Lyd Enclosure

On the east bank of the River Lyd, opposite Black Rock and below Brat Tor, stands the ruin of a small enclosure. Stretches of drystone walling survive among the bracken, and the old map shows that it was once a neat rectangle beside the river. Nobody seems to have written down what it was for.

• Where: SX 53222 85474, on the east bank of the River Lyd, opposite Black Rock, about 280 m north of the ruins at Wheal Mary Emma
• What survives: stretches of drystone walling
• On the old map: a narrow rectangular enclosure, roughly 30 m by 15 m measured off the 25-inch map, which is approximate; it appears on the edition of 1902 to 1905 and not on the earlier survey of the 1880s
• Records: it is not scheduled, and we have found no written description of it

What the maps show

On the second edition of the 25-inch Ordnance Survey map the enclosure is drawn as a long, narrow rectangle with its long side beside the river, with boulders scattered along the bank beside it. The earlier 25-inch survey of the 1880s shows the boulders and the river but no enclosure. The maps do not say what it was, or who built it.

What we have not found

It is not a scheduled monument, and the Dartmoor Walks database of prehistoric sites records nothing within half a kilometre. We have searched our library of Dartmoor books and reports, including the 2006 survey of nearby Doe Tor Farm, and found no description of an enclosure here. It may be connected with the mine at Wheal Mary Emma, with the farming of the valley, or with something else; we cannot tell. If you know of a record, a photograph or a story about it, we would like to hear.

Nearby

Across the river is Black Rock, with the Captain Hunter Memorial and Black Rock Falls. Downstream the River Lyd passes the ruins of Wheal Mary Emma, and the ring cairn and rectangular building earthwork lies a little north-west, on the far side of the river. This area is outside the military firing ranges, but ranges lie nearby on the moor, so check the firing times before you go further.