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Summary

Linear feature on the outskirts of Princetown above the route of the Princetown Branch and Plymouth Dartmoor Railway track beds. Feature appears as a low, grassy slightly bank-like linear earthwork, the route of which is generally parallel to the later Princeton Branch line to the south.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• LINEAR EARTHWORK (XVIII to XIX - 1750 AD (Between) to 1900 AD (Between))

Full description

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

Indicated on the project map overlay as a leat feature connecting to the feature to the north, although this identification has been questioned.

Butler, J., 1993, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Four - The South-East, 87 (Monograph). SDV337765.

Shepherd, E. R., 1997, The Plymouth & Dartmoor Railway and the Lee Moor Tramway, 93 (Monograph). SDV365770.

Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC, 2015 onwards, 2015 onward Aerial Photographs (Aerial Photograph). SDV362959.

Visible on the aerial photography.

Wakeham, C., 2016, Report on an Audit of Archaeological Features and Structures Relating to Railways and Tramways on Dartmoor Phase 1, DR+T_PDR_063 (Report - Assessment). SDV360397.

Linear earthwork at SX 58189 73353. Linear feature on the outskirts of Princetown above the route of the Princetown Branch and Plymouth Dartmoor Railway track beds. It was identified largely using satellite imagery (NLS), although a relatively small section, above bridge DR+T_GWRP_004, was observed to be a low, grassy slightly bank-like linear. It begins in the east by heading towards the ENE, then curves northwards and then eastwards above bridge DR+T_GWRP_004. The route is generally parallel to the later Princeton Branch to the south. At the start of its bend towards the east, it appears to be joined by a track from Foggintor Quarry (MDV28210), approaching from the WNW, at SX 58086 73294. The linear continues in a generally eastwards direction and is discernible on the satellite imagery until about SX 58411 73390 - a very short distance from the plantation on the edge of Princetown. From this point it would appear to align with the access road to Station Cottages, along which Eric Shepherd (1997, page 93) states it ran towards Duchy Square. As access to this linear would require a climb in gradient, it seems less likely that this was as alternative railway route into Princetown. That said, it does appear to converge on the route of the last stretch of the Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway. Map 46 in Jeremy Butler's Atlas of Antiquities (1994, page 87) depicts this linear feature as a leat. An alternative explanation for the linear is that it may be a continuation of the Walkhampton Common Reave, which otherwise seems to end abruptly at about SX 57835 73066 - to the south of the Princetown Branch track bed. Although the westernmost end of this linear appears to overshoot the point where it would ideally meet with the reave, this may be a result of later adoption of the linear as a walkers’ route, which extended towards terrace DR+T_PDR_047 (along the railway track bed) at about SX 57756 73102.
The full condition is yet to be ascertained. A small section was observed to be in a stable condition.

Environment Agency WMS, 2022, Environment Agency LIDAR Composite DTM 2022 - 1m (Cartographic). SDV365447.

Visible on the lidar data.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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