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Blowing mill near Merrivale Bridge
Grid ref: SX 5525 7534
On walking routes: Abbot's Way
Main image: Photo: Sandy Gerrard, Wikimedia Commons
This scheduled monument, located on the moor northeast of Merrivale Bridge, consists of a blowing mill and vermin trap. The blowing mill was used to work metal, powered by the wind or water, while the vermin trap reflects the practical management of the moorland landscape. Both structures date from the medieval or early modern period, when such industrial and agricultural activities were integral to life on and around Dartmoor.
Today the site survives as earthworks and structural remains in the moorland. It offers insight into the working landscape of the past, where practical necessities shaped how people used the moor. The location, close to Merrivale Bridge on the central moor, places it within a historically rich area marked by Bronze Age remains and later settlement.
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Photograph by Glavind Strachan Photography“In the distant hollow on the left, half hidden by the mist, the two thin towers of Baskerville Hall rose above the trees.”
Also on Our DartmoorSteng-a-Tor — A remote, weathered tor with a 'Camel'-shaped outcrop, surrounded by bog and overlooking the West Okement Valley.
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