Postbridge

Introduction

Situated at the heart of Dartmoor National Park on the East Dart River the present-day settlement of Postbridge dates back to the late 18th century when the Turnpike Act of 1772 resulted in the construction of a new road across the moor from Moretonhampstead to Tavistock.

Spanning the river, just downstream from the road bridge, is one of the best examples of the many medieval clapper bridges that survive on Dartmoor; with its three large granite slabs (clappers) supported by two stone piers, this remarkable bridge was probably the first dry means of crossing this part of the river.

Adjacent to the settlement, the land around Bellever Tor was first planted with conifers between 1932 and 1943, leaving the tor and a strip of moorland in the middle free. Within this strip and in clearings within the plantation, a variety of prehistoric sites can be found: remains of stone-built round houses (hut circles), enclosures and field banks; and ritual monuments such as stone rows and burials.

Located in a sheltered valley on the main road across the moor, Postbridge, with a Dartmoor National Park Authority Information Centre and large car park, provides easy access for walkers to the high open moorland to the north and to the nearby sheltered conifer plantations.

As part of this tour you can accompany the walker to the remains of a 19th century gunpowder factory known as Powdermills. In operation between 1844 and 1897 gunpowder was produced here in a series of widely dispersed buildings and was used in the local mines and quarries.

Within this virtual tour there is also a section which explores some of the Dartmoor myths and legends that have their origins in this area of the moor.

Presentation created - December 2006



Some of the archive images within this virtual tour have been taken, with kind permission, from the Dartmoor Archive: www.projects.ex.ac.uk/
dartmoor.trust.archive/

Visiting

Postbridge lies right at the centre of the Dartmoor National Park on the B3212 between Moretonhapmstead and Two Bridges.

The Transmoor link bus service no.82 from Plymouth to Exeter and the no.98 from Tavistock to Bellever both run through Postbridge - timetables change seasonally, details can be obtained from Traveline on 0870 608 2 608 or at www.travelline.org.uk

The Dartmoor National Park Authority has an Information Centre situated in the car park in the centre of the village which is open seven days a week between Easter and the end of October and at weekends from November through to the New Year.

There is a Post Office Stores with a petrol pump open throughout the year, a public house, hotels and various bed and breakfast establishments.

Powdermills is situated one and a half miles to the south west of Postbridge: the commercial businesses can be reached by car via the B3212; the remains of the gunpowder mill buildings can only be reached on foot along permitted rights of way from either Postbridge or the Higher Cherrybrook Bridge car park on the B3212 towards Two Bridges.

Technical Info

The Postbridge visit is an interactive multimedia presentation that uses Macromedia Flash, there is also an option to use Apple Quicktime.

If you don't have these plugins you can download them from here:

Glossary

Awl:

A prehistoric pointed flint tool for marking surfaces or making small holes.

Burin:

Prehistoric flint tool with a bevelled point.

Cairn:

Prehistoric burial mound made of stone and earth.

Cist:

A prehistoric stone chest sunk into the ground which contained burials.

Lich Way:

An ancient route across the moor formerly used for taking coffins to the parish church at Lydford.

Newtake:

An area of moorland enclosed by a stone wall.

Accessibility

Here at the Dartmoor National Park Authority making sure the information on our websites is easily accessible to all is a high priority.

We have made sure this site is fully Accessible (see our Accessibility page for details) and we have introduced features within the Interactive Visit that accommodate users with visual / hearing impairment:

• Visits are primarily audio tours, playing sequentially without the need to click anything.
• All objects are captioned.
• All text/captions are re sizeable.
• Transcripts for all audio elements are available for the hard of hearing.