Princetown
Encyclopedia
Princetown is a town situated on Dartmoor
in the English county of Devon
.
In 1785, Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt
, Secretary to the Prince of Wales
, leased a large area of moorland
from the Duchy of Cornwall
estate, hoping to convert it into good farmland. He encouraged people to live in the area and suggested that a prison be built there. He called the settlement Princetown after the Prince of Wales.
Princetown is best known as the site of Dartmoor Prison
. It is the highest town on the moor, and one of the highest in the United Kingdom. The Princetown Railway
, closed in 1956, was also the highest railway line in England, its Princetown terminus being 435 metres (1,427 ft) above sea level.
set about improving the moor at a place which he named Tor Royal, about 1 km (0.621372736649807 mi) south-east of Princetown. He made an estate and built a house in 1798. Later the road from Tavistock to Princetown was built, as well as the other roads that now cross the Moor.
He also proposed that a prison be built on Dartmoor
to house the thousands of captives of the Napoleonic Wars
and the later War of 1812
, who had become too numerous to lodge in the prisons and prison-ships at Plymouth
. The site was given by the Prince of Wales
, who held the lands of the Duchy of Cornwall
to which all the Moor belonged. This is why the town is named Princetown. Dartmoor Prison
was built in 1806 at a cost of £130,000 and at one time had a capacity between 7,000 and 9,000 prisoners.
A small town grew up near the prison. Two large inns were built during the war. Many of the prisoners had prize-money to come from their own country; many others made their own in their hammocks at night, even forging Bank of England
and local bank notes, which they passed off in the great daily market held in the prison. With the closing of the prison in 1816, the town almost collapsed, but the completion of the Dartmoor Railway in 1823 brought back many people to the granite quarries. The prison remained derelict until 1851, when it was reopened for prisoners serving long sentences. It has since been considerably extended.
and Two Bridges
, and is surrounded by moorland.
Several footpaths across the moor start from the town, including one leading west to Sampford Spiney and one leading south to Nun's Cross and Erme Head.
Tor Royal Lane is a dead end road which leads down from the town to the site of the disused Whiteworks tin mine, about 3 km or 2 miles to the south-east, which overlooks Fox Tor
Mires, the presumed site of the Grimpen Mire to be found in Arthur Conan Doyle
's tale The Hound of the Baskervilles
. Conan Doyle stayed at the Royal Duchy Hotel in the town whilst writing and researching the story with his friend, Bertram Fletcher Robinson
. The hotel has long since closed and the building now houses the High Moorland Visitor Centre which provides a wealth of information and exhibits for those visiting the moor.
Other points of interest in the town include the prison museum and the town churchyard which houses the graves of French and American prisoners of war who were originally housed at the prison. The Church of St Michael
has the distinction of being the only one in the UK constructed by POWs and is dedicated, as are many churches in high locations, to St. Michael. It was taken out of use due to structural problems and damp and is now maintained by the Redundant Churches Fund, although the building has been stabilised and made safe. Services are held nowadays in the Methodist chapel at the other end of the town.
North Hessary Tor
overlooks the town. The tor can be easily identified by the large television mast on top of it, a structure which provides a useful guide point for walkers from miles around.
Princetown has its own brewery producing the appropriately named Jail Ale and Dartmoor IPA. This used to be housed in the Prince of Wales pub, but now occupies a modern purpose-built building on the edge of the town. The other pub is the Plume of Feathers (the Railway - "The Devils Elbow" - has closed as a pub recently) and there are also a couple of cafes, one of which is situated in what used to be the town's police station.
In recent years Princetown has seen the opening of both the Princetown Centre for Creativity in Duchy Square, on the site of the village supermarket, and a new village Community Centre.
to Exeter
and vice versa, passes through the town and there is a daytime service linking Princetown to Yelverton
and Tavistock, but in general public transport is poor and any visitors hoping to visit Plymouth or the nearby town of Tavistock via bus in the evening will be disappointed. The Transmoor link operates in the winter, but only on Sundays.
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an area of moorland in south Devon, England. Protected by National Park status, it covers .The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops known as tors, providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The...
in the English county of Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
.
In 1785, Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt
Thomas Tyrwhitt (MP)
Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt was Member of Parliament for Okehampton.-Career:Educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford and after serving as private secretary to the Prince of Wales, Tyrwhitt was elected Member of Parliament for Okehampton in 1796...
, Secretary to the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
, leased a large area of moorland
Moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
from the Duchy of Cornwall
Duchy of Cornwall
The Duchy of Cornwall is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch inherits the duchy and title of Duke of Cornwall at the time of his birth, or of his parent's succession to the throne. If the monarch has no son, the...
estate, hoping to convert it into good farmland. He encouraged people to live in the area and suggested that a prison be built there. He called the settlement Princetown after the Prince of Wales.
Princetown is best known as the site of Dartmoor Prison
Dartmoor (HM Prison)
HM Prison Dartmoor is a Category C men's prison, located in Princetown, high on Dartmoor in the English county of Devon. Its high granite walls dominate this area of the moor...
. It is the highest town on the moor, and one of the highest in the United Kingdom. The Princetown Railway
Princetown Railway
The Princetown Railway was a 10.5 mile long Great Western Railway built single track branch railway line in Devon, England, that ran from and later from , both on the South Devon and Tavistock line, to via four intermediate stations, , , and .-History:...
, closed in 1956, was also the highest railway line in England, its Princetown terminus being 435 metres (1,427 ft) above sea level.
History
In 1780, a farm was reclaimed on the site of an ancient tenement near the Two Bridges, and in 1785, Sir Thomas TyrwhittThomas Tyrwhitt (MP)
Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt was Member of Parliament for Okehampton.-Career:Educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford and after serving as private secretary to the Prince of Wales, Tyrwhitt was elected Member of Parliament for Okehampton in 1796...
set about improving the moor at a place which he named Tor Royal, about 1 km (0.621372736649807 mi) south-east of Princetown. He made an estate and built a house in 1798. Later the road from Tavistock to Princetown was built, as well as the other roads that now cross the Moor.
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an area of moorland in south Devon, England. Protected by National Park status, it covers .The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops known as tors, providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The...
to house the thousands of captives of the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
and the later War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, who had become too numerous to lodge in the prisons and prison-ships at Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
. The site was given by the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
, who held the lands of the Duchy of Cornwall
Duchy of Cornwall
The Duchy of Cornwall is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch inherits the duchy and title of Duke of Cornwall at the time of his birth, or of his parent's succession to the throne. If the monarch has no son, the...
to which all the Moor belonged. This is why the town is named Princetown. Dartmoor Prison
Dartmoor (HM Prison)
HM Prison Dartmoor is a Category C men's prison, located in Princetown, high on Dartmoor in the English county of Devon. Its high granite walls dominate this area of the moor...
was built in 1806 at a cost of £130,000 and at one time had a capacity between 7,000 and 9,000 prisoners.
A small town grew up near the prison. Two large inns were built during the war. Many of the prisoners had prize-money to come from their own country; many others made their own in their hammocks at night, even forging Bank of England
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
and local bank notes, which they passed off in the great daily market held in the prison. With the closing of the prison in 1816, the town almost collapsed, but the completion of the Dartmoor Railway in 1823 brought back many people to the granite quarries. The prison remained derelict until 1851, when it was reopened for prisoners serving long sentences. It has since been considerably extended.
Geography
The town is located on the B3212 road between YelvertonYelverton
Yelverton may be:Places* Yelverton, Devon, England* Yelverton, Norfolk, England* Yelverton Pass, a pass on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, CanadaOther* the Yelverton case, a nineteenth century Irish law case* Henry Edward Yelverton, 19th Baron Grey de Ruthyn...
and Two Bridges
Two Bridges
Two Bridges is an isolated location in the heart of Dartmoor National Park in Devon, England. It is situated around north east of Princetown on the old turnpike road which was built across Dartmoor in the late 18th century ....
, and is surrounded by moorland.
Several footpaths across the moor start from the town, including one leading west to Sampford Spiney and one leading south to Nun's Cross and Erme Head.
Tor Royal Lane is a dead end road which leads down from the town to the site of the disused Whiteworks tin mine, about 3 km or 2 miles to the south-east, which overlooks Fox Tor
Fox Tor
Fox Tor is a relatively minor tor on Dartmoor in the United Kingdom. It is probably best known for the swampy land that lies beneath it, Fox Tor Mires. This is said to have been the inspiration for the fictional Grimpen Mire in the novel The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle...
Mires, the presumed site of the Grimpen Mire to be found in Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
's tale The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Hound of the Baskervilles is the third of four crime novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in The Strand Magazine from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set largely on Dartmoor in Devon in England's West Country and tells the story of an...
. Conan Doyle stayed at the Royal Duchy Hotel in the town whilst writing and researching the story with his friend, Bertram Fletcher Robinson
Bertram Fletcher Robinson
Bertram Fletcher Robinson was an English sportsman, journalist, author and Liberal Unionist Party campaigner. Between 1893 and 1907, he wrote nearly 300 published items including a series of short stories that feature a detective called Addington Peace. However, Robinson is perhaps best remembered...
. The hotel has long since closed and the building now houses the High Moorland Visitor Centre which provides a wealth of information and exhibits for those visiting the moor.
Other points of interest in the town include the prison museum and the town churchyard which houses the graves of French and American prisoners of war who were originally housed at the prison. The Church of St Michael
Church of St Michael, Princetown
The Anglican Church of St Michael in Princetown, Devon, England was built between 1810 and 1814. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building, and is now a redundant church in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.The granite church stands near the middle of...
has the distinction of being the only one in the UK constructed by POWs and is dedicated, as are many churches in high locations, to St. Michael. It was taken out of use due to structural problems and damp and is now maintained by the Redundant Churches Fund, although the building has been stabilised and made safe. Services are held nowadays in the Methodist chapel at the other end of the town.
North Hessary Tor
North Hessary Tor
The North Hessary Tor is a hill 517 metres high just above Dartmoor Prison, in Princetown within Dartmoor Forest civil parish, which is located in the borough of West Devon, Devon, England...
overlooks the town. The tor can be easily identified by the large television mast on top of it, a structure which provides a useful guide point for walkers from miles around.
Demography
Princetown is the most deprived ward in Devon, as when the Home Office changed its rules on where prison officers should live, staff moved out of the town and much poor-quality housing became available, which was then offered to the disabled, the unemployed and one parent families. With few facilities and little public transport these people became isolated. A charity has been formed, called "High Moorland Community Action", which aimed to improve the situation. This now appears to be bearing fruit, as a considerable quantity of new housing has been built and more is under construction on the vacant lots where council properties used to stand, some of considerable size. This influx of private housing has had a beneficial effect on the town as a whole, as has the relocation of the Post Office to new premises (at a time when many villages are losing their POs).Economy
In terms of tourism, Princetown tends to be popular with walkers and the sight of large groups of young people with rucksacks is especially common during the summer months. Bunkhouse, bed and breakfast and camping facilities are available in the town and there are also a handful of local shops where visitors can stock up on essential items. However no thought appears to have been given in the recent developments to providing up-market hotel and tourist accommodation which would revitalise the economy of the town.Princetown has its own brewery producing the appropriately named Jail Ale and Dartmoor IPA. This used to be housed in the Prince of Wales pub, but now occupies a modern purpose-built building on the edge of the town. The other pub is the Plume of Feathers (the Railway - "The Devils Elbow" - has closed as a pub recently) and there are also a couple of cafes, one of which is situated in what used to be the town's police station.
In recent years Princetown has seen the opening of both the Princetown Centre for Creativity in Duchy Square, on the site of the village supermarket, and a new village Community Centre.
Transport
A summer bus service, the Transmoor link from PlymouthPlymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
to Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
and vice versa, passes through the town and there is a daytime service linking Princetown to Yelverton
Yelverton, Devon
Yelverton is a large village on the south-western edge of Dartmoor, Devon, in England.When the village's railway station opened in the 19th century, the village became a popular residence for Plymouth commuters...
and Tavistock, but in general public transport is poor and any visitors hoping to visit Plymouth or the nearby town of Tavistock via bus in the evening will be disappointed. The Transmoor link operates in the winter, but only on Sundays.