Tyrwhitt's Wharf, Buckland Monachorum, Devon

Summary

A granite horse shed of 1823, built for the Plymouth and Dartmoor Tramway by Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt MP.

Description

A transhipment stable built in 1823 for Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt of the Plymouth and Dartmoor Tramway, possibly extended in late C19 and with later alterations.

MATERIALS: constructed of granite rubble with timber roof structure covered in slate. The floor is covered in poured concrete.

DESCRIPTION: rectangular on plan and of single storey with a hipped roof. It has granite quoins to each corner and built into the right corner is an angled granite stack with cast-iron flue. The double-width opening to the north-east elevation is under a replacement timber lintel. To each side are smaller openings sealed in concrete block and stone. Both end elevations have former large openings blocked in stone. The principal roof structure has four adapted trusses and a single row of purlins with late C20 inserted timbers to support failing elements of the structure, which have given the roofline a markedly undulating external appearance. In the north corner is an iron and brick fireplace. There are a number of iron nails and niches to the walls and the truncated end of an iron pipe fixed to the south wall.

History

Plymouth and Dartmoor Tramway was built by Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt to improve the moorland economy and on completion in 1827 it extended from Princetown and Sutton Harbour. The tramway carried quarried granite stone from Dartmoor to Plymouth for its use in construction projects and brought raw materials and general supplies back to Princeton. Tyrwhitt’s Wharf was apparently designed and used as a staging point on Roborough Down for the stabling and refreshment of the horses used to operate the tramway. It may have also been used for storage although its principal transhipment function is indicated by the name ‘wharf’. The construction of the building was completed by 1823 when the line first opened. An inaugural public breakfast for 1,000 people was held on 26 September 1823 to mark “the occasion of opening the Dartmoor Railway and Tunnel” (Exeter Flying Post). After subsequent railway developments in the area, and changes of ownership, the Dartmoor section of the railway above Yelverton was rebuilt as the standard gauge Princetown Railway, which opened in 1883. The remainder of the tramway, including the wharf, had little traffic and went out of use by 1900.

Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt MP (1762-1833) was the Auditor of the Duchy of Cornwall from 1796 and he constructed several roads across Dartmoor as part of his vision to establish and improve agricultural development on the moorland. He also created the settlement of Princetown, the nearby prison for those captured during the Napoleonic Wars (latterly HM Prison Dartmoor) and the Tor Royal Estate. His role as Lord Warden of the Stannaries from 1803-12 reflects his status in tin mining, the principal industry of the region prior to the C20.

A building and tramway are shown at the location of Tyrwhitt’s Wharf on the 1840s tithe map and the tramway is named on the Ordnance Survey (OS) Map of 1872, by which time the building appears to have been enlarged. By the 1906 OS map the line is marked as Old Tramway. Most of the rails were removed in 1916. The former route of the line is visible on satellite photography and is legible in the landscape next to Tyrwhitt’s Wharf in 2021. Stretches of former track from the area north of the wharf to Yelverton (about a mile) retain granite setts (which served as railway sleepers), a granite milepost and the remains of a bridge. To the south a tee on the edge of the golf course appears to incorporate part of the former railway cuttings. A number of the openings in the wharf building have been blocked and reinforcement structure has been added to the roof. In the later C20 and C21 the building has been used for storage and in 2021 stands vacant and proposed for conversion to other uses.

Reasons for Listing

Tyrwhitt’s Wharf on Roborough Down, Clearbrook, Devon, built in 1823, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* as a significant early example of a horse tramway building, which is very rare nationally;
* it reflects the importance of a staging point for horses on the gruelling trips across Dartmoor, at this former wharf which is located within an exceptional historic landscape setting;
* for its association with one of country’s oldest tramway enterprises that was part of the vision of influential improver Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt MP for the development of Dartmoor’s economy.

Architectural interest:

* as a well-constructed Dartmoor granite building which, although primarily functional, is of good quality and reflects the function it once performed;
* features specific to its use, such as the tall entrances at either end, are still legible, albeit sealed in matching granite rubble, and some iron nails and niches in the walls indicate the use for horses as part of the former tramway;
* despite the loss of the original roof structure and some rebuilding, it retains a high proportion of early fabric and the changes illustrate the building’s evolved use.

Group value:

* the building has a strong historic group value with the former route of the horse-drawn tramway. The two are intervisible from the south where the route is clearly visible in its former cutting.

External Links

Historic England Listing

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