See important guidance on the use of this record.

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

Summary

The remains of a probable target railway is visible as a terraced area 5 metres wide and 0.8 metres high. It runs from the Black-a-ven Brook to a stony area on the north eastern flank of West Mill Tor. This feature was previously recorded erroneously as leats from 1985 aerial photograph project.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX59SE30
• National Monuments Record: SX59SE38
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 895048
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 895474
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX59SE/110
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX59SE/112
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX59SE/22
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX59SE/22/1

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• (Former Type) LEAT (Early Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD (Between) to 1750 AD (Between))
• TARGET RAILWAY (World War II - 1939 AD (Between) to 1945 AD (Between))

Full description

National Monument Record, 1969, SX5989, 3/ 187,188,175 (Aerial Photograph). SDV247598.

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

Group of 4 leats flowing on the north slope of East Mill-Tor recorded from 1969 aerial photograph.
Leat flowing around the west slope of Oke-Tor. Enters map from SX58NE at SX 59759000, visible until approximately SX 59989066.

Royal Commission for the Historical Monuments of England, 1993-1998, Dartmoor Royal Forest Project (Report - Survey). SDV346608.

(10/08/1993) Centred SX 59979055. The linear features on the western, northern and north eastern flanks of East Mill Tor that are described as leats by the RCHME APU Transcription are, in fact, the products of military activity. They comprise the possible remains of a target railway (SX 59 SE 30), three telephone cable trenches, an artillery target butt (SX 59 SE 31) and a short length of turf and stone bank (SX 59 SE 32).
(08/10/1993) SX 59679041 to SX 60059035. The remains of a probable target railway located on the gently sloping northern and north western flanks of East Mill Tor. The hillside is stoney and littered with small shell holes. The remains consist of a flat, stone-free terrace on average 5.0m wide and 0.8m high with a slight turf and stone lip on its downslope side. The rear of the terrace is cut a maximum of 0.5m into the slope. Towards its south eastern extremity its course is cut by a telephone cable trench.
The feature runs gently downhill between the right bank of the Blackaven Brook adjacent to a now demolished Observation Post (SX 59 SE 37), near the former Water Board intake, and SX 60059035 where it peters out in stoney ground. At SX 60029041 its course is cut by a turf and stone bank (SX 59 SE 32).
A probable branch of this railway runs between SX 59859056 and SX59979059. It exists as a flat bottomed linear hollow a maximum of 1.4m deep and 1.8m wide at base running east to west slightly below the main line. The exact relationship between the two courses is not discernible as a more recent military road has destroyed the area of their original junction.
There is no evidence for the rails, sleepers or track chairs such as those that are apparent on another target railway (SX 69 SW 61) 400m to the south east.
Such railways were apparently devised to assist anti tank training. To this end the target trolley, in this case probably set off from the western end of the railway, would have carried a fabric representation of a tank (citing person comment, G. Brown, Salisbury, Wiltshire).
[The linear features on the west, north and north-east flanks of East Mill Tor that are described as leats by the Royal Commission aerial photograph 1985 transcription are, in fact, the products of military activity. They comprise the possible remains of a target railway (SX59SE/22/1), three telephone cable trenches, an artillery target butt (SX59SE/22/2) and a short length of turf and stone bank (SX59SE/22/3)].

Probert, S. A. J. + Newman, P., 2003-2004, Measured survey North Dartmoor Military Range Okehampton Range: Monument Baseline Condition Survey (Report - Survey). SDV350801.

(02/02/2004) This somewhat enigmatic feature remains as described in 1993 and is under no threat.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7620 - Okehampton Artillary Range
• EDV8409 - Dartmoor Royal Forest Project
• EDV8679 - Okehampton Range: Management Survey
• EDV8291 - Okehampton Range: Monument Baseline Condition Survey
• EDV8695 - Survey of Okehampton North Dartmoor Military Range

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