Devonshire Oct to Dec 17

devon's crosses | Drywell Cross
Dartmoor's magnetic pull is intractable, pristine
landscapes, unique cultural treasures, impressive natural
feature, I challenge anyone not to consider it a magical
place to visit.
What's astounding is how often you
come across the many stone crosses
lurking across Dartmoor, often in
the middle of nowhere. Some are
extremely ancient, markers of times
spanning millennia, Celtic, Saxon,
Norman, their appearance I hesitate
to say, is almost commonplace. From
what I've read, the purpose of these
crosses seems to be unknown, some
are positioned at crossroads, although
many aren't. According to dartmoorcrosses.org.uk
the Drywell Cross has
had a checkered history, it lies 400
yards north of Jordan Manor and it's
said that a Mr Masson Phillips recorded
that in 1937, he found the head of the
cross build into a nearby roadside wall.
There was no sign of the lower shaft,
and when a Mr Harry Starkey looked
for the cross during the 1950s, it was
found in a nearby ditch and later still
it was found in a pile of rubble in a
field. Thankfully, in 1967 the cross was
restored by the Dartmoor Preservation
Society (led by Masson Phillips), a
replacement had been found for the
lower shaft at the grounds of a house
in Totnes. Jordan manor is historic, the
name Jordan being interesting with
the most obvious reference being
to the river and its associations with
Judaism and Christianity although in
1239-58 a Jordan de Exeter existed, an
Anglo-Norman knight. Perhaps there's
some connection there? Editor
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