{{Short description|Granite tor on Dartmoor in Devon, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox mountain | name = Haytor | image = Haytor, May 2011 2.jpg | image_caption = The larger eastern outcrop of Haytor | image_size = 300 | elevation_m = 457 | elevation_ref = | prominence_m = | prominence_ref = | listing = | location = [[Dartmoor]], England | map = United Kingdom Devon | map_caption = Haytor in [[Devon]] | map_size = | label_position = right | coordinates = {{coord|50.579285|-3.7558269|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | grid_ref_UK = SX757770 | topo = [[Ordnance Survey|OS]] ''Landranger'' 191 | type = | first_ascent = | easiest_route = }} {{Mapframe|type=point|frame=yes|id=Q5687305|zoom=12|frame-width=250|text=Interactive map of Haytor}}
'''Haytor''', also known as '''Haytor Rocks''',<ref name=B>{{cite book |last=Bound|first=Terry |title=The A to Z of Dartmoor Tors |publisher=Obelisk Publications|location=Exeter, Devon |year=1995|edition=revised |page=42|isbn=1-899073-27-2}}</ref> '''Hay Tor''', or occasionally '''Hey Tor''',<ref>Hemery 1983, p. 692</ref> is a [[granite]] [[Tor (rock formation)|tor]] on the eastern edge of [[Dartmoor]] in the English [[county]] of [[Devon]].
==Location== The tor is at grid reference {{gbmappingsmall|SX757770}}, near the village of [[Haytor Vale]] in the parish of [[Ilsington]]. There is an [[electoral ward]] with the same name. The population at the [[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]] is 2,862.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/haytor-e05003601#sthash.wBENmxW5.dpbs|title= Ward population 2011. Retrieved 18 Feb 2015}}</ref>
==History== [[File:Distant view of Haytor.jpg|A typical distant view of Haytor as seen from the [[A38 road]] between [[Exeter]] and [[Plymouth]]|thumb|left]]
''Idetordoune'' (1566), ''Ittor Doune'' (1687), ''Idetor'' (1737), ''Eator Down'' (1762) and ''Itterdown'' (1789) are a few recorded examples of earlier names by which Haytor was known.<ref>Gover, J.E.B., Mawer, A. & Stenton, F.M. (1932). ''The Place-Names of Devon''. English Place-Names Society. Vol ix. Part II. Cambridge University Press. p. 476.</ref> The name ''Haytor'' is of comparatively recent origin, and is probably a corruption of its old name and that of the [[Haytor Hundred]],<ref>Hemery 1983, pp. 692–3 expounds on the derivation of the name in great depth.</ref> which covered the coastal area between the [[River Teign]] and [[River Dart]],<ref>Percy Russell, A History Of Torquay (Torquay: Devonshire Press Limited, 1960), 6</ref> itself now considered to have been named after a lost village located somewhere between Totnes and Newton Abbot.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-names |last=Watts|first=Victor |publisher=Cambridge University Press |edition=1st paperback |year=2010|page=290 |isbn=978-0-521-16855-7}}</ref>
In the 19th century steps were made to allow pedestrians up to the top of the tor and a metal handrail fixed to allow tourists easier access to the summit. This was not entirely welcomed and in 1851, a Dr Croker complained about the rock steps that had been cut "to enable the enervated and pinguedinous scions of humanity of this wonderful nineteenth century to gain the summit".<ref>Quoted in Hemery 1983, p. 693. According to the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary|OED]]'' the word ''pinguedinous'' means "of the nature of or resembling fat; fatty, greasy."</ref> The handrail was removed in the 1960s due to it rusting: the stumps of the uprights are still embedded in the rock.<ref name=H693>Hemery 1983, p. 693</ref>
In 1953, Haytor was used as a major location for the feature film ''[[Knights of the Round Table (film)|Knights of the Round Table]]'' starring [[Robert Taylor (American actor)|Robert Taylor]] and [[Ava Gardner]]. An "elaborate and impressive castle" was built between the two main rock piles of the tor and traditional medieval sports, including [[jousting]], were staged here for the film.<ref>{{cite book |last=Barber|first=Chips |author2=FitzGerald, David |title=Made In Devon |publisher=Obelisk Publications |location=Exeter|year=1988 |page=74 |isbn=0-946651-20-5}}</ref>
The whole of Haytor Down was sold to the newly formed [[Dartmoor National Park Authority]] in 1974.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mercer|first=Ian |title=Dartmoor - A Statement of its Time |publisher=Collins|location=London|year=2009 |pages=331–2 |isbn=978-0-00-718499-6}}</ref>
==Geology== Haytor has the form of a typical "avenue" tor, where the granite between the two main outcrops has been eroded away. Its characteristic shape is a notable landmark visible on the skyline from many places in south Devon between [[Exeter]] and [[Totnes]]. The majority of the tor consists of coarse-grained granite, but at the base of the western outcrop is a layer of finer-grained granite which has eroded more than the rock above, leaving a pronounced overhang (a [[rock shelter]]) of two or three feet in places.<ref name=P93>Perkins 1972, pp. 93–5</ref>
''Haytorite,'' a variety of [[quartz]] found in an iron mine adjacent to the Hay Tor granite quarries, was named “in honour of its birth-place”.<ref>Tripe, Cornelius: ''Observations on a Mineral from near Hay Tor, in Devonshire'' in: The Philosophical Magazine, or Annals of Chemistry, Mathematics, Astronomy, Natural History, and General Science Vol. I., London 1827, p. 38 [https://books.google.com/books?id=ioIqAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA38 Google Books]</ref>
==Quarrying== [[File:050715 043 uk dev quarry.jpg|Haytor quarry|thumb]] The granite below the tor has fewer large [[feldspar]] crystals than at the tor itself, and this was preferred for building.<ref name=P93 /> There are several quarries on the northern slopes of Haytor down which were worked intermittently between 1820 and 1919.<ref name=P93 /> Between 1820 and 1858 the rock from these quarries was transported by the [[Haytor Granite Tramway]] to the [[Stover Canal]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stovercanal.co.uk/history.htm |title=History of the Stover Canal |publisher=Stover Canal Society |access-date=2012-04-22}}</ref> The tramway itself was built out of the granite it would carry, and due to its durable nature much of it remains visible today.
Haytor granite was used in the reconstruction of [[London Bridge#"New" (19th century) London Bridge|London Bridge]] which opened in 1831 and was moved in 1970 to [[Lake Havasu City, Arizona|Lake Havasu City]] in Arizona.<ref name=P112>Perkins 1972, pp. 112–4</ref> The last rock quarried here in 1919 was used for the [[Devon County War Memorial|Exeter war memorial]].<ref>{{cite book | title=Devon's Century of Change| last=Harris| first=Helen| year=1998| publisher=Peninsula Press| location=Newton Abbot| isbn=1-872640-47-8| page=82}}</ref>
==Today== Haytor rocks and quarries are protected from development and disturbance as a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]]. The area is considered a natural beauty spot and is arguably Dartmoor's most famous landmark,<ref name=B /> visited by coach parties and walking groups.<ref name=H693 /> It is accessible by road and at a height of {{convert|457|m|ft|0}}<ref name=B /> right on the eastern side of the moor, it provides views of the coastline, the [[Teign Estuary]] and the rolling countryside between, with the ridge of [[Haldon]] behind. In 2013, [[Simon Jenkins]] rated the view from Haytor as one of the top ten in England.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/countryside/10341432/Our-glorious-land-in-peril.html |title=Our glorious land in peril |last=Jenkins|first=Simon |date=28 September 2013|work=The Telegraph |access-date=16 October 2018}}</ref>
The smaller, western outcrop is sometimes known as "Lowman".<ref name=J /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk:80/Murder-probe-launched-Dartmoor-deaths-mum/story-19515660-detail/story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130715145054/http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/Murder-probe-launched-Dartmoor-deaths-mum/story-19515660-detail/story.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 July 2013 |title=Murder probe launched after Dartmoor deaths of mum and two children |last=Goodwin |first=Phil |work=[[Plymouth Herald]] |date=13 July 2013 |access-date=2 August 2014 }}</ref> [[Rock climbing|Rock climbers]] make use of both outcrops; each has routes of varying difficulty.<ref name=J>{{cite web |url=http://www.javu.co.uk/Climbing/Guides/DartmoorRoutes/Haytor/Haytor.shtml |title=Haytor - Climbing Guide|publisher=jaVu.co.uk |access-date=2012-04-22}}</ref>
The road that passes below the tor hosted a summit finish on Stage 6 of the [[2013 Tour of Britain]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/537525/tour-of-britain-2013-route-revealed.html |title=Tour of Britain 2013 Route Revealed |publisher=cyclingweekly.co.uk |access-date=2013-03-23}}</ref> and the climb was again used for the finish of the sixth stage of the [[2016 Tour of Britain]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/37321207 |title=Tour of Britain: Steve Cummings takes lead as Wout Poels wins stage six |website=[[bbc.co.uk]] |date=9 September 2016 |access-date=10 September 2016}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist|40em}}
==Sources== *{{cite book |title=High Dartmoor |author=Eric Hemery |publisher=Robert Hale|location=London |year=1983|isbn=0-7091-8859-5}} *{{cite book |last=Perkins|first=John |title=Geology Explained: Dartmoor and the Tamar Valley |publisher=David and Charles|location=Newton Abbot |year=1972|isbn=0-7153-5516-3}}
== External links == * [http://www.dartmoorarchive.org/search/text/haytor Dartmoor Archive - Hay Tor Images] {{Commons category-inline|Haytor}}
{{Settlements of Dartmoor}}
[[Category:Tors of Dartmoor]] [[Category:Dartmoor]]