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Summary

The barrack complex was built between 1806 and 1809 to house the militia detachments assigned to guard the prisoners. It was located within a polygonal enclosure to the south of the buildings and contained a number of barrack blocks and other buildings. The enclosure wall and most of the buildings were demolished between 1906 and 1950 and replaced with semi-detached or terraced housing. Grosvenor House on the west side of the complex is one of the few 19th century buildings remaining.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX57SE/177/1

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• BARRACKS (XIX - 1806 AD to 1809 AD (Between))
• SCHOOL (XIX - 1825 AD to 1850 AD (Between))

Full description

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

Barracks marked as an irregular shaped enclosure. No buildings are depicted within the enclosure.

Ordnance Survey, 1904 - 1906, Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map (Cartographic). SDV325644.

The 1904-6 map depicts a number of buildings within the Barracks enclosure.

Cherry, B. + Pevsner, N., 1989, The Buildings of England: Devon, 695-6 (Monograph). SDV325629.

A separate walled enclosure outside the prison. The guardroom, now a ladie's club, remains near the walls. A guardhouse, now Dart Cottage, and another block, Grosvenor Flats, now used for staff housing survive.

Breihan, J. R., 1990, Army barracks in Devon during the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, 143 (Article in Serial). SDV336175.

The barracks office took over the stone barracks, built in 1807 by the transport board, in 1809. The barracks which adjoined Dartmoor prisoner of war prison held 928 infantry assigned as guards.

Stanbrook, M., 1991, Old Dartmoor Schools Remembered, 75 (Monograph). SDV359884.

Listed in the account books for the Widecombe and Dartmoor Charity Schools is Princetown, which is mentioned in 1825. The school was called the Dartmoor Barrack School and was probably held in the prison barracks, which at the time were inhabited by many families, including those of the quarry workers. A 1840s report stated that the directors of the Froggintor Quarries had fitted up the school. In 1850, the prison reopened and the barracks was required again; after this time cottages at Froggintor Quarry had been built, including a chapel-cum-school.

Joy, R., 2002, Dartmoor Prison A Complete Illustrated History Volume 2 The Convict Prison 1850-Present Day At Her Majesty's Pleasure, 160-162 (Monograph). SDV359843.

Includes plans of the barracks and photographs of the remaining buildings.

Laing-Trengove, D. + Wapshott, E., 2013, Grosvenor House, Princetown, Devon. Results of Historic Building Recording & Archaeological Monitoring & Recording (Report - Survey). SDV352031.

The barrack complex of Dartmoor Prison was built between 1806 and 1809 and set within a polygonal enclosure just to the south of the prison. After the last prisoners of war left the prison in 1816 the buildings were left largely empty and deteriorated. A survey condition of the barracks carried out in 1834 indicates that the floors were generally in bad condition and that the walls were suffering from damp. When the prison became active again in 1850 the barracks were once more occupied by soldiers and warders (the warders to maintain prison discipline and the soldiers to prevent escape). The soldiers left in 1860 and were replaced by the Civil Guard who remained until the 1950s. They were stations in Barrack Block No. 6 which was on the south side of the complex. Most of the buildings and the enclosure wall were demolished between 1906 and the 1950s and replaced with semi-detached or terraced housing. Grosvenor House, Barrack Block No. 10 on the west side of the complex, is one of the few 19th century buildings still remaining.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6223 - Historic Building Assessment and Archaeological Monitoring at Grosvenor House, Princetown (Ref: 130816)

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