Haytor, also known as Haytor Rocks,
Hay Tor, or occasionally Hey Tor, is a
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
tor
Tor, TOR or ToR may refer to:
Places
* Tor, Pallars, a village in Spain
* Tor, former name of Sloviansk, Ukraine, a city
* Mount Tor, Tasmania, Australia, an extinct volcano
* Tor Bay, Devon, England
* Tor River, Western New Guinea, Indonesia
Sc ...
on the eastern edge of
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers .
The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous ...
in the English
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
of
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
.
Location
The tor is at grid reference , near the village of
Haytor Vale
Ilsington is a village and civil parish situated on the eastern edge of Dartmoor, Devon, England. It is one of the largest parishes in the county, and includes the villages of Ilsington, Haytor Vale, Liverton and South Knighton. The parish is s ...
in the parish of
Ilsington
Ilsington is a village and civil parish situated on the eastern edge of Dartmoor, Devon, England. It is one of the largest parishes in the county, and includes the villages of Ilsington, Haytor Vale, Liverton and South Knighton. The parish is s ...
. There is an
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
with the same name. The population at the
2011 census is 2,862.
History
![Distant view of Haytor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Distant_view_of_Haytor.jpg)
''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. The name ''Haytor'' is of comparatively recent origin, and is probably a corruption of its old name and that of the
Haytor Hundred
The hundred of Haytor was the name of one of thirty two ancient administrative units of Devon, England. The hundred covered the coastal area between the River Teign and River Dart. It was likely named after a lost village located somewhere between ...
, which covered the coastal area between the
River Teign
The River Teign is a river in the county of Devon, England. It is long and rises on Dartmoor, becomes an estuary just below Newton Abbot and reaches the English Channel at Teignmouth.
Toponymy
The river-name 'Teign' is first attested in an An ...
and
River Dart
The River Dart is a river in Devon, England, that rises high on Dartmoor and flows for to the sea at Dartmouth.
Name
Most hydronyms in England derive from the Brythonic language (from which the river's subsequent names ultimately derive fr ...
, itself now considered to have been named after a lost village located somewhere between Totnes and Newton Abbot.
In the 19th century steps were made to allow pedestrians up to the top 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". The handrail was removed in the 1960s due to it rusting: the stumps of the uprights are still embedded in the rock.
[Hemery 1983, p. 693]
In 1953, Haytor was used as a major location for the feature film ''
Knights of the Round Table
The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in lit ...
'' starring
Robert Taylor and
Ava Gardner
Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' attention in 1946 with her perform ...
. An "elaborate and impressive castle" was built between the two main rock piles of the tor and traditional medieval sports, including
jousting
Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horse riders wielding lances with blunted tips, often as part of a tournament (medieval), tournament. The primary aim was to replicate a clash of heavy cavalry, with each participant trying t ...
, were staged here for the film.
The whole of Haytor Down was sold to the newly formed
Dartmoor National Park Authority
The Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA) is a national park authority in England, legally responsible for Dartmoor in Devon. It came into existence in its present form in 1997, being preceded by a committee of Devon County Council (from 1951 t ...
in 1974.
Geology
Haytor has the form of a typical "avenue" tor, 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
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
and
Totnes
Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-so ...
. 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
A rock shelter (also rockhouse, crepuscular cave, bluff shelter, or abri) is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff. In contrast to solutional caves (karst), which are often many miles long, rock shelters are almost alway ...
) of two or three feet in places.
[Perkins 1972, pp. 93–5]
''Haytorite,'' a variety of
quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...
found in an iron mine adjacent to the Hay Tor granite quarries, was named “in honour of its birth-place”.
Quarrying
![050715 043 uk dev quarry](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/050715_043_uk_dev_quarry.jpg)
The granite below the tor has fewer large
feldspar
Feldspars are a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagioclase'' (sodium-calcium) feldsp ...
crystals than at the tor itself, and this was preferred for building.
There are several quarries on the northern slopes of Haytor down which were worked intermittently between 1820 and 1919.
Between 1820 and 1858 the rock from these quarries was transported by the
Haytor Granite Tramway
The Haytor Granite Tramway (also called Heytor) was a tramway built to convey granite from Haytor Down, Dartmoor, Devon to the Stover Canal. It was very unusual in that the track was formed of granite sections, shaped to guide the wheels of wagon ...
to the
Stover Canal
The Stover Canal is a canal located in Devon, England. It was opened in 1792 and served the ball clay industry until it closed in the early 1940s. Today it is derelict, but the Stover Canal Society is aiming to restore it and reopen it to naviga ...
. 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
London Bridge
Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It r ...
which opened in 1831 and was moved in 1970 to
Lake Havasu City
Lake Havasu City (, ) is a city in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 57,144, up from 52,527 in 2010. It is served by Lake Havasu City Airport.
History
The community first started as an ...
in Arizona.
[Perkins 1972, pp. 112–4] The last rock quarried here in 1919 was used for the
Exeter war memorial
Exeter War Memorial, also known as The Northernhay War Memorial is a war memorial in Northernhay Gardens in the city of Exeter, Devon. Designed by John Angel, it was erected by public subscription in 1923 and cost over £6,000.
History
At th ...
.
Today
Haytor rocks and quarries are protected from development and disturbance as a
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
. The area is considered a natural beauty spot and is arguably Dartmoor's most famous landmark,
visited by coach parties and walking groups.
It is accessible by road and at a height of
right on the eastern side of the moor, it provides views of the coastline, the
Teign Estuary
The River Teign is a river in the county of Devon, England. It is long and rises on Dartmoor, becomes an estuary just below Newton Abbot and reaches the English Channel at Teignmouth.
Toponymy
The river-name 'Teign' is first attested in an An ...
and the rolling countryside between, with the ridge of
Haldon
The Haldon Hills, usually known simply as Haldon, is a ridge of high ground in Devon, England. It is situated between the River Exe and the River Teign and runs northwards from Teignmouth, on the coast, for about until it dwindles away north ...
behind. In 2013,
Simon Jenkins
Sir Simon David Jenkins (born 10 June 1943) is a British author, a newspaper columnist and editor. He was editor of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1976 to 1978 and of ''The Times'' from 1990 to 1992.
Jenkins chaired the National Trust from 20 ...
rated the view from Haytor as one of the top ten in England.
The smaller, western outcrop is sometimes known as "Lowman".
Rock climbers
Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...
make use of both outcrops; each has routes of varying difficulty.
The road that passes below the tor hosted a summit finish on Stage 6 of the
2013 Tour of Britain
The 2013 Tour of Britain was the tenth running of the current Tour of Britain and the 74th British tour in total. The race consisted of eight stages, starting on 15 September in Peebles, and finishing on 22 September in London. The race was part ...
, and the climb was again used for the finish of the sixth stage of the
2016 Tour of Britain
The 2016 Tour of Britain was a nine-stage men's professional road cycling race. It was the thirteenth running of the modern version of the Tour of Britain and the 76th British tour in total. The race started on 4 September in Glasgow and finished ...
.
References
Sources
*
*
External links
Dartmoor Archive - Hay Tor Images
{{Settlements of Dartmoor
Tors of Dartmoor
Dartmoor