Tolmen, North Teign, near Chagford ([1848])

Rowe, Samuel. A perambulation of the antient & royal forest of Dartmoor. Plymouth: J.B. Rowe, 1848. pp. 81 - 83.[…] let us pause to remark a singular mass, lying near the right or northern bank of the river, as we ascend the stream, which, had there been no other object of attraction, would repay the antiquary for his walk up this sequestered and romantic glen.This granite mass, approaching to an irregular rectangular form, on its north side is imbedded in the channel of the Teign, and rests on two subjacent rocks, at an angle of about twenty-five degrees. The outline of the stone, above the surface, measures about thirty feet, and near the southern edge is a large and deep perforation, of a form so regular, that, at first view, it will scarcely fail to convey the idea of artificial preparation, and to warrant its classification among the granitic apparatus of the Druidical ritual. But a closer inspection will probably lead to the conclusion that natural circumstances, within the range of possibility, might have concurred to produce this singular conformation; although, on the other hand, it is far from improbable, that advantage might have been taken of some favourable accident of nature, and, as in the case of the Logan-stone, art had perfected the operations of nature, and this remarkable cavity had thus been adapted to the rites of Druidism, for lustration or some other religious ceremonial; which is the tradition connected with this stone by the legendary chroniclers of the moor.But its present condition, (as it has no bottom,) precludes the .possibility of its having been used as a rock-basin, except in some extraordinary flood, when the waters of the river might rise above the under surface of the block, and partially fill the cavity, so as to admit of its being appropriated to the purposes of a font, or lustral vessel. It presents the appearance of a cylindrical trough, hollowed out in the granite; just three feet in diameter at the top, about two feet ten inches at bottom, and two feet eight in depth, with a convexity, in the middle like a barrel. The outer side, towards the centre of the stream, is partially broken away, thus rendering the cylinder imperfect in that direction, leaving a curved breach in the southern face of the mass, about two feet high, and thus adding to the singular appearance of this curious relic, whether seen from the northern or southern bank of the river. When this breach might have taken place, and whether in past ages the bottom and side might not have been perfect, can, of course, be only matter of conjecture. Under these circumstances, or on the supposition that the river might occasionally rise, sufficiently high to fill the cavity, its being employed for lustral purposes is perfectly imaginable. To this or some other Druidical ceremonial, it is traditionally supposed to have been appropriated; and while this primitive font was so used for adults, the legends of the moor relate that a smaller one (which is supposed to have been destroyed) was resorted to for children.Without therefore pronouncing that this was never "a rock" which the Druid "scooped to hold the lustral waters," the antiquary will not fail to have suggested to his mind another kind of aboriginal relic, from an inspection of this curious memorial of by-gone ages. From its present aspect, he will probably conclude that it should rather be pronounced a Tolmen, and if it really belong to this class of relics, the interest with which we shall regard it, will be much increased, as it is the only known specimen in Devonshire. It has hitherto escaped the notice of topographers and antiquaries, and while the Cromlech, Logan-stone, Grimspound, &c., are popularly known, and have been described in county histories and topographical and antiquarian works, this singular relic, unique in its character, and obscure in its destination, is known only to the oral topographers of the moor.The TOLMEN, or HOLED STONE, as the word, in Cornish, implies, is found in Cornwall, in Ireland, and, according to Fosbroke, in the East Indies. This learned antiquary describes the tolmen as a perforated stone for drawing children through, and adults also; and adds that "two brass pins were carefully laid across each other on the top edge of this stone for oracular purposes." With reference to the great Tolmen, at Constantine, near Penryn, Gilbert, in his History of Cornwall, observes that it seems probable that the aperture was an instrument of superstitious "juggle, and applied to the purposes of purification or penance, or for the removal of bodily disorders." Borlase, on the other hand, regards the tolmen as a rock idol. "There is another kind of stone deity, which has never been taken notice of by any other author that I have heard of; its common name, in Cornwall and Scilly, is Tolmen, or the Hole of Stone." Besides the celebrated specimen at Constantine, he mentions one on St. Mary's Island, (Scilly,) at the Salakee Downs, and the other on the little isle of Northwithee. All these, however, are huge masses resting upon natural rocks below, and leaving apertures beneath, but near Lanyon, is one of the same description as our Teign tolmen, as I would venture to designate it,) though incomparably less curious.[Text may be taken from a different source or edition than that listed as the source by Somers Cocks.]

Lithograph vign

110x180mm