A collection of walks, discoveries, insights and pictures of exploring Dartmoor National Park
February 12, 2025
Lake Steep Memorial Cross
Lake Steep is located to the north of the village of Poundsgate on a hilly section of the road leading to Dartmeet. Nearby is a farmstead called Lake, which is mentioned on the tithe map and apportionment and included plot names such as Lake Waste and Lower Lake Mead. The name ‘Lake’ is used across Dartmoor and is synonymous with a stream or brook, of which there is one in the locale flowing north-west to south-east not which crosses the road near the ancient pound. Therefore, Lake Steep is likely to be named such because its a hill near Lake.
On Lake Steep, between the junction at Parklandhead and the Higher Lodge to Spitchwick Manor is a cross inscribed into a base stone of the roadside drystone wall. The cross is recorded in the ‘Crosses of Dartmoor’ website as being a memorial to a local Doctor, who when living at Beacon Cottage (beside the Tavistock Inn), collapsed and died at this spot whilst out walking, sometime at the turn of the 20th century. This post explores the features along the road between the Lake Steep (memorial) Cross and Beacon Cottage in Poundsgate.
Bibliography
Crosses of Dartmoor website: dartmoor-crosses.org.uk/lake_steep.htm
Gover, Mawer & Stenton (1932) – The Place-Names of Devon: Part Two, 529
Dobbie Willmott (1979), Pounds or Pinfolds and Lockups, 29
Widecombe History Group (WHG) – information via email (ref: Kris Blood – WHG Archivist)
Annotated 19th century map showing the key features covered in this post. Note the Lake farmstead which lies to the west of the road, not far from the old Post OfficeExtract from the Widecombe tithe apportionment, showing the name Lake being used in plot names of the Lake farmstead. Lake was mentioned as being the home of ‘William atte Lake’ in 1333.The inscribed Lake Steep (memorial) Cross, which has been painted to make it more prominentThe inscribed cross is a “memorial to a local Doctor, who collapsed and died at this spot whilst out walking” according to the ‘Crosses of Dartmoor’. Contacting the Widecombe History Group, the author received a response thus: “it is thought the Doctor fell out of a horse and trap and died. But no one knows the poor man’s name, or where he is buried”. These versions are slightly contradictory but seem to confirm the poor soul was a doctor and died at this spot.Contextual location of Lake Steep Cross. The grid reference is SX70518 72527A short distance downhill from Lake Steep Cross is this house, which is thought to date from late 19th century and was formerly the higher lodge of Spitchwick Manor.The driveway next to the former lodge. Spitchwick manor situated down this driveway was enlarged and refurbished by Dr Blackall, the Mayor of Exeter in 1870. Dr Blackhall is associated with a scenic carriage drive high above the Dart Valley. During the 1880s he instructed a Gerald Warren to construct the scenic drive where he could take his carriage to best show off the beauty of the Dart valley for himself and his guests (Hemery, p.587-8)The old Post Office located next to the road a short distance (over fields) from the Lake farmsteadGranite trough outside the front door of the Old Post OfficeOld milk churn outside the Old Post OfficeThe Manor pound of SpitchwickThe pound is rectangular in plan, comprising drystone walls of large roughly dressed blocksBeacon Cottage – the home of the unfortunate doctor who died on Steep Lake. The author spoke to the owner of the cottage and sought permission to take this photograph. Enquiring here (and in the Tavistock Inn next door), the author was unable to get any further information as to who the doctor was. The author furthered his research by contacting Debbie from DW Research Services, who was able to offer the following : “There was Dr Bigger at Beacon View in 1921 in the parish of Widecombe, but no Beacon Cottage comes up (Note: Poundsgate was in Leusdon parish, but tends to come up under Widecombe-in-the-moor). I have tried both parishes and a keyword searches house name and occupation. Newspapers only have Beacon Cottage from the 1930s”. Therefore, is it possible that the doctor was called ‘Bigger’, living in Beacon View (in 1921), which later became Beacon Cottage? The author is unaware of any other dwelling called Beacon View – the Beacon presumably referring to Buckland Beacon to the north east Beacon Cottage sign at the entrance to the short lane leading to the propertyBeacon Cottage is believed to date from mid 19th Century as it does not appear on the tithe but does appear on an OS map from 1873
