[ Hey Tor and granite tramway] ([1845?])

Page, John Lloyd Warden An exploration of Dartmoor and its antiquities with some account of its borders. London: Seeley and Co,. Limited, 1892. Third Edition, pp. 218 - 219.Hey Tor, which derives its name from heah, high, is, perhaps, visited more often than any other tor upon Dartmoor. This is due not only to the fact that it is easily accessible - the 'cherrybanks' of Bovey Tracey taking it in their round but to the gigantic masses of rock which crown its summit, the largest piles, taken as a whole, upon the Moor, and the most unmistakable. […]. The westernmost peak, or rather boss, commands the most extensive panorama. No less than five towns are visible - Torquay, Teignmouth, Newton, Totnes and Chudleigh. Below lies Ilsington, and across the valley the long village of Bovey Tracey, backed by wooded hills, broken, as the ridge ascends the valley northward, by protruding masses of rock, of which Bottor and Shaptor are the most noticeable.It is said that the Hundred Court was once held on this fine tor; it certainly gives its name to the present division of the county. A trackway crosses the hill from north-west to north-east, and some hut circles mark its slope. Although the famous quarry which provided the stone for the construction of London Bridge is now but very rarely worked, the tramway still remains, and the explorer should not confound this - as did a friend of the author - with some primitive remains. It is the oldest railway in Devonshire - if a line formed of lengths of granite, with grooves in lieu of rails, can be so called. Its construction is due to the enterprise of Mr. George Templer, and it was opened with much local éclat in 1820 as a means of bringing down granite to the Stover Canal at Teigngrace.[Text may be taken from a different source or edition than that listed as the source by Somers Cocks.]

Lithograph

130x210mm