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Summary

The White Moor Stone stands on a gentle eastern slope, approximately 650 metres north-east of Hound Tor. It is a granite boundary stone which marks the point where Dartmoor Forest, South Tawton and Throwleigh parishes meet. The stone, which leans slightly to the north, stands 1.7 metres high and is up to 1 metre wide. The west face bears the inscription 'DC' and 'TP', the initials of Duchy of Cornwall and Throwleigh Parish, and on the east face is the single letter `T' for Tawton. All inscribed letters are 0.12 metres to 0.19 metres high. Crossing (1965) suggested that the stone could have originally been a freestanding menhir associated with the nearby stone circle (SX 68 NW 2) or alternatively it had been robbed from the circle itself for reuse as a boundary marker.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1010785: White Moor Stone

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX68NW6
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 443700
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX68NW/25
• Old SAM County Ref: 483
• Old SAM Ref: 24135

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• STANDING STONE? (Constructed, Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))
• BOUNDARY STONE (Post Medieval to Early 20th Century - 1540 AD (Between) to 1901 AD (Between))

Full description

Prowse, A. B., 1890, Notes on the Neighbourhood of Taw Marsh, North Dartmoor, 189 (Article in Serial). SDV239781.

White Moor Stone, boundary stone. Stands on a wide nearly flat expanse south-south-west of Raybarrow Mire and pool. Boundary stone of forest.

Whale, T. W., 1893, Some Remarks on the Bounds of the Forest of Dartmoor, 530 (Article in Serial). SDV343740.

Ordnance Survey, 1904 - 1906, Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map, 89NW (Cartographic). SDV325644.

Crossing, W., 1912 (1965), Crossing's Guide to Dartmoor (Monograph). SDV320981.

Worth, R. H., 1940, The Dartmoor Menhirs, 192 plate 4 fig.1 (Article in Serial). SDV231163.

White Moor menhir forms the boundary of the parishes of Lydford, South Tawton and Throwleigh. It may have been stolen from a stone circle which lies 158m north-north-west or it may have been adopted as a boundary stone in its present position.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1950, SX68NW6 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV238978.

The White Moor Stone forms parts of the boundary of the parishes of Lydford, South Tawton and Throwleigh. It is possible that it may have been stolen from the stone circle (SX 68 NW 2) which lies 520 feet to the north north west, but O. S. G. Crawford (undated) believes it to be in situ. Measurements of the stone, are height 5 feet 6 inches, width 3 feet and less than 6 inches thick. By comparison the largest stone in the circle is 4 feet 7 inches high, 3 feet 4 inches wide and 7 inches thick (cites Worth, 1940).
(16/08/1950) A much weathered stone used as a boundary stone and incised with letter T on south-east and north-east sides and letters TP and DG on south-west side. Shape is entirely different from other boundary stones.

Ancient Monuments, 1961, Schedule note (Schedule Document). SDV245470.

(September 1961) Longstone c.150m south-east of circle used as meeting point for three parish boundaries. Of granite, inscribed with T (for Throwleigh) on east side. Moorland.

Ordnance Survey, 1963-1996, 1963-1996 National Grid OS Metric, (1965) (Cartographic). SDV350058.

'Boundary stone' shown on OS 6" (1906) map and later 6" (1965) map.

Robinson, R., 1982, List of Field Monument Warden Visits 1982 (Un-published). SDV342809.

Visited 06/08/1982.

Robinson, R., 1983, List of Field Monument Warden Visits 1983 (Un-published). SDV345762.

Visited 19/01/1983.

Robinson, R., 1985, List of Field Monument Warden Visits 1985 (Un-published). SDV346629.

Visited 06/08/1985.

Turner, J. R., 1990, Ring Cairns, Stone Circles and Related Monuments on Dartmoor, 56 (Article in Serial). SDV229817.

Whitemoor standing stone. 155m SSE of stone circle SX68NW-08. Aligns with tallest stone and centre of Scorhill stone circle (SX68NE-12) this stone is 2m high.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP 133285 (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

(16/11/1993) Standing stone at the junction of three parishes. Utilised as a boundary stone. The stone is a wide undressed flat granite slab, 1.7m high, 0.8m wide and about 0.45m thick on the north-western side and 0.2m thick at the south-eastern side. It is set facing south-south-west to north-north-east and leans to the north-west.
Inscriptions, relating to its use as a boundary stone have been cut onto three separate faces. On the south-western face the letters DC appear above the letters TP, the upper letters refer to the Duchy of Cornwall and indicates the use of this stone as a Dartmoor Forest boundary, whilst the lower letters probably refer to Throwleigh parish. On the narrow south-eastern face the letter T has been incised, and on the broad north-east face another T appears. These letters may refer to Throwleigh and South Tawton parishes.
This stone is considered to be either a standing stone associated with the nearby stone circle, and later adopted as a boundary stone or less likely it may be a stone taken from the nearby circle and moved to its present position to act as a boundary stone. The former explanation is the more likely since a rather awkward detour is made to include the stone within the boundary and the stone is substantially larger than the remaining examples within the stone circle.

Butler, J., 1991, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Two - The North, 204, 210, Map 40, Site 'e' (Monograph). SDV219155.

The White Moor Stone 150 metres to the south-east of the stone circle is a boundary marker of the Forest and is 1.6 metres high. The stone may originally have been an outlier contemporary with the stone circle, perhaps re-erected as it is no longer orientated towards it or the cairn. The White Moor stone is inscribed on three sides with 'T', 'T' and 'DCTP' and marks the junction of the Forest with 'Throwleigh and South Tawton.

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

(20/09/1993) SX 63358948. The White Moor Stone stands on a gentle eastern slope, approximately 650m north-east of Hound Tor. It is a granite boundary stone which marks the point where Dartmoor Forest, South Tawton and Throwleigh parishes meet.
The stone, which leans slightly to the north, stands 1.7m high and is up to 1m wide. The west face bears the inscription 'DC' and 'TP', the initials of Duchy of Cornwall and Throwleigh Parish, and on the east face is the single letter `T' for Tawton. All inscribed letters are 0.12m to 0.19m high.
Crossing (1965) suggested that the stone could have originally been a freestanding menhir associated with the nearby stone circle (SX 68 NW 2) or alternatively it had been robbed from the circle itself for reuse as a boundary marker.

Ordnance Survey, 2015, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV357601.

'White Moor Stone' and 'BS' shown on modern mapping.

English Heritage, 2015, National Heritage List for England, 1010785 (National Heritage List for England). SDV357602.

This monument includes a standing stone situated 150m south east of Little Hound Tor stone circle and which lies on a gentle east facing slope overlooking Raybarrow Pool.
The stone lies at the junction of three parishes and has been utilised as a boundary stone. The stone is a wide undressed flat granite slab measuring 1.7m high, 0.8m wide and about 0.45m thick on the north west side and 0.2m thick at the south east side. It is set facing SSW to NNE and leans to the north west. Inscriptions, relating to its use as a boundary stone, have been cut onto three separate faces. On the south west face the letters DC appear above the letters TP; the upper letters refer to the Duchy of Cornwall and indicates the use of this stone as a Dartmoor Forest boundary, whilst the lower letters probably refer to Throwleigh parish. On the narrow south east face, and on the broad north east face, the letter T appears. These letters may refer to Throwleigh and South Tawton parishes. This stone is considered to be either a standing stone associated with the nearby stone circle, and later adopted as a boundary stone, or it may be a stone taken from the nearby circle and moved to its present position to act as a boundary stone. The former explanation is the more likely since a rather awkward detour is made to include the stone within the boundary and the stone is substantially larger than the remaining examples within the stone circle.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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