TORS OF DARTMOOR
a database of both lesser- & well-known rocks and outcrops
Long TorMay Queen Stone (old), Old May Rock
 Whilst Ordnance Survey maps have always depicted outcrops on the north-west slopes of Wreyland Down, they have never properly recognised them by name. It is Long Tor Farm, sited below the Down, that implies that there is perhaps a significant tor hidden within its bounds - a long one. When consulting the Tithe Map of the Parish of Bovey Tracey, we find that plot 297 is named 'Long Tor', and that the lower portion of the tor is also known as 'Old May Rock' (OMR). However, there is a more impressive collection of outcrops higher in the adjacent plot 302 that are identified as Wreyland Down Field, at grid reference SX 7908 8098. If this is considered as part of Long Tor then the tor forms a long line of impressive boulders that descend the spur of the hill northwards, culminating at the lowest outcrop of OMR at SX 7909 8108, this having become of significant historical importance to the village of Lustleigh.  In 1905, local resident Cecil Torr resurrected the ancient tradition in the village of crowning a May Queen. From then up until 1940, the coronation took place on the lower outcrop of the tor where the name of each queen was engraved and painted on the side of the rock. Below the tor, usual May Day celebrations such as dancing around the Maypole took place. There was a brief halt to the annual ceremony during the latter part of the Second World War, but it was eventually revived in 1954 and moved to a much more accessible place in the Town Orchard where it continues to this day.  In a 1927 article in the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette, we learn that: "The news of the Rector's death was received at Lustleigh just prior to the commencement of the May Day celebrations, which have been carried on without a break for 23 years. Consequently, the programme was curtailed. The children marched in procession to Long Tor, the girls wearing chaplets of flowers on their heads, and carrying bouquets, while the boys also carried flowers." Just four years later, we read: "For the 26th year in succession the May Day ceremony was carried out at Lustleigh yesterday, when Brenda Osborne was crowned as May Queen and her name inscribed on the large stone at Long Tor which bears the names of former May Queens."  The 1938 report concluded: "On the steps of the parish church and in other spots in the village the children sang May Day songs, and then climbed the long ascent to Long Tor, overlooking a vast expanse of Devon..." Since then, the landscape has seen the natural regeneration of trees, obscuring large parts of the view that was once enjoyed nearly a century ago. Max Piper (2022) explains: "Sadly, the entirety of Long Tor is on private land, but the inscription on the Old May Rock can be glimpsed from the public footpath at a gate." Whereas the tor once resided within Bovey Tracey parish despite its proximity to Lustleigh Church, this all changed when Wreyland was admitted into the Parish of Lustleigh in 1957.
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