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Summary

Prepared ground for proposed siding from Lowery Quarry to join the Princetown branch of the Plymouth and Dartmoor railway at Lowery Road Level Crossing.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• TRAMWAY (XVIII to XIX - 1800 AD (Between) to 1899 AD (Between))

Full description

Wakeham, C., 2016, Report on an Audit of Archaeological Features and Structures Relating to Railways and Tramways on Dartmoor Phase 1, DR+T_LQS_001, 003 (Report - Assessment). SDV360397.

[DR+T_LQS_001] Track bed at SX 55509 69484. Prepared ground for proposed siding from Lowery Quarry to join the Princetown Branch. About 90-100m of steep (1:4) south-facing ground, on what was then part of Walkhampton Commons, was cut into and levelled to form a track bed leading from the mouth of a small quarry (at about SX 55555 69499) to the outer hedge of Summer Park (field number 1333 on the second edition Ordnance Survey map) near SX 55486 69453. There is a steep scarp (about 2m in height) on the higher side of much of its course and an adjacent parallel terrace along much of its lower side. It is difficult to assess the width of the track bed, but it appears to have been approximately 2m. There are no signs of ballast and the poor condition of the track bed suggests the project may have been abandoned before any could be laid. The quarry excavation at the eastern end of the track bed is fairly small and basic in appearance. There is no vertical quarry face - only c.45° slopes - and it measures little more than approximately 6m x 10m. Its maximum depth is only about 3m.
The track bed is in a very poor state. Being incomplete, and with ballast evidently never having been laid, the track bed was left in a fairly vulnerable state and prone to holding rainwater. The track bed is coated in a layer of short grass and there are several rain-sodden patches along its length. It is fairly even, for the most part, although it starts to lose definition as the old Lowery fields are approached. A footpath running up beside the outer hedges to a stile in the hedge of Summer Park (near SX 55486 69453) transects the course of the track bed and has probably caused some loss of definition through wear. Boulders have either tumbled in or were deliberately dumped along the track bed - perhaps during its aborted construction. Bracken, gorse and hawthorn trees are all encroaching on the track bed.
[DR+T_LQS_003] This section, in the region of 115m in length, runs through the former field of Lowery Farm known as Summer Park (1333 on the second edition Ordnance Survey map). The track bed lies within what is now part of a conifer plantation (established c.1960s). It has been partially adopted by a footpath which approaches it from the west or northwest and intersects with it at about SX 55427 69426.
[DR+T_LQS_005] This section, in the region of 100m in length, runs along the top of the former field of Lowery Farm known as Hill Park (1311 on the second edition Ordnance Survey map). A rectangular structure (DR+T_LQS_009) was constructed at the northwest corner of the field, c.8m to the north of the track bed, although it is unclear if it related to the siding, or whether it had an agricultural purpose (a shed or small pen). Bracken, brambles, conifers, reeds and other vegetation have all encroached upon the embanked track bed to varying degrees. The definition of the track bed has been distorted quite considerably by the conifers - particularly those still standing at the eastern end of the field - and also by a forestry track which entered the old field via the gap in the western hedge (see DR+T_LQS_007).
[DR+T_LQS_007] This section, in the region of 150m in length, runs part way along the top of the former field of Lowery Farm known as Bush Park (1313 on the second edition Ordnance Survey map).
The track bed is virtually buried under bracken, brambles, conifers, reeds and other vegetation. Its course can only be traced a few metres west of SX 55282 69347. It is possible that it may have run to SX 55168 69329, where the ground is slightly level, but there is no distinct embanking to confirm this was the case. A forestry track intersects the confirmed part of the track bed near the afore-mentioned SX 55282 69347. It approaches from the north or northwest and then runs eastwards along the track bed. This led to the creation of two ruts along the track bed.

Environment Agency WMS, 2022, Environment Agency LIDAR Composite DSM 2022 - 1m Last return (Cartographic). SDV365448.

Route of the tramway visible on the lidar data heading south-west through the tree cover of Peekhill Plantation, apparently terminating at a field boundary to the east of the Lowery Road level crossing.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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