Burrator

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Burrator is a grouped parish council in the English county of Devon. It is entirely within the boundaries of the Dartmoor National Park and was formed in 1973 as a result of the Local Government Act 1972 from the older councils of Meavy, Sheepstor and Walkhampton.

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The parish has an area of 59.45 km2 (23 sq miles), and is one of the most sparsely populated. The population count in 2001 found that 1,540 people lived in the parish. The parish coincides with the similarly named electoral ward, and at the 2011 census the population had decreased to 1,445. [1] The ward contains the villages of Dousland, Meavy, Sheepstor and Walkhampton, and also Burrator Reservoir which is the main water supply for Plymouth. The parish is twinned with the municipality of Mathieu, in Normandy, France.

Burrator Parish Council holds the ownership of the Royal Oak Inn at Meavy, which dates back to the 16th Century. The Inn is leased to a tenant publican and the council's ownership and administration of the Inn is managed by its Royal Oak Inn committee, composed of Meavy parish councillors.

The parish of Burrator is named after Burra Tor, a large granite tor that is exposed from the field to the woodland by the dam; located at Grid Reference 553679 [2] at the southern end of the reservoir and about halfway between its two dams blocking the outlets to the River Meavy and the Sheepstor Brook.

James Brooke, the first white Rajah of Sarawak, died in Burrator. [3]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princetown Railway</span>

The Princetown Railway was a 10¼ mile single track branch railway line in Devon, England, that ran from Yelverton on the Plymouth to Tavistock line, to Princetown via four intermediate stations, Dousland, Burrator and Sheepstor Halt, Ingra Tor Halt and King Tor Halt. The line closed in 1956 and today forms part of a popular cycling and walking route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dousland railway station</span> Former railway station in Devon, England

Dousland railway station, originally opened at Dousland Barn in 1883 was located on the 10.5 mile long single track branch railway line in Devon, England, running from Yelverton to Princetown with eventually four intermediate stops, three being halts and one at Dousland as a fully fledged station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King Tor Halt railway station</span> Former railway station in Devon, England

King Tor Halt railway station was located on the 10.5 mile long single track branch railway line in Devon, England, running from Yelverton to Princetown with four intermediate stations. It was opened with only a basic wood platform and shelter in connection with the adjacent granite quarry and the associated worker's houses. Its later traffic was entirely walkers and like Ingra Tor Halt it was retained in an attempt to counter competition from local bus services and encourage tourist traffic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burrator and Sheepstor Halt railway station</span> Former railway station in Devon, England

Burrator and Sheepstor Halt railway station was located on the 10.5 mile long single track branch railway line in Devon, England, running from Yelverton to Princetown with eventually four intermediate stations. The station was opened as Burrator Platform and became Burrator Halt when it was opened to the public, the name being changed again in 1929 to Burrator and Sheepstor Halt.

References

  1. "Ward population 2011". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  2. "Burrator Perambulation". Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team Plymouth. Archived from the original on 28 July 2015.
  3. Barley, p. 228.

Further reading

Coordinates: 50°29′N4°02′W / 50.483°N 4.033°W / 50.483; -4.033