Ancient Tenements

Last updated

The Ancient Tenements are the oldest surviving farms in Dartmoor, England, established during the 14th century and possibly earlier.

In Mediaeval Britain, grazing rights within the boundaries of the Forest of Dartmoor were strictly limited. However a few settlers were permitted to build farms there, and to release their livestock on surrounding land. These farms became known as the Ancient Tenements, and many still survive today, such as Babeny, Bellever, Brimpts, Brownberry, Dunnabridge, Dury, Hartyland, Hexworthy, Huccaby, Lakehead, Merripit, Pizwell, Prince Hall, Riddon, Runnage, and Sherberton.

Many still feature buildings that are of mediaeval origins, including elements of their original longhouses:

The majority are Grade II listed and some are Grade II* (particularly important buildings of special interest).

For centuries, these settlements were isolated from 'civilisation' - many miles from the nearest villages. And yet the inhabitants were still expected to travel many miles to church each Sunday, over hills and rough terrain. To make matters worse, the parish boundaries often bore little or no relation to the natural geography. However, in 1260, the Bishop decreed that the dead from Pizwell and neighbouring Babeny, could be taken to Widecombe-in-the-Moor, which was much closer and more accessible.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dartmoor</span> National park in South West England

Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, South West England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers 954 km2 (368 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Industrial archaeology of Dartmoor</span>

The industrial archaeology of Dartmoor covers a number of the industries which have, over the ages, taken place on Dartmoor, and the remaining evidence surrounding them. Currently only three industries are economically significant, yet all three will inevitably leave their own traces on the moor: china clay mining, farming and tourism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clapper bridge</span> Bridge formed by large flat slabs of stone

A clapper bridge is an ancient form of bridge found on the moors of the English West Country and in other upland areas of the United Kingdom including Snowdonia and Anglesey, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Lancashire, and in northern Wester Ross and north-west Sutherland in Scotland. It is formed by large flat slabs of stone, often granite or schist. These can be supported on stone piers across rivers, or rest on the banks of streams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chagford</span> Town in Devon, England

Chagford is a market town and civil parish on the north-east edge of Dartmoor, in Devon, England, close to the River Teign and the A382, 4 miles (6 km) west of Moretonhampstead. The name is derived from chag, meaning gorse or broom, and the ford suffix indicates its importance as a crossing place. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 1,449.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longhouse</span> Type of house

A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe, and North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dartmoor longhouse</span> Stone-built home, typical of Dartmoor, England

The Dartmoor longhouse is a type of traditional stone-built home, typically found on the high ground of Dartmoor, in Devon, England and belonging to a wider tradition of combining human residences with those of livestock under a single roof specific to western Britain; Wales, Cornwall and Devon, where they are more usually referred to simply as longhouses and in general housebarns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hound Tor</span> Granite tor on Dartmoor in Devon, England

Hound Tor is a tor on Dartmoor, Devon, England and is a good example of a heavily weathered granite outcrop. It is easily accessible, situated within a few minutes from the B3387 between Bovey Tracey and Widecombe-in-the-Moor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great hall</span> Largest room in a medieval manor

A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages, and continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the great chamber for eating and relaxing. At that time the word "great" simply meant big and had not acquired its modern connotations of excellence. In the medieval period, the room would simply have been referred to as the "hall" unless the building also had a secondary hall, but the term "great hall" has been predominant for surviving rooms of this type for several centuries, to distinguish them from the different type of hall found in post-medieval houses. Great halls were found especially in France, England and Scotland, but similar rooms were also found in some other European countries.

Weald and Downland Living Museum Open-air museum in West Sussex, England

The Weald and Downland Living Museum is an open-air museum in Singleton, West Sussex. The museum is a registered charity. The museum covers 40 acres (16 ha), with over 50 historic buildings dating from 950AD to the 19th century, along with gardens, farm animals, walks and a mill pond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mead hall</span> Residence of a lord and his retainers in medieval Germanic Europe

Among the early Germanic peoples, a mead hall or feasting hall was a large building with a single room intended to receive guests and serve as a center of community social life. From the fifth century to the Early Middle Ages such a building was the residence of a lord or king and his retainers. These structures were also where lords could formally receive visitors and where the community would gather to socialize, allowing lords to oversee the social activity of their subjects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bretforton</span> Human settlement in England

Bretforton is a rural village in Worcestershire, England, 4.4 miles (7.1 km) east of Evesham, in the Vale of Evesham. It is the largest farming village near Evesham. At the 2001 census, Bretforton had a population of 1,023 in 428 households. The area of the parish is 2.83 square miles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forest of Dartmoor</span> Ancient royal forest in Devon, England

The Forest of Dartmoor is an ancient royal forest covering part of Dartmoor, Devon, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ancient Priors</span> Historic site in West Sussex , England

The Ancient Priors is a medieval timber-framed hall house on the High Street in Crawley, a town and borough in West Sussex, England. It was built in approximately 1450, partly replacing an older structure—although part of this survives behind the present street frontage. It has been expanded, altered and renovated many times since, and fell into such disrepair by the 1930s that demolition was considered. It has since been refurbished and is now a restaurant, although it has been put to various uses during its existence. Secret rooms, whose purpose has never been confirmed for certain, were discovered in the 19th century. English Heritage has listed the building at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance, and it has been described as Crawley's "most prestigious medieval building" and "the finest timber-framed house between London and Brighton".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Housebarn</span> Building that is a combination of a house and a barn

A housebarn is a building that is a combination of a house and a barn under the same roof. Most types of housebarn also have room for livestock quarters. If the living quarters are only combined with a byre, whereas the cereals are stored outside the main building, the house is called a byre-dwelling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Manson Farm, Monmouth</span> Farmhouse, Barn, Cider House in Monmouth, Wales

Great Manson Farm is a property on the northern outskirts of Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales, in the Buckholt area. It is in the Manson Lane neighbourhood, within the electoral division of Dixton with Osbaston. During the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, members of the Clarke, Goode, Clark, Dampier, and Morgan families resided at Great Manson Farm, at which time the reported size of the farm varied from 170 to 200 acres. The property is remarkable for the presence of three grade II listed buildings, including a barn with medieval origins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Bovey</span> Village and civil parish in Devon, England

North Bovey is a village and civil parish situated on the south-eastern side of Dartmoor National Park, Teignbridge, Devon, England, about 11 miles WSW of the city of Exeter and 1.5 miles SSW of Moretonhampstead. The village lies above the eastern bank of the River Bovey from which it takes its name. In 2001 the population of the parish was 274, compared to 418 in 1901 and 519 in 1801.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hall house</span> Vernacular house typical of Britain, centred on a hall

The hall house is a type of vernacular house traditional in many parts of England, Wales, Ireland and lowland Scotland, as well as northern Europe, during the Middle Ages, centring on a hall. Usually timber-framed, some high status examples were built in stone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moulsecoomb Place</span> Historic site in Brighton and Hove , United Kingdom

Moulsecoomb Place is a large 18th-century house on Lewes Road in the Moulsecoomb area of the English coastal city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a farmhouse based in an agricultural area in the parish of Patcham, north of Brighton, it was bought and extensively remodelled in 1790 for a long-established local family. It was their seat for over 100 years, but the Neoclassical-style mansion and its grounds were bought by the local council in the interwar period when Moulsecoomb was transformed into a major council estate. Subsequent uses have varied, and Moulsecoomb Place later became part of the University of Brighton's range of buildings. Student housing has been built to the rear; but much of the grounds, the house itself and a much older cottage and barn attached to the rear have been preserved. The house is a Grade II Listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brightholmlee</span> Hamlet in South Yorkshire, England

Brightholmlee is a small rural hamlet within the City of Sheffield in England. The hamlet falls within the Stannington Ward of the City. It is 6.2 miles (10 km) north-west of the city centre and 0.6 miles (1 km) west of Wharncliffe Side within Bradfield parish. Previously a farming community, it consist of four farmsteads, Manor Farm, Old Hall Farm, High Lea Farm and Lee Farm. It is now almost entirely residential with the last working farm being sold for development in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shenfield Hall</span>

Shenfield Hall is a Grade II listed medieval building in the Essex town of Shenfield, England.

References