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Antiquities

Windy Post: a wayside cross on open moorland 1.8km north of Sampford Spiney village

Devon

Windy Post is a modest granite cross marking the open moor 1.8km north of Sampford Spiney village. Like many such crosses scattered across Dartmoor, it likely dates to the medieval period, when these markers served practical purposes for travellers crossing the exposed moorland. The name itself suggests a location of exposure and wind, common for routes that linked settlements and farms across the higher ground.

Today the cross stands as a quiet monument to centuries of moorland travel and the landscape's enduring human geography. Visitors will find it in its natural setting on open ground, a simple stone landmark that speaks to the working history of Dartmoor rather than grand heritage. It remains a Scheduled Monument, protected for its archaeological significance.

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Photo: Alan Rosevear (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Wikimedia Commons

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