<< Our Photo Pages >> Dunnabridge Pound - Ancient Village or Settlement in England in Devon

Submitted by AngieLake on Sunday, 02 January 2005  Page Views: 13326

Multi-periodSite Name: Dunnabridge Pound Alternative Name: Dunnabridge Pound includes the Judge's Chair
Country: England County: Devon Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Nearest Town: Princetown  Nearest Village: Dartmeet
Map Ref: SX64617462
Latitude: 50.555614N  Longitude: 3.91264W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 4 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 4

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TheCaptain visited on 18th Sep 2020 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 3 Access: 5 Now I can head back down the hillside on a decent track to Dunnabridge, passing what are probably interesting remains of Brimpts Mine, which on another less tired time I would go and explore! Once down and before walking up the road to the car park, I decide for a quick look in Dunnabridge Pound with the Judge's Chair, which once more is in dark shadow. I get back to the car at 5:15 after walking 14.3 km and ascending 337 m of vertical, now slightly regretting cutting off the northernmost part of the walk to Postbridge, as it is so much easier on the made tracks. A damn good day out, my back and legs have been working well. Now for a pint at the Warren House Inn where I sit taking in the beautiful views over to Grimspound. Thats a walk for another day.

Mikehj visited on 1st Apr 2020 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4

lucasn visited on 26th Jun 2019 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 5

TheCaptain visited on 11th Apr 2019 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 3 Access: 5 The Judges Chair in deep shadow, so no good for photos, but a nice little sit down

graemefield visited on 18th May 2017 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 4 Access: 5

h_fenton AngieLake cazzyjane have visited here

Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 4.2 Ambience: 3.6 Access: 4.8

Dunnabridge Pound
Dunnabridge Pound submitted by h_fenton : Dunnabridge Pound from the air. Kite Aerial Photograph 7 April 2010 @ 9am (Vote or comment on this photo)
Dunnabridge Pound is situated almost dead centre of the wild moorland area of Dartmoor National Park, to the north of the B3357, between Dartmeet and Two Bridges. It is very close to the road, and beside it is the ancient Dunnabridge Pound Farm.

These overlook a huge looping bend in the West Dart River down in the valley below. There is ample parking beside the Pound and its farm, where a footpath leads to Bellever Tor, to the north, and Laughter Tor, not far to the northeast. The Pound's position, SW of the Laughter Man menhir, and its stone rows, is interesting, as they could have been that community's ceremonial centre.

Just inside the Pound's entrance near the road is a structure known as The Judge's Chair.

I have entered a lot of information on the origins of this pound, but first, some more recent information, taken from a talk by Jenny Sanders, to Yelverton Local History Society on 18.03.2003:

"From here (Brimpark, near little Sherberton) a causeway leads across marshy ground to Dunnabridge Farm on the opposite side of the river. The interesting settlement of Dunnabridge - 'bridge by the down' - consisted of 5 tenements, and was established as a communal venture in 1305 to reclaim 96 acres of land from the King's Waste, with each of the tenants holding 19 1/5 acres. The large house was built towards the end of the C19, as were many of the 'new' Duchy houses to replace the old longhouses.

At the top of the lane to the farm lies Dunnabridge Pound Farm, itself an old house with a huge hearth. This was the Poundkeeper's house. Beside it is the pound based on a prehistoric enclosure and used to impound stray animals. Part of the duties of the tenement holders was to attend at 4 drifts a year and to feed and water the strays. To collect these, the owners had to pay a fine. The last poundkeeper, Miss Dinah Tuckett was, it appears, a formidable character, barring the gate and refusing to release any animal before the fine crossed her palm."

If the name 'Dunnabridge Farm' sounds vaguely familiar, it was here that the first farm on Dartmoor was isolated at the outbreak of the Foot and Mouth Disease epidemic in 2001. The main road was even closed as a precaution. Prince Charles is the owner of the lands hereabouts and was quite distressed.

Information on the Pound's origins, taken from Jeremy Butler's book "Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities Volume Five - The Second Millennium BC":

P.89 - Farming Communities
Amongst the most spectacularly well-preserved domestic structures on the Moor are the prehistoric pounds, a completely different type of enclosure from the independent farmsteads and apparently serving an alternative but perhaps complementary function to the field systems. This large enclosure design seems to be a comparative rarity amongst contemporary field systems in the lowland zone of Britain, and in its basic single-circuit form even with the neighbouring communities on Bodmin Moor.

Whilst pounds share the same hill slopes with the independent farmsteads at the centre of the Moor, there is a notable absence of them along the whole of the eastern border. Fox suggested that the lower rainfall made this area more suitable for arable cultivation and perhaps it had already been enclosed by the field systems, as excavations on Shaugh and Holne Moors show that some pounds at least were being constructed at a slightly later date than the field boundaries at these two sites (gives ref nos here). In the central area the five pounds on the southern flank of Laughter Tor and the Kraps Ring group north of Lakehead Hill are close neighbours to the farmsteads between them, with no indication that one type superseded the other.
(Later on P.93):
The only pound that has so far been carbon-dated is the wall of Shaugh Moor enclosure 15, to around the middle of the second millennium BC and so slightly later than the beginnings of the nearby field system, but obviously the results from a single site should not be extrapolated too conclusively to the remainder..................What does seem likely is that most pound-based settlements were inhabited to the full at the height of the moorland occupation, though perhaps only for a short period before the population started to ebb away, as there would seem little necessity to lay out new sites when conveniently vacant ones were available............ Excavations have shown that later settlers had no inhibitions about taking over long-abandoned buildings........... The 250 or so prehistoric pounds are scattered widely over the Moor but are to be found in the largest numbers in the southern valleys from the Avon to the Meavy, occupying every suitable niche.
(Later on P.98):
The pounds started out and often remained single circuits, almost invariably roughly circular or oval like Grimspound, Broadun, Dunnabridge and others. At some sites extensions were added to the perimeter but the primary enclosure can still confidently be identified from its shape alone even if no longer central to the settlement. Some pounds were so crammed with hut circles that there was little space within the walls for any activities beyond the basics of everyday living.
(Later on P.99):
Few pounds on the open moor are likely to have been entirely lost to the stone robbers, though those on Ringmoor Down south of Gutter Tor have come close to disappearing. Rather, many like Roundy Park, Erme Pound, Dunnabridge, Broadun, etc. were for a period brought back into use, rebuilt on the old foundations.
(Later on P.101):
As fortifications the pounds are invariably badly sited on the slopes but nevertheless the massive construction of some sites gives the impression of a defensive wall, against wolf and bear perhaps from the untamed forest below, or even from Bronze Age cattle rustlers........The stone walled perimeters were rarely very high, though they could have been topped with a hedge or even a palisade...
(Later on P.113):
Unoccupied Enclosures
As with huts lacking some form of enclosure, so with enclosures unaccompanied by hut circles. They are rare, amounting to about 2 per cent of the total. Some of these untenanted enclosures, though of undoubtedly prehistoric date, are likely to have been constructed over a wider time frame than the generality of sites and may well have been designed for a number of quite different uses. A fair proportion of this small group are damaged or overgrown near the moorland edge where the huts may have been destroyed, and were perhaps few in number in the first place, or even still survive but are now completely buried below the turf. .................and Laughter Tor S.W. (28.8). The latter enclosed a large area of hillside but the rubble walling, now 0.2m high at best, fades away inconclusively to north and south. ......... Complete removal of all traces of stone-built foundations is not however easy as can be seen at Dunnabridge Pound, in continuous use for many centuries, where vestiges of walling survive despite a deliberate programme to clear all interior obstructions.
(Later on P.143): in the section on Population:
At a lower level the substantial walls of many pounds, perhaps most, were usefully incorporated wholesale into the present field pattern, and the population of these sites together would not seem to be very great, in the order of several hundreds probably. In addition however the figure should be substantially increased to take account of demolished or buried hut circles within some pounds, particularly in the central basin. Dunnabridge for instance may have had a population of 17 adults despite traces of only two huts, ...... .....there were between 8000 and 9000 people living on the uplands and surrounding slopes at the height of settlement, the majority of them pastoralists, most of whom probably migrated to the lowlands during winter months. This represents a population density of about eight to the square kilometer (about twenty-two to the square mile) over a fairly well-defined region much of which remained unenclosed.

Update September 2019: This pound is also featured on the Prehistoric Dartmoor Walks (PDW) website - see their entry for the Dunnabridge Pound.

The pound is also recorded as Pastscape Monument No. 443295 and on the Devon and Dartmoor HER as MDV6272 (Dunnabridge Pound).

The monument is also Grade II listed as Historic England List ID 1170564 (Dunnabridge Pound).
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Dunnabridge Pound
Dunnabridge Pound submitted by cazzyjane : The Judge's Chair at Dunnabridge Pound. (4 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Dunnabridge Pound
Dunnabridge Pound submitted by cazzyjane : The Judge's Chair at Dunnabridge Pound. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Dunnabridge Pound
Dunnabridge Pound submitted by AngieLake : The Judge's Chair at Dunnabridge Pound. Perhaps an original hut in the pound provided the material for this interesting 'bus shelter'!! Maybe this is where the poundkeeper sat in more recent years, while she collected the fees for harbouring stray animals? (It was fortunate that a very interesting older local lady came riding past on her horse at that moment. Followed by her dog, they were sea... (2 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Dunnabridge Pound
Dunnabridge Pound submitted by Bladup : The Judge's Chair at Dunnabridge Pound (Vote or comment on this photo)

Dunnabridge Pound
Dunnabridge Pound submitted by Bladup

Dunnabridge Pound
Dunnabridge Pound submitted by TheCaptain : Once down from the moors, I decide on a quick look in Dunnabridge Pound with the Judge's Chair, which again is in dark shadow.

Dunnabridge Pound
Dunnabridge Pound submitted by TheCaptain : Once down from the moors, I decide on a quick look at Dunnabridge Pound, here seen over the wall at the north, looking down to the Judge's Chair.

Dunnabridge Pound
Dunnabridge Pound submitted by AngieLake : Another view of the Judge's Seat at Dunnabridge Pound. Was it, perhaps, made from the remains of a hut that used to stand here in Prehistoric, or Bronze Age times? This picture gives an idea of the height and content of the dry-stone walls. The Pound had always been there, since Prehistoric times, but had been rebuilt over the years, most probably using the same granite stones. As granite is s... (2 comments)

Dunnabridge Pound
Dunnabridge Pound submitted by AngieLake : This shows a view over the Pound from outside the walls at a higher point. The main road runs ESE/WNW across the middle of the photo, with the narrower, visible one going SW down the valley towards Dunnabridge Farm. The ancient Dunnabridge Pound Farm is just out of sight on the right of picture. In the centre of the picture, just to the right of the field gate is The Judge's Seat.

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"Dunnabridge Pound" | Login/Create an Account | 3 News and Comments
  
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Re: Dunnabridge Pound by Anonymous on Monday, 30 May 2011
This is my most favourite house Ever what a wonderful place son of dunnabridge how fortunate you were to have sometime here hope your next is as grand goodluck kind regards to you kim
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Re: Dunnabridge Pound by Anonymous on Thursday, 09 June 2005
I live at Dunnabridge Pound Farm.
(im the son)
but were selling it.
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Re: Dunnabridge Pound by AngieLake on Tuesday, 01 March 2005
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In 'Crossing's Guide to Dartmoor' (I have a reprint of the 1912 edition) William Crossing, who published books in the late 1800s, is explaining various local terms, and writes about this site:

"Drift pounds are altogether of a different character, and, as the name indicates, were enclosures to which estrays were driven at the time of the drifts. Two of these, Dunnabridge Pound and Erme Pound, though of considerable antiquity, are formed on the site of still older enclosures, the remains of the vallum that once encircled a hut settlement being plainly visible at the foot of the wall of each. Erme Pound has not been used for many years, but to Dunnabridge estrays are still driven."

(His explanation of the Drift:
"At certain times the moor is searched for the purpose of ascertaining that no cattle or ponies are pastured on it except those whose owners are entitled to place them there, and this is called the drift. The time when this is to be done is fixed by the Duchy authorities, and notice is then given to the moormen. All estrays are driven to Dunnabridge Pound, and fees, and a charge for watering, must be paid by their owners before they can be removed. [See Moorman, Venville Tenant].)

Writing about the Judge's Chair:

"Immediately within the gate of Dunnabridge Pound is an interesting object sometimes referred to as the Judge's Chair, and which it has been said was brought from Crockern Tor. But this story has evidently arisen through confusing the pound with the farm, and was certainly never heard on the moor in the first half of the nineteenth century."
(Talking of a Rev. E. A. Bray, who had written his journal in 1831: "... he states that the tenant of Bear Down then told him that the stone was drawn from Crockern Tor to Dunnabridge Farm by twelve yoke of oxen, and many years ago I heard the same story on the moor.")
Crossing continues:
.. "After seeing the stone at the farm, which is still there, he (Rev. Bray) went on to the pound and examined the Judge's Chair, which, however, was not then known by that name, and which he suggested might have been the seat of an Arch-druid."

So, apparently mistakes were made as to the origin of this huge stone capping the 'chair', and believing it to come from the Tinners' Parliament site at Crockern Tor, it soon assumed that name.

Much later in the book, Crossing tells us what he thinks it is:
"This object will be seen immediately within the gate; there is little doubt that it is really a dolmen. The wall of the pound, like that of Erme Pound is built on the line of a more ancient enclosure. That sepulchral monuments were erected on, or close to, the walls of such is proved by the existence of the kistvaen at the end of the stone row on Brown Heath, the circle enlcosing which touches the vallum of a large hut pound. Close to this interesting object at Dunnabridge a slab will be seen in which are several circular holes, but it is now broken along the line of these. It appears probable that this once formed the side of the sepulchral chamber. In many examples of enclosed dolmens similar holes are found. If, however, the visitor should not agree with this opinion, he may amuse himself by supposing that disturbers of the peace during the time of the drifts were put to sit beneath this stone canopy, and their legs secured in these holes, since we find the reave of the manor of Lydford laying out a certain sum in 1620 for the repair of the pound walls, gate and stocks at Dunnabridge."

Dunnabridge Farm, downhill from here, is where the stone missing from Crockern Tor is believed to lay - over a water trough in the yard.

"It was by confusing Dunnabridge Farm with Dunnabridge Pound that led, in all probability, to the report that the dolmen was brought from there."

Interesting to read Crossing's points of view, and to hear his tales of last century.
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