Browse crosses

Location

O/S Grid Ref: SX/57889/66778       Longitude/Latitude (Degrees+/-):  -4.00447/50.48353  

Map location: Click here to view map.

Purpose:  Possibly a waymarker or a boundary stone.

Size:  The length of the cross, above ground, is 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 metres).  The width of the shaft is 18 inches (0.46 metres) and the depth is 15 inches (0.38 metres).  The top of its only arm is set 8 inches (0.20 metres) down from the top of the cross and protrudes out from the shaft by only 5 inches (0.13 metres).

Information:  The cross was discovered by the Archaeology Unit of Plymouth University, led by Win Scutt and Ross Dean, in December 2009.  The unit were surveying a medieval settlement around the slopes of Gutter Tor and stumbled across this important find quite by accident, on the very last day of their survey.

The cross, which is thought to be around 6 feet 6 inches (2 metres) long protrudes from the ground at roughly a 45° angle.  A decorative groove has been incised along the whole length of the shaft.  In its current state, the cross has only one arm and this appears to be a lot shorter than it would originally have been.

Between the path, leading down from Gutter Tor, and the cross is another interesting relic.  This is a granite boulder, roughly round in shape, which has been hollowed out to a depth of a couple of inches.  It would appear as though it was an attempt at creating a round trough, a small apple crusher or, perhaps, a millstone for grinding corn.  No doubt it was connected with the medieval settlement and abandoned before the work on it was complete, perhaps due to a flaw in the stone.

At the summit of the hill on which Gutter Tor sits, which is around 330 yards (300 metres) to the south west of the Tor, stands a lone trig pillar.  This is rather unusual for Dartmoor as most trig pillars are sited on the top of tors, being the highest point of the surrounding ground.  In this case, the top of Gutter Tor is below the summit of the hill, hence the trig pillar being sited away from the tor.  Trig pillars were once sited all around the country to assist map makers with surveying the ground when preparing and updating their Ordnance Survey maps.  During the 1980's GPS (Global Positioning System) came into more general use with the result that trig pillars gradually became redundant.  However, having been a part of our landscape for around 50 years, Ordnance Survey were reluctant to just remove the pillars and would probably have come in for a lot of criticism from the general public had they done so.  It was therefore decided to try and encourage individuals and voluntary organisations to adopt their local trig pillar.  In the case of the Gutter Tor trig pillar, adoption was undertaken by the Plymouth Section of the Dartmoor Search & Rescue Team.  A plaque on the trig pillar acknowledges that the pillar is maintained by the Plymouth Dartmoor S. & R. Team.