Haytor
| Haytor | |||
| Devon | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 The larger eastern outcrop of Haytor | |||
| Range: | Dartmoor | ||
| Summit: | 1,500 feet SX757770 50°34’48"N, 3°45’21"W | ||
Haytor (whose name is also written Hay Tor, or occasionally Hey Tor) is a hill on Dartmoor in Devon, capped with a bold granite rock formation, the Haytor Rocks, a tor such as is found at the summit of many of the great hills of the high moor.
Haytor rises near the village of Haytor Vale in the parish of Ilsington.
History
Idetordoune (1566), Ittor Doune (1687), Idetor (1737), Eator Down (1762) and Itterdown (1789) are a few recorded examples of earlier names by which Haytor was known.[1] The name Haytor is of comparatively recent origin, and is probably a corruption of its old name and that of the Haytor Hundred,[2] which covered the coastal area between the River Teign and River Dart,[3] itself now considered to have been named after a lost village located somewhere between Totnes and Newton Abbot.[4]
In the 19th century steps were cut into one side of the tor and a metal handrail fixed to allow tourists easier access to the summit. This was not entirely welcomed and in 1851, a Dr Croker complained about the rock steps that had been cut "to enable the enervated and pinguedinous scions of humanity of this wonderful nineteenth century to gain the summit".[5] The handrail was removed in the 1960s due to rusting: the stumps of the uprights are still embedded in the rock.[6]
In 1953, the Haytor Rocks were used as a major location for the feature film Knights of the Round Table. An "elaborate and impressive castle" was built between the two main rock piles of the tor and traditional mediæval sports, including jousting, were staged here for the film.[7]
The whole of Haytor Down was sold to the newly formed Dartmoor National Park Authority in 1974.[8]
Geology
The tor capping the hill has the form of a typical 'avenue', where the granite between the two main outcrops has been eroded away. Its characteristic shape is a notable landmark visible on the skyline from many places in south Devon between Exeter and Totnes. The majority of the tor consists of coarse-grained granite, but at the base of the western outcrop is a layer of finer-grained granite which has eroded more than the rock above, leaving a pronounced overhang (a rock shelter) of two or three feet in places.[9]
Haytorite, a variety of quartz found in an iron mine adjacent to the Hay Tor granite quarries, was named “in honour of its birth-place”.[10]
Quarrying
The granite on the hill slope the tor has fewer large feldspar crystals than at the summit rocks, and this was preferred for building.[9] There are several quarries on the northern slopes of Haytor down which were worked intermittently between 1820 and 1919.[9] Between 1820 and 1858 the rock from these quarries was transported by the Haytor Granite Tramway to the Stover Canal.[11] The tramway itself was built out of the granite it would carry, and due to its durable nature much of it remains visible today.
Haytor granite was used in the reconstruction of the British Museum and the 19th century London Bridge which opened in 1831 (and was moved in 1970 to America).[12] The last rock was quarried here in 1919; it was used for the Exeter war memorial.[13]
Today
Haytor is now considered a natural beauty spot. It is popular with coach parties and walking groups.[6] It is easily accessible by road and at a height of 1,500 feet right on the eastern side of the moor, it provides excellent views of the coastline, the Teign Estuary and the rolling countryside between, with the ridge of Haldon behind. The smaller, western outcrop is sometimes known as "Lowman".[14][15] Rock climbers make use of both outcrops; each one has routes of varying difficulty.[14]
The Haytor Rocks and the quarries are protected from development and disturbance as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Haytor hosted a summit finish on Stage 6 of the 2013 Tour of Britain.[16]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Haytor) |
References
- ↑ Gover, J.E.B., Mawer, A. & Stenton, F.M. (1932). The Place-Names of Devon. English Place-Names Society. Vol ix. Part II. Cambridge University Press. p. 476.
- ↑ Hemery 1983, pp. 692–3 expounds on the derivation of the name in great depth.
- ↑ Percy Russell, A History Of Torquay (Torquay: Devonshire Press Limited, 1960), 6
- ↑ Watts, Victor (2010). The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-names (1st paperback ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 290. ISBN 978-0-521-16855-7.
- ↑ Quoted in Hemery 1983, p. 693. The word pinguedinous means "fat".
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Hemery 1983, p. 693
- ↑ Barber, Chips; FitzGerald, David (1988). Made In Devon. Exeter: Obelisk Publications. p. 74. ISBN 0-946651-20-5.
- ↑ Mercer, Ian (2009). Dartmoor - A Statement of its Time. London: Collins. pp. 331–2. ISBN 978-0-00-718499-6.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Perkins 1972, pp. 93–5
- ↑ Tripe, Cornelius: Observations on a Mineral from near Hay Tor, in Devonshire in: The Philosophical Magazine, or Annals of Chemistry, Mathematics, Astronomy, Natural History, and General Science Vol. I., London 1827, p. 38 Google Books
- ↑ "History of the Stover Canal". Stover Canal Society. http://www.stovercanal.co.uk/history.htm. Retrieved 2012-04-22.
- ↑ Perkins 1972, pp. 112–4
- ↑ Harris, Helen (1998). Devon's Century of Change. Newton Abbot: Peninsula Press. p. 82. ISBN 1-872640-47-8.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Haytor - Climbing Guide". jaVu.co.uk. http://www.javu.co.uk/Climbing/Guides/DartmoorRoutes/Haytor/Haytor.shtml. Retrieved 2012-04-22.
- ↑ Goodwin, Phil (13 July 2013). "Murder probe launched after Dartmoor deaths of mum and two children". Plymouth Herald. http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/Murder-probe-launched-Dartmoor-deaths-mum/story-19515660-detail/story.html. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
- ↑ "Tour of Britain 2013 Route Revealed". cyclingweekly.co.uk. http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/537525/tour-of-britain-2013-route-revealed.html. Retrieved 2013-03-23.
- Eric Hemery (1983). High Dartmoor. London: Robert Hale. ISBN 0-7091-8859-5.
- Perkins, John (1972). Geology Explained: Dartmoor and the Tamar Valley. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. ISBN 0-7153-5516-3.