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Summary

Vermin trap below Ditsworthy clam bridge on the left bank of the River Plym. Built against a tinners wall and making use of tinner's waste heaps. Funnel walls of small waste stones. Recorded by Cook (1964) and Haynes (1970) and also in 1995, 2002 and 2015.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1019082: Multi-period remains at Hentor Warren

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX 56 NE 133
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX56NE/240/22
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX56NE/240/33
• Old SAM Ref: 24230(P)
• Pastscape: 438876

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• VERMIN TRAP (Constructed, XVIII to XIX - 1751 AD to 1899 AD (Between))

Full description

Cook, R. M. L., 1964, Old vermin traps on south-west Dartmoor, 199, site 2 (Article in Serial). SDV230549.

Hentor Warren. Site 2. Wall type 3b. Fair condition, walls only 18.4m from the left bank of the River Plym, 146m downstream of the Ditsworthy footbridge on tinners' mounds. Probably dates to 1700-1800.

Haynes, R. G., 1970, Vermin Traps and Rabbit Warrens on Dartmoor, 160, trap No. 4 (Article in Serial). SDV166302.

Hentor Warren (SX 5815 6600). Haynes' vermin trap No.4 below Ditsworthy clam bridge, left bank of the River Plym. Built against a tinners wall and making use of tinner's waste heaps. Funnel walls of small waste stones, rather ruinous.
NB: although Haynes' grid reference places this trap some 70m to the south-east, the description matches and his other grid references also appear to be slightly inaccurate (Richards, A. F., 06/03/2020).

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

Not visible on the 1946 Royal Air Force vertical aerial photographs.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP 140433 (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

(10/04/1995) SX 5807 6604. Vermin trap is built on top of an earlier tin streamwork against the western side of a post-Medieval field wall. Forms part of Hentor Warren. Includes two lengths of single stone wall, together forming a V-shaped trap pointing towards the base of a field wall. The trap walls average 0.3m wide by 0.3m high, the northern arm is 8m long and the southern arm is 9m long. The trapping area lies between the arms of the trap and the boundary wall.
The position of the trap suggests that it was intended to catch vermin following the boundary wall. Vermin approaching their quarry tend to seek a route that provides visual cover and the purpose of a trap was to funnel predators along ditches or beside walls to a central point where they could be trapped.
The stone from which this trap was constructed was presumably robbed from the boundary wall.
NB: Gerrard references his site to both SX56NE/112 + 246, suggesting some uncertainty as to which of Haynes' sites it represents (Dick, A. M.). See also MDV3415.

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

(13/05/2002) Not mentioned as one of the four traps within Hentor Warren, but is marked on the GIS layer based on English Heritage's surveys of the area.

Ridgers, H. + Ridgers, C., 2015, Of Varments and Vermin Traps, 5, No. 46 (Report - Assessment). SDV358632.

SX 58101 66058. V-shaped walls obvious against a tinners' wall, one wall measures 5m in length and uses tinners' waste; the other wall is broken but still visible.

Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC, 2015-2017, 2015-2017 Aerial Photographs (Aerial Photograph). SDV361462.

Visible on the aerial photography.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8155 - Plym Valley Survey

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