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Summary

Ruinous remains of Mute's Inn. The interior measures 3.4 metres north-south by 2.2 metres and is enclosed by coursed boulders walls 0.4 metres thick standing a maximum 0.75 metres high. This structure is said to have been constructed in the early 19th century by a Chagford man whose nickname was Mute and probably functioned as a shelter or habitation for peat-cutters working the nearby peat deposits.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Structural remains of Mute's (Moutes) Inn; ruined hut on Whitehorse Hill

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX68NW27
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 433733
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX68NW/58
• Pastscape: 433733

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• HUT (Constructed, Post Medieval to XIX - 1540 AD (Between) to 1900 AD (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 13/04/1947, CPE/UK/1995, 1368-9 (Aerial Photograph). SDV217286.

Burnard, R., 1890, Dartmoor Pictorial Records, 22 (Article in Serial). SDV346960.

Was never an inn, but a ruin of a small peat-cutter's hut, built sixty or seventy years ago by a Chagford man whose nickname was Mute. It is situated on the edge of the bog, and is one of the nearest parts to Cranmere that horses can reach.

Rowe, S., 1896, A Perambulation of the Royal Forest of Dartmoor and the venville precincts, 151 (Monograph). SDV249697.

Crossing, W., 1912 (1965), Crossing's Guide to Dartmoor, 487 (Monograph). SDV320981.

Harris, H., 1968, Industrial Archaeology of Dartmoor, 101 (Monograph). SDV149229.

Le Messuerier, B., 1975, Mute's Inn, 21/5/1975 (Worksheet). SDV267866.

Well-built, entirely of stone (no earth-banked walls). Corners square cut internally. Fireplace at north end. Floor of much tumbled stone. Originally walls must have been very tall. Door on east side. Much peat cutting here. Internal dimensions 2.0 metres by 3.0 metres.

Le Messurier, B., 1978-1979, Post-Prehistoric Structures in Central North Dartmoor: A Field Survey (Un-published). SDV269282.

SX 61808525. A peat-cutter's hut with well-built square cut walls. Internal dimensions 2.0m by 3.0m. There is a fireplace at the north end and a doorway on the east side. At 1900ft a most elevated site. Much peat cutting nearby. The earliest known reference to the hut, called "Mute's Inn", is of 1848.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1979, SX68NW27, photograph (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV267872.

(05/09/1979) The hut at SX 61788525 is as described by Le Messurier (1975). Its coursed drystone walling is 0.4 metres thick and up to 0.7 metres high. An entrance in the centre of the south-east wall is denoted by leaning slab. Almost certainly of post-Medieval date.
Surveyed at 1:10 000 on MSD.

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

This maybe the same building as seen on Royal Air Force 1947 aerial photograph but the location is difficult and the building small.

Butler, J., 1991, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Two - The North, 154, Map 34 (Monograph). SDV219155.

'Mute's Inn' of circa 3.0 metres by 2.0 metres with a fireplace at one end and a suberb view eastwards near the summit of Whitehorse Hill. According to Burnard it was erected in the early 19th century.

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

(02/09/1993) SX 61788526. The now ruinous remains of Mute's Inn in an area of extensive peat cutting slightly east of the crest of the ridge running south from Hangingstone Hill. The interior measures 3.4 metres north to south by 2.2 metres and is enclosed by coursed boulders walls 0.4 metres thick standing a maximum 0.75 metres high. There is no external facing to the walls which may have been enclosed by peat as extra protection from the elements. The entrance formerly lay in the east side; the south wall shows signs of having recently been rebuilt. The interior is largely rubble-filled but the fireplace in the northern side is still apparent. Several flat stones lie flush with the ground immediately outside the east wall; their positioning is reminiscent of paving and they may have been used to maintain a dry approach to the entrance.
This structure probably functioned as a shelter or habitation for peat-cutters working the nearby peat deposits. The remains of three other buildings of similar function lie in the general area.

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

(20/10/2003) The remains of this structure are as described. It appears to have been constructed on a large stony mound which probably ensured a dry floor. Some of the walling has tumbled on the south side. (20/10/2003)

English Heritage, 2005, Survey Information (miscellaneous date) (Report - Survey). SDV345855.

Rectangular building shown on survey.

GeoInformation Group Ltd, 2010, 1:625 2010 Colour aerial photography for Dartmoor (12.5cm resolution) (Aerial Photograph). SDV346026.

Structure clearly visible on the aerial photography.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• 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

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