Hamel Down Cross

Historic England's scheduling record (list entry 1004576) describes a wayside cross close to the summit of Hameldown Tor. It is a single roughly hewn granite slab, rectangular in section, with the top of the head and one arm missing. It stands 1.4 metres high and up to 0.6 metres wide across the remaining arm and shaft, with a scatter of stones around its foot. It bears the inscription HC DS 1854, which stands for Hamel Down Cross, Duke of Somerset and the date. It lies across the parishes of Manaton and Widecombe in the Moor, about 1.3 km south-east of Hookney Tor and 1.2 km north-east of Challacombe.

In 1854 the cross was moved to where it stands to mark the boundary of Natsworthy Manor, then owned by the Duke of Somerset. There are similar boundary markers nearby on a number of barrows, scheduled separately. John Weir's walking guide gives the same reading and says the inscription is on the east face.

Sources: Historic England list entry 1004576 (updated 12 November 2015), which cites Butler, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities, vol 1 (1991), page 151, and PastScape 445639. The east-face detail is from John Weir, Dartmoor and Exmoor (Great Walks), page 115 of the Library copy.

• Period: Medieval
• Status: Scheduled monument (Historic England list entry 1004576)
• Grid reference: SX 7042 8009 (approximate, from the listing's coordinates)