Vermin trap near Great Trowlesworthy Tor

This small stone structure on Trowlesworthy Warren is a vermin trap, one of several built across the warren to protect the rabbits that were farmed here as a valuable food source. Such traps date from the medieval period onwards, when warrens were carefully managed commercial enterprises on Dartmoor. The trap would have been designed to catch foxes, badgers and other predators that threatened the warren keeper's stock.

Today it remains as a modest but tangible reminder of how the moor was actively worked and managed for centuries. The site sits within the broader landscape of Trowlesworthy Warren, south west of Great Trowlesworthy Tor, where the scattered evidence of warren life still marks the moorland surface. It is a scheduled monument, protected for its archaeological importance to understanding Dartmoor's medieval and post-medieval economy.

Historic England listed designation: Vermin trap 350m south west of Great Trowlesworthy Tor forming part of Trowlesworthy Warren