See important guidance on the use of this record.

If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.

Summary

A possible 19th century or earlier leat which is the most remote source of the Birch Tor and Vitifer Leat. It commences at Varracombe Brook just below the boundary wall of the Okehampton Military Firing Range and extends southwards to the Teign. Here the water flowed into the river to be extracted again some hundred yards downstream where a weir diverted the water into the next section of the leat. It can be traced as a shallow trough to Grey Wethers and beyond. The final section which extends from the circles, through a pound to the Birch Tor and Vitifer leat, runs down a steep slope and is heavily eroded, an archaeological field survey in 1990 recorded the channel as measuring up to 3.5 metres in width and 0.9 metres deep.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX68SW105
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 444016
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX68SW/118
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX68SW/126
• Old SAM Ref: 28680.4(P) (PART)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• LEAT (Constructed, XIX - 1801 AD (Between) to 1899 AD (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

Marked as the Birch Tor & Vitifer Mine Leat.

Royal Air Force, 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1995, 2366-7, 2368-9 (Aerial Photograph). SDV224714.

Royal Air Force, 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/2149, 4307-9 (Aerial Photograph). SDV282746.

National Monuments Record, 1977, NMR SX6383, 3/243-246 (Aerial Photograph). SDV244058.

Robins, J., 1983, Follow the Leat, 95 (Monograph). SDV352718.

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

The Whitehorse Leat which meets the Birch Tor and Vitifer Mine Leat in the south and in the north meets the North Teign. Visible on 1947 RAF and 1977 NMR aerial photograph.
SX 6250 8369 Leat running south extending possibly from SX68SW/117 in the north. Visible on RAF 1947 aerial photograph. Described as 'drain' on 1:10,560 1954 OS map.

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

(02/06/1990) The most remote source of the Vitifer Leat (Monument HOB UID 763393) commences at Varracombe Brook just below the boundary wall of the Okehampton Military Firing Range. It runs southwards to the Teign. Here the water flowed into the river to be extracted again some hundred yards downstream where a weir diverted the water into the next section of the leat. It can be traced as a shallow trough to Grey Wethers and beyond (Robins, 95).
The Whitehorse Leat meets the Birch Tor and Vitifer Mine Leat in the south and the North Teign in the north (citing SMR record).
The final section which extends from the circles, through a pound (Monument HOB UID 443917) to the Birch Tor and Vitifer leat, runs down a steep slope and is heavily eroded, being in some places up to 3.5m wide and 0.9m deep. It apparently terminates at the Leat (SX 6402 8272) at 457m.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP 144197 (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

(09/09/1997) A length of the Whitehorse Leat cutting through the interior of the enclosure 230 metres south-south-east of the Grey Wethers stone circles.

Ordnance Survey, 2014, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV355681.

Whitehorse Leat marked.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8650 - Great Stannon Newtake, Duchy Farms Survey
• EDV8651 - Teignhead Newtake, Duchy Farms Survey
• EDV8409 - Dartmoor Royal Forest Project
• EDV8423 - Duchy Farms Project

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.