineer. In 1589 the Corporation of Plymouth contracted Drake to construct a water channel, or leat, 6 to 7 feet wide to bring water from the Dartmoor River Meavy, only a few miles from Buckland Abbey, to the city of Plymouth. Much of the 17 miles of this leat, which was granite lined in 1871, is still in situ. Although the leat is no longer used to supply Plymouth’s water it is visible particularly over a tract of moorland known as Roborough Down which runs from Yelverton towards Clearbrook and on into Plymouth. The leat was officially opened on 24 April 1591 when a great celebration and feast was laid on. As the sluice gate was opened and the water flowed into the new channel a fanfare was played by mounted trumpeters and guns were fired in salute. A trumpeter rode beside the leat as the water flowed and legend has it that Drake leapt upon his white horse, jumped into the leat and preceded the water towards Plymouth.
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When the monastery at Buckland was dissolved the Abbot became the vicar of the Parish Church at Buckland Monachorum and the remains of a medieval vicarage, perhaps his, can be found in the beautiful walled garden of the world renowned Garden House. This garden is surrounded by 8 acres of naturalistic planting which has been developed with the principle of working with nature rather than against it. Both Buckland Abbey and The Garden House are popular visitor attractions.
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And so much more to see..
There are many other interesting historical associations with Yelverton and the surrounding area. Burrator reservoir, which like Drake’s Leat is fed by the River Meavy, is in a delightful gently sloping valley and was opened in 1898 to provide the water supply for Plymouth. There is local evidence of the Yelverton to Princetown railway and the old horse drawn tramway which was used to transport granite from the Princetown quarries to Plymouth. Princetown is famous for Dartmoor Prison which was opened in 1809 initially to house a large number of French prisoners of war and later for American prisoners taken during the war of 1812-1814. From 1850 until the present day the prison has been used for criminal offenders.
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