Manaton Things to Do

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A Brief History of Manaton

Manaton is a surprisingly large parish and is fortunate in having many beautiful sites to visit. Some of the most interesting and famous are the following:-

Becky Falls A beautiful woodland park with Dartmoor ponies, a licensed cafeteria and gift shop.

Bowerman's Nose Famous tor with a famous legend

Grimspound An important Bronze Age settlement

Jay's Grave Sad story of Kitty Jay

Houndtor Magnificent Tor with an interesting legend. Medieval village is close by.

St.Winifred's Church Historic church at Manaton village green. Famous rood screen defaced

by Cromwell's army

Wherever you are in the parish, you are sure to be able to see other remnants of prehistoric times, from the outline of reaves, a form of land division by long earth and stone banks, to individual hut circles and standing stones. The Romans had little influence on Dartmoor and the Celtic influence lasted through the Dark Ages. There were no Iron Age forts within the parish, these being confined to the fringes of the moor. By the time of Domesday {1086), there appeared to have been several flourishing settlements, the best-known of which is the mediaeval village at Houndtor, below Greater Rocks. These were abandoned some time in the 14th Century, possibly as a result of the Black Death (1349), but equally likely because of a change in the climate, which made the growing of corn more difficult on the moor. The population gathered in the more clement centres of Manaton, Freelands and Water, together forming the modern village of Manaton, or retired to individual farms scattered throughout the parish.