Lettaford

Lettaford is a hamlet in the parish of North Bovey, about two miles south of Chagford, with the Mariner's Way footpath (Bideford to Dartmouth) running through it. The name appears as Lottreford in the Assize Rolls of 1244, later Litterford and Liddaford. Legendary Dartmoor gives its meaning as the ford over the clear stream. The Dartmoor Historic Environment Record puts the origin of the hamlet at about 1450 to 1550.

It grew around three longhouses, each with its own yard and farm buildings: Higher Lettaford in the south, Southmeads to the north and Sanders to the north east. Sanders is of the early 16th century, with additions in the mid 16th and 17th centuries, and has been Grade I listed since 1972. Its shippon was never converted, so the shippon, cross passage and hall can all still be read. The Devon Historical Buildings Trust bought it in 1972 and sold it to the Landmark Trust in 1976 because restoration was too costly; Dartmoor Explorations dates the Landmark restoration to 1977. The Landmark Trust now lets Sanders, Higher Lettaford and the old chapel. At Higher Lettaford the eastern end and byre were pulled down in the 19th century and replaced by a Victorian villa.

In 1803 the Pinsent family owned the farms of Higher and Lower Lettaford. The chapel, given to the Bible Christians in 1860, was also a school for farmers' and miners' children, run by two Miss Splatts, until pupils moved to North Bovey in 1872. In 1948 Sam Harris set up a scrap yard at Lettaford, which the National Park Authority later closed as an eyesore.