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Summary

The remains of a vermin trap lie at the base of a tin openwork 400m west-north-west of Ditsworthy Warren House. The X-shaped wing walls remain though the central trap housing has been severly disturbed by a footpath.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX56NE268
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 1311114
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX56NE/88/10

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• VERMIN TRAP (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1750 AD (Between))

Full description

Cook, R. M. L., 1964, Old vermin traps on south-west Dartmoor, 198 (Article in Serial). SDV230549.

Ditsworthy Warren. Site 6. Type 1; of simple x shape made by building a short wall intersecting across an earlier mound or hedge. Fair condition, walls only. Across tinners' gurt (or water channel) 402 meters west-north-west of Warren House. Probable date of use 1700-1800.

Haynes, R. G., 1970, Vermin Traps and Rabbit Warrens on Dartmoor, 160 (Article in Serial). SDV166302.

Probably Haynes' vermin trap number 2, although a different grid reference is given (SX58056640). In gurt (channel) south of Gutter Mire. A large symmetrical trap.

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1985, Aerial Photograph Project (Dartmoor) - Dartmoor Pre-NMP (Cartographic). SDV319854.

Not visible on 1946 Royal Air Force aerial photographs.

Fletcher, M. + Newman, P. + Probert, S., 1999, Drizzlecombe, Eylesbarrow, Ditsworthy and Hartor areas in the Plym Valley, West Devon (Report - Survey). SDV346268.

(03/08/1999) SX 58046647. The remains of a large vermin trap lie at the base of a tin openwork 400m west-north-west of Ditsworthy Warren House. The trap has been severly disturbed by a footpath that cuts through its original position and none of the stones in the immediate area show signs of having once been part of it. However, the most impressive part of the site are the well-preserved X-shaped wing walls forming the funnels that fed the trap. These exist as boulder and block walls and revetments up to 5.5m long and 0.4m high. It is clear that in their original form they were designed to block the entire base of the openwork.

Whitbourn, A., 2001, An Archaeological Investigation into features comprising, and associated with, Ditsworthy Warren, 78 (Report - Assessment). SDV360381.

Vermin trap of Type 1 with a cross shape across and earlier mound.

Probert, S. A. J. + Fletcher, M. J., 2002, Plym Valley survey (Report - Survey). SDV350782.

Newman, P. + Probert, S., 2005, Ringmoor Training Area: Monument Baseline Condition Survey (Report - Survey). SDV363484.

(10/03/2005) This feature remains as described in 1999 though erosion from the footpath continues. This monument is in a declining state.

Probert, S. A. J., 2010, A Condition Survey of the Archaeological Sites of Ringmoor, Dartmoor Training Area (Report - Survey). SDV360517.

Newman, P., 2018, Archaeological Sites within Ringmoor Training Area, Dartmoor National Park, Devon: A condition survey on behalf of Defence Infrastructure Organisation (Report - Survey). SDV361636.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4966 - Survey of Drizzlecombe, Eylesbarrow, Ditsworthy and Hartor. The Eylesbarrow archaeological landscape
• EDV7443 - Condition survey of archaeological sites in Ringmoor Training Area
• EDV7551 - Ditsworthy Warren: An archaeological investigation
• EDV7569 - Condition survey of Ringmoor Down training area
• EDV8155 - Plym Valley Survey: EH Project (Feb 2001 - Dec 2002)
• EDV8227 - Ringmoor Training Area: Monument Baseline Condition Survey

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