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Much has been written about
the moor. Its stories and legends make fascinating reading.
A glorious and in many ways unspoilt region it can change
its face with every turn of the weather, transforming itself
from friendly and welcoming to cold and forbidding. Its topography
ranges from craggy outcrops to leafy dells, moorland clad
in heather and bracken and pasture for the wild ponies, hardy
enough to survive winters which can be harsh and, for the
individual improperly attired, quite dangerous.
High up on dartmoor amidst
an area of isolated farms and villages is Princetown. With
the best will in the world it could hardly be described as
pretty; on the contrary it is grey and forbidding but the
place has a presence due to its most famous feature - its
prison of massive, granite block construction. It was built
in 1806 to house French soldiers captured in the Napoleonic
wars and from 1850 began to welcome convicts from the English
penal system. Its isolated position was well intentioned;
not many inmates escaped and when any managed to get over
the wall they then had to face the moor in all its capricious
moods. The town's church was built by prisoners of war.
For lots more information about
Dartmoor
please click on the following link
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