A History of Ilsington Paperback

Haytor rocks, pictured on the cover of this book, are familiar to the tens of thousands of visitors who come annually to climb them.

Many choose to walk on the surrounding down and some venture further into Dartmoor.

Not so well known is that both the rocks and down lie within the historic parish of Ilsington.

Ilsington has a recorded history of some 1,000 years and a pre-history dating back to the Neolithic age.

Not far from Haytor rocks stand the remains of Bronze-Age huts, from which fragments of pottery, now in the Torquay museum, were excavated in the 19th century.

The names of Saxon settlers before the Conquest are kept alive in local place-names and recorded in "Domesday Book".

This entertaining and informative new book covers landmark events in Ilsington's history, such as St Michael's church receiving its charter around 1187, and King Edward I visiting the parish in 1287 - the only reigning monarch to have done so.

The reader also meets local residents of eminence, such as the Elizabethan dramatist, John Ford, who was born at Bagtor in 1586. The granite that forms Haytor rocks intruded into the surrounding sedimentary rocks some 300 million years ago, forming many metalliferous ores.

These were being worked at least as early as 1532. By the 19th century the mining industry was of major local importance: granite was quarried on the down and used, among other things, to construct parts of the British Museum, the National Gallery and London Bridge.

Here the railway lines, themselves made of granite, on which horse-drawn wagons transported the rock off the down, can easily be seen.

A clear and well-researched narrative covers the origins and growth of the parish and its institutions, past and present.

Enhanced by its splendid illustrations, this book will prove popular with residents and visitors alike.