A collection of walks, discoveries, insights and pictures of exploring Dartmoor National Park
August 18, 2024
Brent Moor Bounds Commissioners 1557 – the erection of four crosses
On 25th August 1557, an inquisition was held at South Brent to enquire about the bounds of Brent Moor (ref: Brown). The result appears to have been that the bounds commissioners were charged with the task of erecting crosses at four specific points on the Brent Moor boundary, namely; at Huntingdon (Western Wella Brook Foot), at Buckland Ford, at Western Whitaburrow and at Three Burrows – afterwards certifying that they had done so and so inscribed the words ‘Bunda de Brentmoor’ upon the last of these (ref: Hemery). In High Dartmoor, Hemery further records that the first three crosses were new and as to the fourth a “ready-made one presented itself within a convenient distance and of no boundary significance, a mere relic of the monkish travellers…” The fourth Cross, to which Hemery was referring was Hobajon’s Cross, not the simple incised cross of the same name seen today, but a granite cross which was near or at the same location incised one which is believed to have been erected by the Buckfast monks as a waymark on their track to Plympton.
The manor of Brent was originally part of Buckfast Abbey. However, after the dissolution in 1539, the manor came into the possession of Sir Thomas Denys then Sir William Petre, whose surname is still synonymous with many features in the area including the second cross
Two of the four crosses are still in place; at Western Wella Brook Foot (Huntingdon Cross) and at Western Whittaburrow (Petre’s Cross). At Buckland Ford, there are no traces of a cross (or cross socket) and William Crossing records he was unable to find anyone who had seen it. The most intriguing of the four crosses was the once erected to delineate the boundary at Three Burrows. Hemery records that the cross was probably seen in 1861 (just a mutilated head) amongst the rocks of the summit cairn. The exact location of where the Three Burrows Cross was erected hasn’t been clarified by any Dartmoor observer, to the knowledge of the author. That said, of interest, on 19th century maps the name Hobajohn’s Cross (not Hobajon’s) is placed a short distance to the north of Three Barrows (where the Brent Parish boundary changes direction from N.N.W to North). Richard Hansford Worth around 1948, stated that: “This is not Hobajohn’s Cross, it has been used as a boundary mark for centuries”. The author is a little sceptical by this remark as at this location there is a small boundary stone surrounded a ‘cairn like’ ring of stones which is out of keeping with other boundary stones in the area. The author suggest that it might be possible that the Buckfast Monks Hobajon’s Cross removed from around 2km south of Three Barrows was placed here and a surround of cairn like stones added?
Bibliography
Eric Hemery – High Dartmoor – 1983; Pages 258 / 259
F.H. Starkey – Dartmoor Crosses and some Ancient Tracks – 1983; Pages 19-22
John Chudleigh – An Exploration of Dartmoor Antiquities 1892 (John Pegg Publishing Facsimile); Page 93
Mike Brown – Dartmoor 2001, A Dartmoor Diary of Yesteryear; Page 84
E.N Masson Phillips – 1987- Supplementary Notes on the Ancient Stone Crosses of Devon
Jeremy Butler – 1993 – Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Four – The South-East, 24-7, Map 53
Dr Phil Newman – 2018 – The Upper Erme Valley, Dartmoor National Park, Devon: An Archaeological Survey, Appendix 1 (Report – Survey). SDV362921.
Sketch map showing the actual and (in the case of cross #4) probable location of the crosses covered in this post. The sketch also shows the relative locations of a mutilated crosshead found in 1861 and the cross shaft / head shaped rockThe locations of the three new crosses erected in 1557 by the Brent Moor Commissioners; at Huntingdon (Western Wella Brook Foot), at Buckland Ford and at Western Whitaburrow Huntingdon Cross near Western Wella Brook Foot where in enters the River Avon. Starkey measured the cross as being 4.5 feet high (1.4 metres) with the width across arms as 22 inches (0.5 metres).Huntingdon Cross with the relatively modern dry stone wall, which the author recalls being built. The cross is depicted on modern OS maps. Of interest is the ‘Abbots Way’ is marked as passing the cross. That said, Worth and Hemery considers the ‘Abbot’s Way’ to be a spurious label attached to a southerly trans-Dartmoor route. The name, first occurred in an account by a traveller named John Andrews in 1794, two and a half centuries after the dissolution of the monasteries.View across the Avon to Buckland Ford with the path of the Jobbers Path passing though it from left to right in the pictureBuckland Ford – this is an old film photograph taken in late 1980s / early 1990sWith tongue in cheek, the author has superimposed Huntingdon Cross at Buckland Ford to show what the second of the 1557 crosses might have looked like when in placeWestern Whittaburrow Cairn with the third of the 1557 crosses. The cross is known as Petre’s Cross and was partly destroyed in 1847 by workmen who built themselves a house on the cairn and having knocked off the arms of the cross built it into the fabric of their building to serve as the clavel over the fireplace (ref: Starkey). When the building in the cairn was partially demolished the cross was found. The cross was then re-erected, but this time upside down.The damaged head is buried in the cairn and base of the shaft points skyward. The shaft of the cross also bears a benchmark, cut by Ordnance SurveyIn 1847 workmen built themselves a ‘house’ in the cairn at Western White Barrow (location of Petre’s Cross)Contextual view of Petre’s Cross and the building in Western White Barrow CairnThe fourth and last cross from 1557 was recorded as being at Three Barrows. That said, a 19th century map, shows Hobajohn’s Cross to the N.N.W of the hill. Why would OS place Hobajohn’s Cross here ? Could this map be part of the evidence to place where the fourth cross was located ? Addition to this, John Chudleigh writing in his Dartmoor Antiquities (1892), page 93 records “..another laborious climb over the hill from which Three Barrows with Hobajohn’s Cross may be seen”. No doubt, this is the cross Chudleigh was referringAt the location where Hobajohn’s Cross is annotated on the 19th Century Map, there is an unusual circle like cairn. Could this have been the the fourth cross had been erected ? If not, why the circle of stones for a rather non-descript part of the boundary. With tongue in cheek again, the author has superimposed Huntingdon Cross at the location marked ‘Hobajohn’s Cross’ to show what the fourth of the 1557 crosses might have looked like when in place at this location. The location is SX65104 63106The largest upright at the site of the original Hobajohn’s Cross (as per the 19th century map) measures 30cm (Width) x 5cm (Thickness) x 62cm (Height). These dimensions suggest that it is extremely unlikely that any cross would have sat on top of this stone. This rock has been recorded on a couple of Dartmoor websites as Three Barrows Cross. It lies to the north west of the top cairn on the hill. It has been speculated that this stone is a section of what was originally one of four crosses (probably Hobajohn’s). A mutilated head of a cross was found in the Three Barrows cairn in 1861 (last seen in 1957) – could this be the missing cross ? My thanks go to James Daymond who shared a grid reference with me in order to find this rock.To be fair to the ‘Dartmoor Crosses’ website, they have stated : “…..although this piece does resemble the head and one arm of a cross, it has not been authenticated as such. We are sufficiently satisfied to include it in our website, but it is up to the visitor to make up their own mind as to its authenticity”. With this comment in mind the author has measured the stone in order to make his own mind up (albeit just an amateur’s viewpoint). If this rock could be turned over and was inscribed ‘Bunda de Brentmoor’ then this would certainly confirm it was one of the original crossesThe ‘shaft’ measures 0.44 metres long, an average of 0.38 metres wide and 0.25 metres) deep. The issue with this piece of stone is that proportionally the “cross” arm does look too narrow compared with the shaft width. Also, if it had been located elsewhere originally (e.g original Hobajons Cross), to move it would take 4 or 5 men to do so. Why would anyone make this effort ? The ‘Cross’ lies within an area where there are a series of random, shallow pits representing surface quarrying for stone. There are also and number of stones here with straight(ish) edges, so with this context and the other previously mentioned evidence, the author believes this is nothing more than a random ‘cross shaped rock’. It would be fabulous if this was the missing Hobajons Cross used for the Brent Moor Bounds of 1557, but the evidence (in the authors humble opinion) suggests notThe clitter by the ‘cross’ to the west of Three Barrows, is a series of random, shallow pits and havbe been recorded as representing surface quarrying for stone. Newman records (HER: SDV362921) states: “No date can be securely applied to these features, but it is tempting to suggest that the surface stone, and that just beneath the surface near the summit was a far more accessible source of stone for the Three Barrows cairn builders than the exposed stone just down the slope to the west, presenting the possibility that these pits have prehistoric origins”. Three Barrows ‘quarries’ looking across the Erme Valley towards Stalldown Hill and Hillson’s House. Below these pits is another quarried area where stone was used by the builders of the Red Lake Tramway. Next to the tramway are the remains of a block which housed a stone crusherThree Barrow ‘top’ cairn (west side). This is where the mutilated head of a cross was found in the cairn in 1861, which co-incidently was the year when a army firing range was built on Harford Moor (straddling the stone row to the south of the incised Hobajon’s Cross). The co-incidence is just that, but is quite interesting to note. In 1872, Spence-Bate, when opening up one of the cairns on the hill in 1872, discovered one arm and the top portion of a cross-shaft nearby. Could this be the location of the fourth cross or could the cross have been vandalised from its position to the north and dumped here ?Three Barrows Trig Point and summit cairn (east side). It is not recorded which side of the cairn the mutilated cross was originally foundThe mutilated cross was last recorded as having been found was 1957The trig pillar on Three Barrows (OSBM S1741) was first ‘levelled’ in June 1946 then further maintained in March 1975Hobajon’s Cross, also known as Hoppyjon. Hemery records that John Andrews (and five companions) found this prostrate in September 1800 and re-set it. Hemery suggests this rock is set in a socket stone.Hobajon’s Cross, close to where an original cross was located and moved to become the fourth stone in the 1557 boundary at Three Barrows. Masson-Phillips in 1937, suggests that formerly it was thought that (this) Hobajohn’s Cross was north of the Three Barrows, probably at the spot occupied by the Ermington boundary stone (and moved here?). Jeremy Butler speculates that this stone may have been an original termination of the Butterdon Hill stone row. There are certainly lots of theories and unanswered questions relating the Hobajohn’s / Hobajon’s in this part of the national park.
