Buckland-in-the-Moor

Last updated

Buckland in the Moor is a village and civil parish in the Teignbridge district of Devon, England. [1] [2] According to the 2001 census it had a population of 94. The village is in Dartmoor.

The church, showing the famous clock. Buckland church.JPG
The church, showing the famous clock.

According to Elias Tozer (1825–1873) a ritual until recently had been observed in the village of Buckland-in-the-Moor on Midsummer Day in which the youth of the village would sacrifice a sheep on the block of granite and sprinkle themselves with the blood. He could not find what the significance of the ritual was, but says it was thought to have pre-Christian Celtic origins. [3]

Detail of the clock face. My dear mother 2.JPG
Detail of the clock face.

The church is made of stone quarried on the moor. The face of the clock spells out "My Dear Mother". The baptismal font is Norman, and decorated with leaves and stars. Nearby is a viewpoint called Buckland Beacon, where the Ten Commandment Stones can be found (1282 ft).

In 1927 the Lord of Buckland Manor, Mr Whitley, learnt that parliament had rejected a proposed revision of the Book of Common Prayer using Jesus' Two Commandments instead of Moses' Ten, at Holy Communion.

He celebrated by engaging Mr W A Clements, a stonemason from Exeter, to engrave granite stones in situ on Buckland Beacon with the Ten Commandments. He started work on 15 December 1927 and completed the job on 14 June 1928. Whilst engraving the stones he lived in a cow shed on the site and was supplied each week with a loaf of bread by Mr Whitley.

In later years Mr Clements said, "Day after day I was on my knees chipping away and I wondered if the originator of the Commandments suffered from an aching back and sore knees as I did". A glance at the stones reveals eleven commandments, the eleventh inscribed, "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another. John 13 v34."

Detail of one of the "commandment" stones Commandments 1.JPG
Detail of one of the "commandment" stones

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">Widecombe in the Moor</span> Village in Devon, England

Widecombe in the Moor is a village and large civil parish in Dartmoor National Park in Devon, England. Its church is known as the Cathedral of the Moors on account of its tall tower and its size, relative to the small population it serves. It is a favourite tourist centre, partly for its scenic character and partly for its connection to the popular song "Widecombe Fair".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Willhays</span> Dartmoor and Southern Englands highest point

High Willhays, or according to some authorities High Willes, is the highest point on Dartmoor, Devon, at 621 metres above sea level, and the highest point in Southern England.

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

Ilsington is a village and civil parish situated on the eastern edge of Dartmoor, Devon, England. It is one of the largest parishes in the county, and includes the villages of Ilsington, Haytor Vale, Liverton and South Knighton. The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of Bovey Tracey, Teigngrace, Newton Abbot, Ogwell, Bickington, Ashburton, Widecombe-in-the-Moor and Manaton. In 2001 the population of the parish was 2,444, greatly increased from the 886 residents recorded in 1901. The parish is represented in parliament by Mel Stride, as part of the Central Devon constituency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grimspound</span> Bronze Age settlement on Dartmoor in Devon, England

Grimspound is a late Bronze Age settlement, situated on Dartmoor in Devon, England. It consists of a set of 24 hut circles surrounded by a low stone wall. The name was first recorded by the Reverend Richard Polwhele in 1797; it was probably derived from the Anglo-Saxon god of war, Grim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowerman's Nose</span> Stack of weathered granite on Dartmoor, Devon, England

Bowerman's Nose is a stack of weathered granite on Dartmoor, Devon, England. It is situated on the northern slopes of Hayne Down, about a mile from Hound Tor and close to the village of Manaton at grid reference SX742805. It is about 21.5 feet (6.6 m) high and is the hard granite core of a former tor, standing above a 'clitter' of the blocks that have eroded and fallen from it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Erme</span> River in south Devon, England

The Erme is a river in south Devon, England. From its source on Dartmoor it flows in a generally southerly direction past some of the best-preserved archaeological remains on the moor. It leaves the moor at the town of Ivybridge and continues southward, passing the settlements of Ermington, Modbury and Holbeton. Near Holbeton it becomes a ria and empties into the English Channel in Bigbury Bay, between the rivers Yealm and Avon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two Moors Way</span> Long-distance trail in Devon, England

The Two Moors Way is a long-distance trail mostly in Devon, UK, first established in 1976. It links Dartmoor and Exmoor and has been extended to become a Devon Coast-to-Coast trail.

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

Broadwoodkelly is a village and civil parish in the West Devon district of Devon, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 218. The village is situated about 9 miles (14 km) north of Okehampton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crockern Tor</span> Tor on Dartmoor, England

Crockern Tor is a tor in Dartmoor National Park, Devon, England. Composed of two large outcrops of rock, it is 396 metres above sea level. The lower outcrop was the open-air meeting place of the Stannary Convocation of Devon from the early 14th century until the first half of the 18th century. On Parliament Rock, pictured here, the Lord Warden of the Great Court of the Devon Tinners supposedly sat during meetings of the Court. The location of the tor is just to the NE of Two Bridges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Webburn River</span> Stream on Dartmoor in Devon, England

The West Webburn is a stream on Dartmoor in Devon in south-west England. It rises on the eastern side of the moors flowing off the east side of Hameldown Ridge. Its source is extremely close to the Grimspound Bronze Age settlement, and it was probably the main source of water for the settlement. It flows south, going past Widecombe-in-the-Moor, and joins the East Webburn River at Lizwell Meet in Oakmoor Wood. These combined streams then join the River Dart at Buckland Bridge close to the village of Holne.

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

Meldon is a hamlet in West Devon, on the edge of Dartmoor in Devon, England. It is 4 km south-west of Okehampton. Its main features are the Meldon Quarry and Meldon Reservoir and the nearby Meldon Viaduct.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Cleer</span> Village and civil parish in Cornwall, England

St Cleer is a civil parish and village in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is situated on the southeast flank of Bodmin Moor approximately two miles (3 km) north of Liskeard. The population of the parish in 2001 numbered 3257. This includes Common Moor and had increased to 3,297 at the 2011 census. An electoral ward also exists. The population at the 2011 census is 4,366.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway (P&DR) was a 4 ft 6 in gauge railway built to improve the economy of moorland areas around Princetown in Devon, England. Independent carriers operated horse-drawn wagons and paid the company a toll. It opened in 1823, and a number of short branches were built in the next few years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Dog, Devon</span> Village in Devon, England

Black Dog is a village in Mid Devon, ten miles west of Tiverton and six miles north of Crediton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosdon Hill</span> Hill on Dartmoor in Devon, England

Cosdon Hill, also called Cosdon Beacon, or Cawsand Beacon, is one of the highest hills on Dartmoor, in Devon, England. It has numerous traces of prehistoric occupation.

Elias Tozer was a Devon journalist, poet and collector of folk stories.

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

Buckland Beacon is a granite tor and conical beacon, near to the village of Buckland-in-the-Moor on Dartmoor, England. It is well known for its Ten Commandments Stones, which are inscribed on its south eastern edge. It stands at 382 metres (1,253 ft) above sea level, overlooking the Dart Valley.

References

  1. Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 191 Okehampton & North Dartmoor (Crediton & Bovey Tracey) (Map). Ordnance Survey. 2013. ISBN   9780319231821.
  2. "Ordnance Survey: 1:50,000 Scale Gazetteer" (csv (download)). www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk. Ordnance Survey. 1 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  3. Page, John Lloyd Warden (1892), An Exploration of Dartmoor and Its Antiquities: With Some Accounts of Its Borders, Seeley and Company, Limited, p. 34, retrieved 28 August 2016

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Buckland in the Moor at Wikimedia Commons

50°32′37″N3°48′22″W / 50.54361°N 3.80611°W / 50.54361; -3.80611