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Summary

Built against the west side of a post-medieval field wall within the valley bottom of Hentor Brook (right bank of Hentor Brook). Includes two lengths of single stone wall, forming a V-shaped trap pointing towards the base of a field wall. Trap walls average 0.7m wide by 0.4m high. The south-western arm is 12m long and the west-north-western arm is 11m long. Recorded by Cook (1964) and probably by Haynes (1970), later in 1995 and 2002.

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/240/24
• Old SAM Ref: 24230(P)
• Pastscape: 438876

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• VERMIN TRAP (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 3 (Article in Serial). SDV230549.

Hentor Warren. Site 3. Wall type 2. Poor condition, walls only. In old wall on Hentor Moor 183m from Ditsworthy footbridge. Date 1700-1800.

Haynes, R. G., 1970, Vermin Traps and Rabbit Warrens on Dartmoor, 160, trap No. 1 (Article in Serial). SDV166302.

Hentor Warren (SX 5815 6590) Haynes' vermin trap No.1. On right bank of Hentor Brook; built against and interrupting a tinner's wall. Among tinner's waste heaps.
NB: although Haynes' grid reference places this trap some 40m 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 used in the project..

Brewer, D., 1986, A field guide to the boundary markers on and around Dartmoor, 52-4 (Monograph). SDV309252.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP 140416 (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

(01/05/1995) ?SX 5810 6597. Built against the west side of a post-medieval field wall within the valley bottom of Hentor Brook. Includes two lengths of single stone wall, forming a V-shaped trap pointing towards the base of a field wall. Trap walls average 0.7m wide by 0.4m high. The south-western arm is 12m long and the west-north-western arm is 11m long. Trapping area lies between the arms and the boundary wall, from which construction material was presumably robbed.

Thackray, C., 1994, The Upper Plym Valley: the management of an historic landscape (Report - non-specific). SDV143510.

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

(13/05/2002) SX 591657. Hentor Warren. The land occupied by Hentor Farm was reused as a warren from at least the early years of the 19th century by which time the house had been abandoned and the area managed from Ditsworthy, on the opposite bank of the Plym.
The late establishment of this warren is attested to by the presence of only four vermin traps at SX 58116592, SX 57916578, SX 58496563 and SX 59386580. These exist as a series of V or X-shaped stony banks up to 10m long and 0.4m high which were originally intended to channel predators into a stone-built trap at the apex. All three traps have been incorporated into earlier field walls or banks. No trap stones remain in-situ. These features were made obsolete in the late 18th century with the introduction of gin-traps and the wider use of shotguns.

Ridgers, H. + Ridgers, C., 2015, Of Varments and Vermin Traps, 5, No. 48 (Report - Assessment). SDV358632.

NB: This trap has been assumed to be a duplicate of MDV3415 (unlikely site) and MDV3416. Author's description and grid reference are appropriate to MDV3416, but not this site (Richards, A. F., 06/03/2020).

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8155 - Plym Valley Survey

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