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Summary

An aerial cableway was in use from about 1917 for a short while to convey timber cut at Brimpts to Princetown. Wooden pylons set in concrete supported two wire ropes, one of which carried a cradle full of wood to Princetown, while the other returned one empty. A small concrete pad, a mounting for a small engine, approximately 2.3m by 1.2m, with a depressed centre and three bolts at each end lies to the NW of the base was identified during 1988 field survey.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX67SW91
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 909912
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX67SW/121

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• AERIAL ROPEWAY (World War I to Mid 20th Century - 1917 AD (Between) to 1935 AD? (Between))

Full description

Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV279443.

Des=worksheet in parish file (plan).

Harris, H., 1968, Industrial Archaeology of Dartmoor, 178 (Monograph). SDV149229.

Hemery, E., 1983, High Dartmoor, 408 (Monograph). SDV249702.

Royal Commission for the Historical Monuments of England, 1987-1993, Duchy Farms Project Survey Visit, M. J. Fletcher (Report - Survey). SDV350839.

(20/01/1988) An aerial cableway was in use from about 1917 for a short while to convey timber cut at Brimpts to Princetown. Wooden pylons set in concrete supported two wire ropes, one of which carried a cradle full of wood to Princetown, while the other returned one empty.
The halfway mark was in a rough field close to Moorlands Farm. There are no obvious signs of it left today, though some of the concrete bases may remain in the ground. It was not a great success and suffered from the weather, especially the wind in the great expanse over the Dart valley near Swincombe Meet (Harris, 1986).
The crumbling remains of a concrete structure, part of the aerial cableway, is situated in enclosed rough pasture to the south of Moorlands Farm at SX 62777311. Built of shuttered concrete and small granite stones it is from 1.2m to 1.6m high and comprises a sub-triangular shaped core, approximately 1.6m by 2.7m by 2.5m and 2.7m, with two short walls extending at an angle of approximately 145 degrees to the NW and E. These 0.6m-0.9m wide walls are 2.8m and 3.2m long respectively and each have a short transverse wall at the end with two threaded bolts protruding from the top. The flat top of the central core has a number of small square sockets, presumably post holes, and also a few threaded bolt in situ.
A small concrete pad, a mounting for a small engine, approximately 2.3m by 1.2m, with a depressed centre and three bolts at each end lies to the NW of the base. The base of the building (Harris, 1968) was not identified.
The east wall of the base points in the general direction of Swincombe Meet (Harris, 1968) whilst the NW wall indicates that the cableway followed a course around the lower north slopes of Royal Hill. The extraordinary length of the cableway and the route which it must have followed suggests that this was a very ambitious project.
The masonry bed of an oil engine, the power plant of an aerial ropeway stands on the left bank of the river. It is halfway between the termini 'to ensure equality of pull and thrust for the load' and the site was known as 'divides'. It was manned by conscientious objectors under the supervision of a Princetown engineer (Hemery, 1983).

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8631 - Moorlands Duchy Farms Survey
• EDV8409 - Dartmoor Royal Forest Project
• EDV8423 - Duchy Farms Project

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