A collection of walks, discoveries, insights and pictures of exploring Dartmoor National Park
June 10, 2025
Great Marsh Cottage
Standon Farm in the parish of Peter Tavy, historically dates from 1242. It remained a farm until the early 1950s despite the fact the area had been being acquired by the War Department at the turn of the 20th Century (1903). It has since the 1960s been used as a training centre for Royal Marines and other troops. Dr Tom Greeves in his survey of 2009, recorded that the fields of the farm were being tenanted by the Abel and Roskilly families with the farm buildings being used by the military.
At the time of the Tithe (1839), Standon Farm extended to over 126 acres resulting in £6 3s 3d being payable. William Rice held the freehold of ‘Stannon’ and by 1840 the property was assessed at an annual value of £38 (which is equivalent to around £5,000 in 2025). Within the farm boundaries, Great Marsh was the largest single enclosure being nearly 37 acres (29 % of the total) and it is this enclosure and its immediate environs which is the focus for this post.
In the Great Marsh enclosure is a substantial ruin of a stone-built house / cottage. It now lies among trees a short distance from the left bank of the River Tavy near to the confluence with Baggator Brook. There is a wire fence here, but access can be obtained by a gate near to the public footpath (Lych Path / Way). Great Marsh Cottage was not annotated Tithe map of 1840 and first appears on OS maps from 1883, which perhaps provides a timeline for when it was built. However, in spite of the cottage being of no great age (in Dartmoor terms) there has been no documentary evidence for it ever having been found. The author has categorised this post under ‘Lost Smallholdings’ , but the reason for the cottage having been constructed remains unknown. Also of note, is the faint outline of a second building in Great Marsh, around 35m south of the cottage, which is also undocumented.
Bibliography
Dr TomGreeves (2009) – Standon Farm: an historical and archaeological survey, 88-94, Figures 40-46 (Report – Survey). SDV360465.
Probert, S. + Fletcher, M. + Newman, P., 1998, Willsworthy Training Area, Peter Tavy, Devon: An Archaeological survey by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (Report – Survey). SDV350638.
The Standon Farm fields and their names (based on sketch map from the Greeves Survey). The tithe apportionment was on 4th April 1839 when William Rice was described as landowner and occupier of ‘Stannon’. Great Marsh was described as being arable and 36 acres, 3 roods and 24 perchesThe location of Great Marsh Cottage and items of interest in the immediate environs covered in this postThe stepping stones at Cataloo Steps are regularly under water, especially after rain. These stones were one of the alternative crossings on the Tavy for the Lych Path (or Way). Eric Hemery noted: there are ‘five substantial stones remain in place’. There now appears to be seven stones, so one assumes two have been added in the last 40 years or so.There are several alternative crossing points of the Baggator Brook and the River Tavy of the Lych Path. More information can be found here: Lych Path – Crossing the Tavy and Baggator Brook – Dartmoor ExplorationsNear the Cataloo Steps is a War Department stone inscribed WD / 31. It is one of 45 such stones which mark out the tract of land that the War Department purchased in 1903. The route follows virtually the the line of the old Willsworthy Manor bounds, with some slight variations (of about 3200 acres) which were purchased from the Calmady-Hamlyn family. More information can be found here: Willsworthy Range WD (War Department) Standing Stones – Dartmoor ExplorationsClose up of WD / 31The gate near to the public footpath, where access can be obtained to visit Great Marsh Cottage. Note that for the first few 10’s of metres the ground is quite wet and boggy before firmer ground can be reached nearer the ruinsGreat Marsh Cottage, now under the canopy of numerous broad leafed trees – it is difficult to photograph with dappled sunlight. There is an entrance gap, slightly off-centre, in the south wall. The cottage is most probably post medieval origin and now lies in unmanaged woodland at SX5406 8123Great Marsh Cottage is a two-storey structure, with the east gable end still standing to a height of about 3.4m. There are slight traces of a garden plot to the south, which perhaps suggests this was a smallholding
Around 1830 there is reported to have been some mining activity on and around Standon farm, and maybe this was the period when the Cottage was constructed. A newspaper item of 1880 referred to ‘Standon mine’ having been ‘slightly worked’ some fifty years previously. One man claimed to have ‘conveyed away on pack horses several samplings of black tin’ and another to have cut a lode of ‘rich copper 4 ½ feet wide’. Work was abandoned because of concerns of a mortgagee regarding damage to the land, ‘a further difficulty being experienced from the circumstance that the undivided estate then belonged to two persons’ (Tavistock Gazette , 23. 1. 1880 p.6f). The author casts doubt as to whether the cottage was used by the mining industry as it is too far away from the mine and perhaps too well built for what is typically a mine building (even a mine captains house), but wouldn’t fully discount this as a possibility
The Greeves survey records the cottage as being ‘remarkably well built, with good stone quoins and good quality walling of carefully selected stone, with a minimum of mortar used’ Internally the structure measures 6.4m (W-E) x 4.2m (N-S) – Greeves. The interior of the building now contains a considerable depth of stone rubble. However, there are no window openings visible, which (if there were any) would have been in the north and / or south wallsThere are two chimney breasts for flues in both west and east gables extending the upper storey fireplaces. The west gable fireplace still survives intact and measures 0.50m in width and 0.30m depth (into the wall). The fireplaces at ground level are not visible, but may still be buriedLooking up the west gable chimneyFireplace in east gableOutside wall of east gable endPart of a ramp on north side of the Cottage. These ruined remains are of a small building attached to the east side of an old boundary wall approx. 35 metres south of Great Marsh Cottage. The building remains are quite indistinct and measure 6.5 metres long by 5 metres wide. Dr, Tom Greeves suggests it could be of Medieval date and suggests that it is unlikely to be later than circa 1700. This building, most likely would have been derelict when Great Marsh Cottage was lived in. It is located at SX54056 81181Close to Coffin Wood and just a few metres from the public footpath is a structure with metal doors built into the bank. Unfortunately, the right hand door had been vandalised at the time of the authors visit (June 2025). It is located at SX54104 81078Inside the structure is a Gilkes Turbine, which was used to supply electricity to Brousentor FarmOne of the Gilkes notable products is the Turgo Turbine invented in 1919 by Eric Crewdson. It is possible that this is a Turgo Turbine (or at least a variant) which is a modification of the Pelton Wheel, which is known to have been used in various applications around DartmoorGilbert Gilkes & Gordon, known as Gilkes, is an English hydropower engineering company based in Kendal, Cumbria, which was founded in 1853. Before leaving, the author jammed closed the right hand door of the ‘turbine house’A short distance up the path from the ‘turbine house’ is a metal pipe. It runs perpendicular to both the path and Baggator Brook. Could this have supplied water to the turbine down the hill ? It is located at SX54281 81110
