Prisoners of War and Conscience
"The prison is situated on one of the highest places in England & it either snows or rains the whole year round!" HMP Dartmoor was due to...
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lawrencemcneela
- Nov 1
- 2 min
When the devil came to town
Widecombe can boast a church so grand and splendid it is known as 'the cathedral of the moor'. The church of Saint Pancras, pictured...
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lawrencemcneela
- Oct 25
- 3 min
'Tis Halloween Night, Me Lovelies!
Dartmoor Halloween Traditions Halloween is said to be the time of year when the veil 'twixt this world and the next is at its thinnest....
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lawrencemcneela
- Jan 16
- 3 min
A Second Night In A Haunted Inn
I've just returned from a wonderful weekend at the haunted Cridford Inn at Thrusham, a sleepy Devonshire village lying just outside the...
178 views0 comments
lawrencemcneela
- Nov 24, 2022
- 2 min
There is a fire and it never goes out
Yes, I was a Smiths fan when younger. Well, I guess I still am but I digress. For this quaint piece of moorland folklore has nothing to...
26 views1 comment
lawrencemcneela
- Oct 20, 2022
- 2 min
The Cruel Fingers of Gibbet Hill
Dartmoor folklore is often gruesome and grim. As grim as the boggy mires and fog shrouded tors that dominate the landscape. There is no...
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lawrencemcneela
- Oct 6, 2022
- 4 min
A Haunted Moorland Pub
I used to be the landlord of an old pub on Dartmoor. It was here that I saw (and heard) a ghost for the very first time. The Royal...
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lawrencemcneela
- Aug 24, 2022
- 3 min
The Little Church On The Tor
One of the chapters of Forever Onward, Battling The Beast of Dartmoor has the title The Little Church On The Tor. It refers to a real...
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lawrencemcneela
- Jun 25, 2022
- 3 min
The Black Pig of Lydford
During the reign of King James II, one man struck fear and hatred into the heart of every miscreant, criminal, and ne'er-do-well....
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lawrencemcneela
- Jun 6, 2022
- 3 min
Old Dewer and the Wild Hunt
Imagine walking over Dartmoor at night. The sky is dark with storm clouds, the air filled with rain. A wind howls as it whips through the...
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lawrencemcneela
- Jun 4, 2022
- 3 min
Vixana
One of Dartmoor's most striking landmarks is Vixen Tor, which rears like a sphinx near the road from Tavistock to Princetown. The...
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lawrencemcneela
- May 4, 2022
- 5 min
The Hairy Hands of Dartmoor
Imagine the year is 1921, just over one hundred years ago. Dartmoor is a remote and isolated waste, far from civilisation. There are few...
48 views2 comments
lawrencemcneela
- Apr 11, 2022
- 2 min
Kitty Jay's Grave
Not far from Hound Tor and Bowerman's Nose is a real curiosity, something truly unique to Dartmoor. It is known as Kitty Jay's Grave, and...
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lawrencemcneela
- Apr 3, 2022
- 1 min
Never Cross A Wicked Witch
Bowerman's Nose One of Dartmoor's most famous sights is the eccentric pillar of granite known as Bowerman's Nose. It's a...
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lawrencemcneela
- Mar 24, 2022
- 3 min
A Night In A Haunted Hotel
The Three Crowns Inn, Chagford Nestling within the gentle countryside of the Teign Valley, the pretty village of Chagford is one of...
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lawrencemcneela
- Feb 28, 2022
- 4 min
My Ladye Hath A Sable Coach
One of the stories, and indeed songs, featured in Forever Onward, Battling The Beast of Dartmoor involves the infamous Lady Mary Howard....
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lawrencemcneela
- Jan 23, 2022
- 5 min
When the writer becomes the story!
Sabine Baring Gould (1834-1924) was a great collector of folklore and ghost stories. He travelled from country tavern to country tavern,...
10 views1 comment
lawrencemcneela
- Jan 11, 2022
- 2 min
Sabine Baring-Gould
Onward Christian soldiers, Marching as to war With the cross of Jesus, Going on Before This Anglican hymn, one of the most famous ever...
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lawrencemcneela
- Jan 11, 2022
- 1 min
Forever Onward, Battling The Beast of Dartmoor
The novel, 'Forever Onward, Battling The Beast of Dartmoor' relies on the landscape and folklore of a unique part of Southern England. As...
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