Taking its name from the nearby hamlet this little tor is first mentioned in 1861 in the Journal of the British Archaeological Association (JBAA), where on p.6, we read:
"Sometimes, though rarely, the walls of hut-circles are treble and are formed of the two outer faces and a line of central blocks, all three parallel to each other (fig. 14), with smaller stones between them; but many are single, being composed of one set of stones occupying the whole breadth of the wall, and placed horizontally, upright, or on their edges, or in all these various positions in the same wall (figs. 15, 16, and pl. 3, fig. 17). In some of the large hut-circles the stones are of very great size, and one at Teigncombe Tor, on Dartmoor, has in succession six granite blocks, measuring respectively 4 feet 11 inches, 6 feet, 5 feet 10 inches, 5 feet 8 inches by 2 feet 9 inches, 4 feet 11 inches, and 5 feet by 3 feet, and 3 feet in heighth (fig. 18). The boundary walls, which stretch for miles over hill and dale on Dartmoor, and which are found in Cornwall, Wales, and other parts of the island, are also built of stones of the same large dimensions; and are constructed in like manner of blocks placed upright, or on their edges, or flat on their sides, generally in a single row."
As can be seen from this early quote the tor itself is often overlooked in favour of the wealth of antiquities that lie on its slopes that include impressive hut circles, reaves and circular pounds. More recently in 1983 Eric Hemery (p.777) had this to say, "Near a small rock outcrop on the west side of Teigncombe Common are some particularly fine examples of field-system walls and hut-circles, one hut, thirty feet in diameter, being very well preserved." Situated about 400 metres to the north of Kes Tor Rock it came back into prominence in March 2011 when Tim Jenkinson posted a black and white photograph of the main outcrop on Flickr and unaware of its earlier name suggested Little Kes Tor as a possibility and that has since been adopted by the likes of Ken Ringwood (2013) but he dismisses the rocks here as 'insignificant'.
The tor remnant consists of two parts the best of which is easily the lower southern pile that presents as a decent sized compact outcrop from which the visitor looks back across the Common towards Kes Tor in the distance. The upper rocks are very much less impressive almost totally disintegrated and robbed it seems of much of their substance to build the Bronze Age structures nearby and this is where your attention is immediately drawn as a series of upright jagged rocks form a rudimentary wall. On the slopes under the tor on the east side there are more examples of an ancient settlement with well-preserved hut circles. The pile is probably best reached from the road leading to Batworthy Corner to the north where the climb to the summit is gentle.
Thanks go to Emma Cunis a granddaughter of Eric Hemery for reminding us of the tor's older name and well done to Max Piper for discovering the first recorded use of that name in the JBAA as quoted above.
Teigncombe Tor
The map above is not a navigation tool and we recommend that the grid reference shown below is used in conjunction with an Ordnance Survey map and that training in its use with a compass is advised.
Grid Ref:
SX 6661 8681
Height:
394m
Parish:
Chagford
Tor Classification:
Emergent
Access:
Public
Rock Type:
Granite
Credit:
J.G. Wilkinson
Reference / Further Reading:
The Journal of the British Archaeological Association (1861): J.G. Wilkinson: On Ancient British Walls Eric Hemery (1983): High Dartmoor Tim Jenkinson (2011): East Dartmoor The Hidden Landscape: Rocks and Tors (published privately) Ken Ringwood (2013): Dartmoor's Tors and Rocks
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