Who farmed Dartmoor around 1840
The survey names the occupier of every plot as well as the owner. Where they differ, the occupier was a tenant, a lessee or a family member holding the land. This page ranks the farmers by the land they worked and shows the families (surnames) that recur across the moor. Occupiers who also owned the land, and group entries such as “Sundry Tenants”, are not counted here.
The biggest farmers (tenants and occupiers)
| Farmer | Acres | Plots | Parishes | Main landlords |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Gray | 3,496 | 26 | Shaugh Prior | Lord Morley, Sir Ralph Lopes |
| Robert Hancock | 1,885 | 6 | Buckland Monachorum | Sir Ralph Lopes |
| Richard Harvey Junior James Nixon Cross | 1,573 | 5 | Chagford | Richard Harvey Junior Catherine O'brian |
| William Michael Tucker Paige | 1,545 | 15 | Ilsington | Reverend Charles Marsham |
| Thomas Heyward | 1,148 | 38 | North Bovey, Moretonhampstead | John Tolland, Earl of Devon |
| Richard Rich | 1,102 | 23 | Okehampton | Reverend John Luxmoore, Albany Bourchier Savile |
| John Ford | 697 | 100 | Lydford, Holne, Drewsteignton | Sir John Buller Yarde Buller, Sir Bourchier Palk Wrey |
| William Irish | 669 | 37 | Ilsington | Cranstown Lord |
| John Newcombe | 603 | 178 | Okehampton, Sourton, Gidleigh | Albany Bourchier Savile, Henry Menhenniot |
| William Westington | 598 | 15 | Manaton | John Bastard |
| Thomas Roberts | 592 | 17 | North Bovey | Earl of Devon |
| Edward Knapman | 566 | 135 | Okehampton, Drewsteignton | Albany Bourchier Savile, Richard Lambert |
| Richard Croft | 550 | 55 | Buckland Monachorum | Sir Thomas Trayton Fuller Elliott Drake |
| John Banbury | 545 | 66 | Okehampton | John Gubbins Newton |
| Nicholas Ware | 543 | 14 | Shaugh Prior, Sheepstor, Meavy | Lord Morley, Sir Ralph Lopes |
| William Smerdon | 531 | 54 | Widecombe in the Moor | Elizabeth Lyde |
| Alexander Horton | 530 | 49 | Cornwood | Sir John Leman Rogers |
| Robert Sercombe | 529 | 92 | Cornwood | Sir John Leman Rogers |
| Jonathan Pellow | 522 | 49 | Okehampton, Sourton | Albany Bourchier Savile, Reverend John Luxmoore |
| Henry Lavers | 489 | 9 | Shaugh Prior | George Woolcombe |
| William Ellis | 479 | 157 | Moretonhampstead, Drewsteignton, Chagford | Ann Luke, Earl of Devon |
| George Gould | 457 | 70 | Okehampton | Albany Bourchier Savile, Reverend John Luxmoore |
| John Tucker | 450 | 63 | Dean Prior | Sir John Buller Yarde Buller |
| Edward Trevenen Samuel Kenshole George Ponsford William Smith John Smith and Samuel Martin | 440 | 71 | Drewsteignton | Reverend Edward Trevenen |
| Pellow | 434 | 5 | Sourton | Calmady Hamlyn John Morth Woolcombe and John Newton |
| William Bailey | 433 | 92 | Bridestowe | Reverend John Wollocombe, Reverend John Wollocombe George Lethbridge |
| Nicholas Easterbrook | 433 | 46 | Widecombe in the Moor, Holne | Lady Elizabeth Carew, Sir Bourchier Palk Wrey |
| Charles Ball | 430 | 36 | Okehampton | Reverend John Luxmoore |
| George Brock | 422 | 61 | Bridford | Sir Lawrence Vaughan Palk |
| Thomas Bray | 409 | 108 | Sourton | John Morth Woolcombe, John Morth Woolcombe and John Gubbins Newton |
| Robert Nosworthy | 408 | 69 | Widecombe in the Moor, Manaton | Thomas Hayward, Samuel Trehawke Kekewich and John Wilkinson- Trustees of Late Earl of Devon |
| Thomas Hext | 401 | 107 | Widecombe in the Moor, South Brent, Buckland in the Moor | Margaret Baring, John Allen |
| Elias Cuming | 392 | 173 | Moretonhampstead, North Bovey | Earl of Devon |
| Samuel Palmer | 388 | 19 | Okehampton | Reverend John Luxmoore |
| Henry Sanders | 388 | 59 | Harford, Cornwood | Sir John Lemon Rogers, Sir John Leman Rogers |
| Thomas Baker | 387 | 38 | Bridestowe, Belstone | John Gubbins Newton, John Langmead |
| Richard Woolland | 383 | 82 | Drewsteignton | George Ponsford, Reverend William Ponsford |
| Richard Rowe | 378 | 37 | Lustleigh, Moretonhampstead | Judith Southmead |
| Thomas Smerdon | 361 | 96 | South Brent, Buckland in the Moor | John Butter M D, Reverend John Leman Rogers Robert Hurrell Troute and Henry Karslake |
| William Hooper | 344 | 75 | Chagford, Buckland Monachorum, Okehampton | Honourable Newton Fellowes, Duke of Bedford |
The families
Surnames of occupiers, with how many separate people held land and where. A surname is not proof of kinship, but where it recurs in one area it usually is.
| Surname | Acres | People | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gray | 3,597 | 5 | Shaugh Prior (3,501 ac), Moretonhampstead (96 ac) |
| Hancock | 1,885 | 1 | Buckland Monachorum (1,885 ac) |
| Heyward | 1,801 | 5 | North Bovey (1,781 ac), Moretonhampstead (15 ac), Chagford (5 ac) |
| Smerdon | 1,783 | 11 | Widecombe in the Moor (762 ac), South Brent (465 ac), Buckland in the Moor (297 ac) |
| Cross | 1,638 | 2 | Chagford (1,638 ac) |
| French | 1,613 | 11 | Widecombe in the Moor (505 ac), Lustleigh (392 ac), Manaton (335 ac) |
| Paige | 1,545 | 1 | Ilsington (1,545 ac) |
| Brock | 1,357 | 11 | Bridford (422 ac), Gidleigh (307 ac), Moretonhampstead (299 ac) |
| Horton | 1,340 | 11 | Cornwood (1,247 ac), Harford (94 ac) |
| Junior | 1,313 | 18 | Cornwood (555 ac), South Brent (245 ac), North Bovey (193 ac) |
| Ford | 1,262 | 6 | Drewsteignton (533 ac), Lydford (431 ac), Holne (150 ac) |
| Rich | 1,259 | 5 | Okehampton (1,238 ac), Mary Tavy (20 ac) |
| Pellow | 1,240 | 8 | Sourton (701 ac), Okehampton (539 ac) |
| Palmer | 1,225 | 10 | Okehampton (686 ac), Bridestowe (472 ac), Buckland Monachorum (66 ac) |
| Rowe | 1,174 | 15 | Moretonhampstead (344 ac), Lustleigh (254 ac), Drewsteignton (208 ac) |
| Luscombe | 1,089 | 13 | Cornwood (432 ac), Ugborough (306 ac), Buckland Monachorum (163 ac) |
| Wills | 1,055 | 7 | Moretonhampstead (395 ac), Ilsington (340 ac), Lustleigh (145 ac) |
| Newcombe | 1,045 | 6 | Okehampton (582 ac), Sourton (235 ac), Gidleigh (108 ac) |
| Nosworthy | 1,001 | 10 | Widecombe in the Moor (440 ac), Manaton (340 ac), North Bovey (217 ac) |
| Hannaford | 977 | 11 | Widecombe in the Moor (659 ac), Lydford (199 ac), Meavy (72 ac) |
| Hext | 957 | 9 | Widecombe in the Moor (411 ac), Chagford (146 ac), Buckland in the Moor (125 ac) |
| Knapman | 927 | 3 | Drewsteignton (489 ac), Okehampton (348 ac), Buckland Monachorum (90 ac) |
| Cuming | 894 | 5 | Moretonhampstead (471 ac), North Bovey (358 ac), Manaton (65 ac) |
| Hamlyn | 867 | 9 | Dean Prior (215 ac), Widecombe in the Moor (212 ac), Holne (156 ac) |
| Northmore | 804 | 12 | Buckland Monachorum (215 ac), Meavy (191 ac), Sheepstor (151 ac) |
| Woolland | 800 | 4 | Drewsteignton (643 ac), Moretonhampstead (156 ac) |
| Hill | 794 | 9 | Bridestowe (329 ac), Lustleigh (211 ac), Sourton (199 ac) |
| Irish | 752 | 3 | Ilsington (670 ac), Lydford (81 ac) |
| Easterbrook | 739 | 6 | Widecombe in the Moor (449 ac), Holne (224 ac), Dean Prior (66 ac) |
| Ellis | 737 | 7 | Chagford (300 ac), Moretonhampstead (234 ac), Drewsteignton (178 ac) |
How much was let, parish by parish
| Parish | Acres farmed by someone other than the owner | Share of the parish |
|---|---|---|
| Okehampton | 8,385 | 89% |
| Sourton | 4,389 | 87% |
| North Bovey | 4,722 | 83% |
| Lydford | 3,335 | 83% |
| Ugborough | 2,026 | 80% |
| Brentor | 941 | 78% |
| Cornwood | 4,652 | 77% |
| Shaugh Prior | 6,714 | 77% |
| Holne | 1,760 | 75% |
| Moretonhampstead | 5,651 | 74% |
| Buckland Monachorum | 4,959 | 72% |
| Bridestowe | 4,096 | 72% |
| Drewsteignton | 4,851 | 70% |
| South Brent | 4,468 | 70% |
| Ilsington | 5,265 | 70% |
| Chagford | 5,116 | 68% |
| Dean Prior | 2,540 | 62% |
| Sampford Spiney | 1,051 | 61% |
| Peter Tavy | 1,634 | 59% |
| Bridford | 2,354 | 57% |
| Meavy | 1,848 | 56% |
| Throwleigh | 1,020 | 54% |
| Whitchurch | 2,983 | 50% |
| Mary Tavy | 1,908 | 46% |
| Harford | 703 | 45% |
| Lustleigh | 1,320 | 44% |
| Widecombe in the Moor | 4,658 | 44% |
| Buckland in the Moor | 573 | 39% |
| Belstone | 429 | 39% |
| Sheepstor | 1,268 | 35% |
| Walkhampton | 3,705 | 35% |
| Manaton | 2,214 | 35% |
| Gidleigh | 645 | 19% |
Credit: Tithe polygons: Devon Tithe Mapping Polygonisation Project (Adnams 2023), © Devon County Council and Devon Heritage Centre, CC BY 4.0. Transcriptions: Devon County Council. The records may contain errors and duplicate entries.
