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Summary

One of four vermin traps within an enclosure forming part of Legis Tor Warren. Vermin Trap on the right bank of the River Plym, 200m above Spanish Lake Foot. Survey in 2005 and 2018 questioned this identification and has indicated this feature may be natural.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1019876: Prehistoric settlement, three round cairns and a post-medieval rabbit warren at Legis Tor

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX56NE338
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 1409616
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX56NE/240/25

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• NATURAL FEATURE (Unknown date)
• (Former Type) VERMIN TRAP? (Constructed, XVIII - 1701 AD (Between) to 1800 AD (Between))

Full description

Cook, R. M. L., 1964, Old vermin traps on south-west Dartmoor, 199, site 9 (Article in Serial). SDV230549.

Legis Tor Warren. Site 9. Wall type 1. Fair condition. Right bank of the River Plym, 200m above Spanish Lake Foot. 1700-1800 in date.

Haynes, R. G., 1970, Vermin Traps and Rabbit Warrens on Dartmoor, 159, Haynes trap No. 8 (Article in Serial). SDV166302.

Legis Tor Warren Sx 5760 6540; Haynes' trap No. 8. Right bank of the River Plym, above Spanish Lake; built against ancient wall here running beside river. Two lower walls overgrown.

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.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP130890 (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

(22/02/1993) One of four vermin traps within an enclosure forming part of Legis Tor Warren. Vermin Trap 4 includes a V-shaped rubble wall with a narrow 1.5m long and 0.6m wide passage situated at the point. The two arms are both 8m long.

Probert, S., 2005, Ringmoor Training Area: Monument Baseline Condition Survey (Report - Survey). SDV363484.

(01/04/2005) SX 57636546. The Devon SMR records a vermin trap at this NGR. There is no evidence to suggest the presence of such a feature in this area. Suspect NGR.

Ridgers, H. + Ridgers, C., 2015, Of Varments and Vermin Traps, 5, No. 49 (Report - Assessment). SDV358632.

SX 57649 65454. Lower walls are very overgrown and indistinct - higher walls are also overgrown but still vsiible. No sign of the trap itself.
Thought to be a duplicate of MDV14641.

Newman, P., 2018, Archaeological Sites within Ringmoor Training Area, Dartmoor National Park, Devon: A condition survey on behalf of Defence Infrastructure Organisation (Report - Survey). SDV361636.

SX 57631 65459 Two natural upright slabs, mistakenly recorded as a vermin trap.

Richards, A. F., 2022, Clarification on Vermin Traps at Legis Tor Warren (Personal Comment). SDV364920.

The statement by Gerrard (1993) that there are 4 vermin traps in this enclosure has been questioned; original plan needs to be seen to confirm the features he discusses. One trap confirmed in enclosure MDV3366; this is recorded under record MDV127315.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7443 - Condition survey of archaeological sites in Ringmoor Training Area
• EDV7569 - Condition survey of Ringmoor Down training area
• EDV8227 - Ringmoor Training Area: Monument Baseline Condition Survey

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