Photo © Dave_S. from Witney, England, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Two Bridges
Two Bridges is a hamlet where the B3212 crosses the West Dart, about 2.5 kilometres north-east of Princetown, at roughly 340 metres. The name was first written down in 1573, as Tobrygge, which has been read as 'at the bridge'. A 1765 map shows two bridges, one over the West Dart and one over the Cowsic upstream of the meeting of the two rivers, and by 1891 only one was left. An older bridge now stands beside a modern road bridge; one source gives a Prince Edward Bridge of 1931 to 1932.
The Saracen's Head was built as a coaching inn on the turnpike. Legendary Dartmoor says Sir Francis Buller built it in 1792 and that it became a hotel in 1803, while Wikipedia and Britain Express give 1794. It is now the Two Bridges Hotel. In the 18th century the place was best known for a potato market, with a peak put at about 1770, and a fair was held on the Wednesday after 16 August by 1822. Eden Phillpotts used the inn as a model for the Ring O' Bells in his novels.
Crockern Tor, where the Stannary Parliament met, is just north of the B3212 between Two Bridges and Powder Mills, at grid reference SX 6158 7580, about a kilometre away by local reckoning. The earliest known sitting there was in 1494, ten are confirmed between 1494 and 1703, and a last one in 1749 began there and moved to Tavistock. Wistman's Wood is about 2 kilometres off.
Two Bridges on the map
In Two Bridges
Cists, Two Bridges
Two Bridges
Cists, ancient stone burial tombs from around 2500 to 1500 BC, can be found near Two Bridges on Dartmoor.
Cists, Two Bridges
Two Bridges
Cists are ancient stone tombs found on Dartmoor, dating back to the Late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. These box-like structures, often located in the centre of cairn circles, were created by the people who lived in hut circles.
Crockern Tor
Two Bridges
A windswept granite tor offering sweeping views across central Dartmoor and a glimpse of the moor's raw, elemental character.
Dinah Tuckett
Two Bridges
Keeper of Dunnabridge Pound for over 50 years, presented to Edward VIII in 1936. The shelter inside the pound is known as Dinah's Chair.
House ruins
Two Bridges
The House ruins near Two Bridges are part of Dartmoor's rich archaeological heritage. These ruins, like many on the moor, are remnants of structures from a bygone era.
Powdermills Pottery
Two Bridges, Yelverton
Powdermills Pottery - Pottery for sale, pottery courses & cream teas in an old gunpowder factory in the heart of Dartmoor National Park.
Two Bridges Hotel
Two Bridges, Yelverton
Enjoy a Dartmoor Leisure Break at the Two Bridges Hotel, including a stay in one of our luxurious and individually-styled rooms, a delectable three-course dinner in our two AA-Rosette restaurant each evening, and a very hearty Dartmoor Breakfast each morning.
Warrens
Two Bridges
Fragmentary stone ruins of a medieval warren-keeper's settlement scattered across open moorland.
Wistman's Wood
Two Bridges, Yelverton
A high-altitude oakwood of dwarf oaks among granite boulders in the West Dart valley near Two Bridges, now a National Nature Reserve. Visitors are asked not to enter the wood.
