Haldon
Encyclopedia
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is situated between the River Exe
River Exe
The River Exe in England rises near the village of Simonsbath, on Exmoor in Somerset, near the Bristol Channel coast, but flows more or less directly due south, so that most of its length lies in Devon. It reaches the sea at a substantial ria, the Exe Estuary, on the south coast of Devon...
and the River Teign
River Teign
The River Teign is a river in the county of Devon, England.Like many Devon rivers, the Teign rises on Dartmoor, near Cranmere Pool. Its course on the moor is crossed by a clapper bridge near Teigncombe, just below the prehistoric Kestor Settlement. It leaves the moor at its eastern side, flowing...
and runs northwards from Teignmouth
Teignmouth
Teignmouth is a town and civil parish in Teignbridge in the English county of Devon, situated on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign about 14 miles south of Exeter. It has a population of 14,413. In 1690, it was the last place in England to be invaded by a foreign power...
, on the coast, for about 24 km (14.9 mi) until it dwindles away north west of Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
at the River Yeo, just south of Crediton
Crediton
Crediton is a town and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon in England. It stands on the A377 Exeter to Barnstaple road at the junction with the A3072 road to Tiverton, about north west of Exeter. It has a population of 6,837...
. The highest points of just over 250 metres (820 ft) lie to the south west of Exeter. The southernmost part is known as Little Haldon; it is partially separated from the main bulk of the hills by a col
Mountain pass
A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
formed by the valleys of the Dawlish Water to the east and the valley at Rixdale to the west.
Geology
Haldon is composed of New Red SandstoneNew Red Sandstone
The New Red Sandstone is a chiefly British geological term for the beds of red sandstone and associated rocks laid down throughout the Permian to the beginning of the Triassic that underlie the Jurassic Lias; the term distinguishes it from the Old Red Sandstone which is largely Devonian in...
covered by a more resistant layer of Upper Greensand. On the highest ground is a layer of gravel containing many flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
s that is up to 18 metres (60 ft) deep; it is all that remains of a cover of chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
some 180 metres (600 ft) thick that was deposited during the Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous period is divided in the geologic timescale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous series...
and then dissolved away during the tropical climate in the Eocene
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
.
Around the highest ground there are several other rock types. To the south west, around Chudleigh
Chudleigh
Chudleigh is a small town in Devon, England located between the towns of Newton Abbot and Exeter.Chudleigh is very close to the edge of Dartmoor and bypassed by the A38 road in 1972. It began life as a small wool market town, though the nearby Castle Dyke is an Iron Age Hill Fort which demonstrates...
, are limestones of Devonian
Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
age, but further north there are shales, sandstones and cherts from the Carboniferous
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...
. These are cut through in places by igneous intrusions, mainly of dolerite (quarried at Trusham
Trusham
Trusham is a small village in the Teign Valley just outside of Chudleigh between Newton Abbot and Exeter in Devon. It has one pub which claims to be the oldest in Devon named The Cridford Inn...
), and there was also a degree of metalliferous mineralisation which led to the development of a number of mines around the valley of the River Teign; ores of lead, iron, copper, manganese and barite
Barite
Baryte, or barite, is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate. The baryte group consists of baryte, celestine, anglesite and anhydrite. Baryte itself is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of barium...
were mined here, for instance at Wheal Exmouth.
Ecology
Three areas of Haldon have been designated as Sites of Special Scientific InterestSite of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
(SSSIs). The largest is Haldon Forest which covers most of the high woodland north of the A380 road as far as the Haldon Belvedere. This area is primarily designated because of its bird life. It is a nationally significant habitat for the European Nightjar
European Nightjar
The European Nightjar, or just Nightjar, Caprimulgus europaeus, is the only representative of the nightjar family of birds in most of Europe and temperate Asia.- Habitat and distribution :...
(Caprimulgus europaeus) with about 80 pairs breeding here. In addition six bird of prey
Bird of prey
Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....
species breed here: the nationally rare Honey Buzzard
Honey Buzzard
The European Honey Buzzard , is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, eagles and harriers....
(Pernis apivorus), the nationally scarce Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), the Eurasian Hobby
Eurasian Hobby
The Eurasian Hobby , or just simply Hobby, is a small slim falcon. It belongs to a rather close-knit group of similar falcons often considered a subgenus Hypotriorchis.-Description:...
(Falco subbuteo), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), Common Buzzard
Common Buzzard
The Common Buzzard is a medium to large bird of prey, whose range covers most of Europe and extends into Asia. It is usually resident all year, except in the coldest parts of its range, and in the case of one subspecies.-Description:...
(Buteo buteo) and Common Kestrel
Common Kestrel
The Common Kestrel is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European Kestrel, Eurasian Kestrel, or Old World Kestrel. In Britain, where no other brown falcon occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".This species...
(Falco tinnunculus). In addition, there have been a total of 35 species of butterflies recorded, including the nationally-rare High Brown Fritillary
High Brown Fritillary
The High Brown Fritillary is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family, native from Europe across mainland Asia to Japan.The adults fly in July/August and lay eggs near to the larval food plants which are species of violets,...
(Fabriciana adippe), and many moth and dragonfly species are also present.
The other two SSSIs, Great Haldon Heaths and Little Haldon Heaths consist of a lowland heath habitat of a type only found in south west England. The Devon Whitebeam
Whitebeam
The whitebeams are members of the Rosaceae family, comprising subgenus Aria of genus Sorbus, and hybrids involving species of this subgenus and members of subgenera Sorbus, Torminaria and Chamaemespilus. They are deciduous trees with simple or lobed leaves, arranged alternately...
(Sorbus devoniensis) is common on Little Haldon Heaths, and the rare Climbing Corydalis
Corydalis
Corydalis is a genus of about 470 species of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the fumewort family , native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere and the high mountains of tropical eastern Africa...
(Corydalis claviculata) and the parasitic Greater Dodder (Cuscuta europaea) are also found here.
History
Bronze Age Britain
Bronze Age Britain refers to the period of British history that spanned from c. 2,500 until c. 800 BC. Lasting for approximately 1700 years, it was preceded by the era of Neolithic Britain and was in turn followed by the era of Iron Age Britain...
tumuli on Haldon, though because of the frequent use of the gravel and flints for road building, many more may have been destroyed. On Little Haldon, Castle Dyke, a probable Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
square enclosure about 100 metres (330 ft) on each side occupies a good defensive position. An ancient track known as the Portway that crosses Little Haldon passes by this earthwork.
The high ground of Haldon has always been an inconvenience for people travelling south and west from Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
. There is some evidence of a Roman road
Roman roads in Britain
Roman roads, together with Roman aqueducts and the vast standing Roman army , constituted the three most impressive features of the Roman Empire. In Britain, as in other provinces, the Romans constructed a comprehensive network of paved trunk roads Roman roads, together with Roman aqueducts and the...
leading from Exeter over Haldon towards Newton Abbot
Newton Abbot
Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580....
, and possibly on to Totnes
Totnes
Totnes is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
, but current opinion is that it was never fully developed, being little more than a track. Most of the route of this road was turnpiked in 1760 and now lies under the A380 road
A380 road
The A380 is a road in South West England, connecting the Torbay area to the A38, and hence to the rest of Great Britain's main road network.-Route:...
. There are several sunken lane
Sunken lane
A sunken lane is a road which has over time fallen significantly lower than the land on either side. They are created incrementally by erosion, by water and traffic...
s of medieval date or earlier that ascend Haldon from the east. These include St. Andrew's Lane, and Holloway Lane that in places was deliberately cut over 6 m (20 ft) into the hillside.
Holy well
A holy well, or sacred spring, is a small body of water emerging from underground and revered either in a Pagan or Christian context, often both. Holy wells were frequently pagan sacred sites that later became Christianized. The term 'holy well' is commonly employed to refer to any water source of...
, now badly eroded, which according to legend is said to be bottomless.
In post-medieval times, Haldon became a well-used source of building materials, particularly flint, gravel and sand. There are a number of small disused quarries and pits, mostly now overgrown, which were used to provide gravel for road surfacing in Victorian times.
In 1929 an aerodrome was opened on Little Haldon. It became popular for recreational flying and in 1939 became one corner of a triangular air service between Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
and Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, developed by the Great Western Railway Air Services Ltd
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
. The aerodrome was taken over by the military at the outbreak of World War II and in 1941 became known as HMS Heron II when it came under the jurisdiction of RNAS Yeovilton. It did not reopen after the war and today there are few visible remains, the most obvious being of the waiting room/club house.
During the 1930s, unemployed men were set to work in Haldon Forest, breaking ground, building tracks, and undertaking other heavy labour. The men lived in a work camp in the Forest, which was one of a number of so-called Instructional Centres run by the Ministry of Labour in order to 'harden' young men who had been out of work for some time. By 1938, the Ministry was operating 35 Instructional Centres across Britain, with a total capacity of over 6,000 places.
By 1939, unemployment was declining in the face of impending war, and the Ministry closed down its work camps. Haldon open prison was closed in the 1970s. Kennford Court and its tennis courts were later built on the site of Halford Instructional Centre.
Toponymy
The origin of the name Haldon is unclear. It was first recorded as super montem de Hagheledon in 1281. The standard reference work on the place-names of Devon says that this appears to be derived from Old English hagol meaning hail, and the hill may have been named from a famous storm. This theory was discounted by W. G. HoskinsW. G. Hoskins
William George Hoskins CBE FSA was a British local historian who founded the first university department of English Local History. His great contribution to the study of history was in the field of landscape history...
as "the purest academic nonsense". His opinion was that the name may either be derived from Old English Haw-hyll dun meaning look-out hill, or from halig, meaning holy and therefore presumably indicative of some pre-Christian religious meaning.
Travellers
In 2002 a group of travellers moved in to one of the picnic areas near the racecourse. In April 2010 Devon County CouncilDevon County Council
Devon County Council is the county council administering the English county of Devon. Based in the city of Exeter, the council covers the non-metropolitan county area of Devon...
and Teignbridge District Council intend to carry out a consultation with a view to making the illegal site a legal, permanent traveller site.
Roads
A38 road
The A38, part of which is also known as the Devon Expressway, is a major A-class trunk road in England.The road runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is long, making it one of the longest A-roads in England. It was formerly known as the Leeds — Exeter Trunk Road,...
which goes to Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
and beyond into Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
; and the A380
A380 road
The A380 is a road in South West England, connecting the Torbay area to the A38, and hence to the rest of Great Britain's main road network.-Route:...
to Newton Abbot
Newton Abbot
Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580....
and Torbay
Torbay
Torbay is an east-facing bay and natural harbour, at the western most end of Lyme Bay in the south-west of England, situated roughly midway between the cities of Exeter and Plymouth. Part of the ceremonial county of Devon, Torbay was made a unitary authority on 1 April 1998...
.
The A380 has a steep ascent to the top of Haldon, known as Telegraph Hill. At the top of this hill was a crossroads known as Haldon Chalets which was an accident blackspot
Accident blackspot
An accident blackspot is a term used in road safety management to denote a place where road traffic accidents have historically been concentrated...
, with 43 recorded collisions including one fatal and five serious accidents since January 1998. In 2005 a new bridge was built over the A380 to remove this danger.
Buildings
There are several notable buildings on Haldon. Apart from those discussed in greater depth below, Oxton House, which lies in a secluded valley on the eastern side, was owned by the Earl of ListowelEarl of Listowel
Earl of Listowel is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1822 for William Hare, 1st Viscount Ennismore and Listowel, who had earlier represented Cork City and Athy in the Irish House of Commons. He had already been created Baron Ennismore, in the County of Kerry, in 1800, and...
in the early 20th century. South of this is Mamhead House, otherwise known as Dawlish College; and further south again, on a spur of Little Haldon above the stream known as Dawlish Water, is Ashcombe Tower, built in 1833 as an observatory and later owned by Ralph Rayner
Ralph Rayner
Brigadier Sir Ralph Herbert Rayner MBE was a British Conservative Party politician.Rayner was commissioned into the Duke of Wellington's Regiment, in which he served as a signals officer. He was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps in 1916. During the First World War he served on the Western Front...
. In 1935 he used the architect Brian O'Rorke
Brian O'Rorke
Brian O'Rorke was an architect and interior designer born in Wellington, New Zealand.Educated in engineering and architecture at Cambridge University, O'Rorke did the acclaimed design of a music parlor and London's Mayor Gallery...
to extend it and convert it into a home. Right on the southern edge of Little Haldon, on the outskirts of Dawlish
Dawlish
Dawlish is a town and civil parish in Teignbridge on the south coast of Devon in England, from the county town of Exeter. It has a population of 12,819...
, is Luscombe Castle which was built in 1800 by John Nash
John Nash (architect)
John Nash was a British architect responsible for much of the layout of Regency London.-Biography:Born in Lambeth, London, the son of a Welsh millwright, Nash trained with the architect Sir Robert Taylor. He established his own practice in 1777, but his career was initially unsuccessful and...
for Charles Hoare, a banker. Its gardens were landscaped by Humphrey Repton.
Haldon Belvedere
Haldon Belvedere (also known as Lawrence Castle), a Grade II* triangular tower, stands at a prominent position of the hills overlooking the ExeEXE
EXE is the common filename extension denoting an executable file in the DOS, OpenVMS, Microsoft Windows, Symbian, and OS/2 operating systems....
Estuary. The tower, which was erected by Robert Palk
Robert Palk
Sir Robert Palk, 1st Baronet was an English cleric and politician. He is mostly known for his involvement with the British East India Company and his term as governor of the Madras Presidency.-Early life:...
in memory of his friend Major-General Stringer Lawrence
Stringer Lawrence
Major-General Stringer Lawrence was an English soldier, the first Commander-in-Chief, India, sometimes regarded as the "Father of the Indian Army"....
, is a prominent local landmark and can be seen from a considerable distance. It is now open to the public having been renovated by Devon Historic Buildings Trust in 1994; it is also a venue for civil ceremonies
Civil ceremony
A civil registrar ceremony is a non-religious legal marriage ceremony performed by a government official or functionary. In the UK, this person is normally called a registrar...
, and the top floor is an apartment available for renting.
Haldon House
About a kilometre north-west of Haldon Belvedere, at the foot of the hills, lay Haldon House which was built for Sir George Chudleigh in the early 18th century. It was bought by Sir Robert PalkRobert Palk
Sir Robert Palk, 1st Baronet was an English cleric and politician. He is mostly known for his involvement with the British East India Company and his term as governor of the Madras Presidency.-Early life:...
in around 1770 and was visited by many great people, including King George IV and Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor, known as the father of long distance radio transmission and for his development of Marconi's law and a radio telegraph system. Marconi is often credited as the inventor of radio, and indeed he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand...
, who performed some of his early experiments in radio transmission from the hills. The majority of the house was demolished in the 1940s; the remaining east wing now forms the Lord Haldon Hotel.
Just beyond this is the small scatter of dwellings known as Dunchideock
Dunchideock
Dunchideock is a small civil parish on the north eastern slopes of the Haldon Hills in Teignbridge, Devon, England. It covers an area of 392 hectares and lies about south-west of Exeter and north-east of Bovey Tracey...
, a supposed site of treacle mines, and further north, on a continuation of the Haldon ridge is Cotley Castle
Cotley Castle
Cotley Castle is a large Iron Age Hill fort near Dunchideock in Devon and close to Exeter. It occupies a significant hilltop at 220 metres above sea level, just to the north of Great Haldon, part of the same ridge of the Haldon Hills....
, an Iron age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
hill fort
Hill fort
A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...
.
Leisure
Haldon is heavily forested and a significant proportion of its highest ground is owned by the Forestry CommissionForestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment....
. As a result it is popular with local people for walks, orienteering and off-road cycling. At the highest point on the A38
A38 road
The A38, part of which is also known as the Devon Expressway, is a major A-class trunk road in England.The road runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is long, making it one of the longest A-roads in England. It was formerly known as the Leeds — Exeter Trunk Road,...
is the Exeter Racecourse
Exeter Racecourse
Exeter Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located near the city of Exeter, Devon, England. Locally it is known as Haldon racecourse because of its location on top of the Haldon Hills...
, a National Hunt course that holds the Haldon Gold Cup
Haldon Gold Cup
The Haldon Gold Cup is a Grade 2 National Hunt chase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Exeter over a distance of about 2 miles and 1½ furlongs , and during its running there are twelve fences to be jumped...
event every November.
On top of Little Haldon is Teignmouth Golf Club, the course of which was designed by Alister MacKenzie
Alister MacKenzie
Dr. Alister MacKenzie was an internationally renowned, British golf course architect whose course designs, on three different continents, are consistently ranked among the finest golf courses in the world...
. There are several picnic sites and the area is popular for the panoramic views it affords.
Sources
- John Field, "Learning Through Labour: Training, unemployment and the state, 1890-1939", Leeds University Press, 1992, ISBN 0-900-960-48-5