Ponsworthy
Encyclopedia
Ponsworthy is a hamlet
on the eastern side of Dartmoor
, Devon
, England. It lies in the steep valley of the West Webburn River
about 3.5 km (2.2 mi) southwest of the village of Widecombe-in-the-Moor
.
Its row of picturesque thatched cottages, climbing up a steep hill, are often the subject of calendars and postcards. It also has a mill and old bakehouse, it converted to a house in 1976. Ponsworthy House, built c.1800, has a porch with Doric columns of granite
. At the foot of the hill is the ‘Ponsworthy Splash’, where vehicles must drive through a small stream which runs across the road.
The village is also well-known for Ponsworthy Bridge over the West Webburn River. It has a single arch and contains a stone engraved with the dates 1666 and 1792 - believed to be when repairs were carried out. It was further repaired in 1911. The bridge has a 7.5 feet (2.3 m) width restriction, which is one of the reasons the village is so quiet, for it is impassable to modern coaches.
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
on the eastern side of Dartmoor
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an area of moorland in south Devon, England. Protected by National Park status, it covers .The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops known as tors, providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The...
, Devon
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. It lies in the steep valley of the West Webburn River
West Webburn River
The West Webburn is a stream in the Dartmoor moors in Devon in south-west England. It rises on the western side of the moors flowing off the east side of Hameldon ridge. Its source is extremely close to Grimspound Bronze Age settlement and it was probably the main source of water for the...
about 3.5 km (2.2 mi) southwest of the village of Widecombe-in-the-Moor
Widecombe-in-the-Moor
Widecombe-in-the-Moor is a small village located within the heart of the Dartmoor National Park in Devon, England. . The name is thought to derive from 'Withy-combe' which means Willow Valley....
.
Its row of picturesque thatched cottages, climbing up a steep hill, are often the subject of calendars and postcards. It also has a mill and old bakehouse, it converted to a house in 1976. Ponsworthy House, built c.1800, has a porch with Doric columns of granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
. At the foot of the hill is the ‘Ponsworthy Splash’, where vehicles must drive through a small stream which runs across the road.
The village is also well-known for Ponsworthy Bridge over the West Webburn River. It has a single arch and contains a stone engraved with the dates 1666 and 1792 - believed to be when repairs were carried out. It was further repaired in 1911. The bridge has a 7.5 feet (2.3 m) width restriction, which is one of the reasons the village is so quiet, for it is impassable to modern coaches.