Poundsgate

Poundsgate is a small village on the road between Ashburton and Princetown, in the ecclesiastical parish of Leusdon, the civil parish of Widecombe in the Moor and the manor of Spitchwick. It is a scatter of cottages and farms near the Dart gorge.

Wikipedia says the name comes from the pound, a stock enclosure on the left of the road just past the last house going towards Princetown. That house has been a smithy, post office, telephone exchange and bakery. The Widecombe village website lists a post office and general stores in Poundsgate, while Wikipedia says the shop, post office and garage have closed.

The Tavistock Inn is Grade II listed, with a fireplace with granite jambs and a winding stone staircase. Its age is given differently: Wikipedia says it is believed to date from the 13th century, and a pub guide gives about 1413. The same guide says Roundhead gunners were stationed there in 1646. Local tradition says the Devil called at the inn on his way to Widecombe church in 1638, and a poem about it hangs by the fireplace. No early written source for that story is known.