TORS OF DARTMOOR
a database of both lesser- & well-known rocks and outcrops
Little Down TorHemery's Deancombe Rocks
 The fabulous large tors that encircle Burrator Lake - namely Leather, Down and Sheeps - are the focal point for many visitors to this beautiful region; but in addition to these striking rockpiles are many smaller tors that still manage to punch above their own weight with interest. On Down Tor a grassy path meanders down the western boulders where it passes through a gap in a wall. Here the first of three rockpiles between the tor and Norsworthy Bridge is encountered.  First documented by Eric Hemery (1983, High Dartmoor), we learn that: "Between the tor [Down] and the prominences further westward is a ruined tor; a conspicuous poised rock at its west end trembles under pressure but does not log. Near it is a large, low-level rock worthy of inspection; weathering has carried away the base of a small rock-basin which is, in consequence, holed through its thickness, giving it the appearance of a piece of contemporary sculpture."  Just one year later the same author in his guide entitled 'Walk Dartmoor' tells us to: "Descend westward from the tor [Down], keeping the lake slightly to your left. A path appears below passing through a broken wall to the scattered pile of Deancombe Rocks. Turn and regard the cone and clitter of Down Tor, an astonishing wilderness of granite indicating its former gigantic proportions. Pass Deancombe Rocks and (in summer when the bracken is high) follow a well-worn path." What is strange here is that Hemery made no reference to this name in his 'tome' that is High Dartmoor, when he surely must have known of the appellation? What is perhaps more bizarre is that the name has not been used by subsequent writers preferring Little Down Tor. Today, the name of Deancombe Rocks is better associated with a cluster of large boulders overlooking the confluence of the Combeshead and Deancombe Brooks, at SX 5858 6841 well to the south and east of Hemery's site.  By chance one day in 1993 Tim Jenkinson (TJ) bumped into Derek Rendell, a Dartmoor enthusiast local to the area, on Outcombe Rocks. The two got talking and took lunch together whilst Derek explained the names of the tors ascending on the ridge from Middleworth Farm to Down Tor. Proceeding from left to right (west to east), he identified: Middleworth Tor, Snappers Tor, Little Down Tor and Down Tor. The name of Little Down Tor later appeared in Mike Brown's (1995) 'Gazetteer of Dartmoor Names' with a NGR of SX 5768 6937. The tor resurfaced in 1997 when TJ, along with supplying a photo, notes that it: "consists of mainly low lying rocks on a rising hill that is surprisingly prominent when seen from the ruin of Kingsett Farm at SX 577 699."
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