Dartmoor Preservation Association (DPA) is one of the oldest environmental or amenity bodies in the UK. It was founded in 1883.Kelly, M. "Quartz and Feldspar. Dartmoor: A British Landscape in Modern Times", Jonathan Cape, London, 2015, It concerns itself with Dartmoor, a National Park in Devon, south-west England. It began with two main areas of concern. Firstly, commoners' rights were being eroded through army use, including the firing of live artillery shells, and piecemeal enclosure of land around the margins.Moore, Stuart A. A short history of the rights of common upon the Forest of Dartmoor and the commons of Devon. Dartmoor Preservation Association, Plymouth, 1890. . Secondly, there was increasing public interest in Dartmoor's scenery, archaeology, history and wildlifeSomers Cocks, J. A Dartmoor Century 1883-1983: One hundred years of the Dartmoor Preservation Association. Dartmoor Preservation Association. Yelverton, Devon, 1983. .
The DPA has opposed what it considered to be unsuitable developments on Dartmoor throughout its history. In its founding year, the secretary, Robert Burnard persuaded the War Department not to fire on the Okehampton Firing Range on Saturdays to allow access to the public. Many battles have been fought since, particularly against the military presence and the proposed building of reservoirs on the moor, notably under the Chairmanship of Lady Sayer, granddaughter of Robert Burnard.
The DPA continues to follow the same objectives as when it was founded. For example, in June 2015, it supported the inhabitants of Widecombe-in-the-Moor against the erecting of a telecommunications mast in an area of pristine countryside against the wishes of the local population.
Dartmoor Preservation Association is a registered charity, Number 215665. "Charity Commission Register - Dartmoor Preservation Association"
Background Dartmoor is said to be one of the last remaining areas of wilderness in Britain,Steen, Anthony. 2003, Hansard "Dartmoor National Park (Military Exercises)" HC Deb 15 October 2003 vol 411 cc129-36WH but it has been a managed landscape since the late Neolithic (3,000-2,500 BCE). The Bronze Age inhabitants (from 2,500 to 750 BCE) cleared ancient forest and developed farming. They made extensive use of surface moorstone in the construction of roundhouses (their remains now seen as "hut circles"), enclosures, land-dividing reaves, stone rows, stone circles, menhirs and kistvaens.Butler, Jeremy. Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Vol.1 – The East. Devon Books, Kingkerswell, Devon. 1991. p.5. .
Farming has continued through the medieval period to the present day, but a more disruptive activity to the landscape was the appearance of tin-mining, firstly by stream-working, then by lode-working and finally by underground mining.Newman, Phil. The Dartmoor Tin Industry: A Field Guide. Newton Abbot, Devon. 1968. .Greeves, Tom. Tin Mines and Miners of Dartmoor: A Photographic Record. Devon Books, Kingkerswell, Devon, 1986. p.21. . Many valleys have been dug over and scarred, leaving a rich industrial archaeology.Harris, Helen. Industrial Archaeology of Dartmoor. David & Charles, Newton Abbot, Devon. 1968. . Other activities such as newtake wall building, peat cutting, rabbit warrening, quarrying, clay extraction and the building of a prominent prison have all left marks on the moor.Crossing, William. Crossing’s Dartmoor Worker. 2nd Edn. Peninsula Press, Newton Abbot, Devon. 1992. p.48. Recent undertakings have left more obvious changes: the building of reservoirs and the planting of conifer forests.Somers Cocks, John. "Exploitation". In Dartmoor: A New Study. Editor Crispin Gill. David & Charles, Newton Abbot Devon, 1970. .
History of the association The use of moorstone continued up to recent times with the extensive building of dry stone walls around farm newtakes.Stanbrook, Elisabeth. Dartmoor Forest Farms. Devon Books, Kinkerswell, 1994. pp.6-7. . Later, stone was cut and dressed. The use of moorstone continued to such an extent that in 1847 boundary markers were cut around Pew Tor to protect it. Marker stones were erected around Roos Tor.Brewer, Dave. Dartmoor Boundary Markers. Halsgrove. Tiverton, Devon, 2002. The taking of stone started to change the Dartmoor landscape: for example Eric Hemery (writing in 1983) stated that Swell Tor had been "decapitated and disembowelled by the quarrymen".Hemery, Eric. High Dartmoor. Robert Hale Ltd, London. 1983.
In August 1881, a public meeting was convened by the Portreeve of Tavistock in the Guildhall to discuss the continued taking of stone, particularly from landmark tors. The DPA was founded in 1883. The protected area around Pew Tor was extended in December 1896. In 1901, the DPA commissioned a report into damage to ancient monuments, caused by the taking of stone for building and road-mending, and into unlawful enclosures of common land.Crossing, William. Being Mr. Crossing’s report as to damage to ancient monuments and encroachments on Dartmoor, 1901. Reprinted 1997. Dartmoor Preservation Association Publication No. 9. pp.3-24. .
Commoners' rights The first publication of the DPA, in 1890, was a short history of commoners' rights on Dartmoor and the commons of Devon. This notes a decrease in the numbers of animals even in medieval times: in 1296 – 5,000 cattle, 487 horses, 131 folds of sheep; in 1316 – 3,292 cattle, 368 horses, 100 folds of sheep. An important battle occurred in 1894 when the Corporation of London attempted to buy the whole of Dartmoor in order to pipe its water to Paddington alongside Brunel’s recently converted railway, when it went from broad gauge to standard gauge. The DPA led the revolt against this. In 1897, the DPA went to court to fight successfully the enclosure of a section of Peter Tavy Great Common, in support of a farmer. Commoners rights seem to have been a settled issue in recent years: except for where they are impinged upon by the military presence.
Military use Dartmoor Training Area has been used regularly for military training since 1873, although it was used earlier during the Napoleonic and Crimean Wars. In 1906–07, seven miles of roads were built on the north moor to facilitate the movement of guns. There are three established firing ranges at Okehampton, Willsworthy and Merrivale. The area taken up with live firing ranges is and they are used on average 120 days each year. They are used for small arms, mortars and artillery smoke and illuminating shells.
The use of the moor by the military has been a major concern of the DPA since its founding. In its first year, Robert Burnard (DPA Secretary) persuaded the War Department not to fire on the Okehampton Firing Range on Saturdays so that there may be some public access to the area. Lady Sylvia Sayer was very outspoken about it being totally at odds with the area being designated as a National Park. In 1963 the DPA published a widely circulated 24-page booklet entitled Misuse of a National Park which includes photographs of unexploded shells lying on the open moor, corrugated iron buildings, large craters, a derelict tank used as a target, bullet marks on standing stones, etc. It also contains details of a 1958 incident in which a young boy was killed by a mortar shell near Cranmere Pool.
Since the 1960s there has been much less military damage and litter as a result of the DPA persuading the Services to be more cautious. The military have changed since the Victorian era, they now have 120 conservation groups across the Ministry of Defence (MOD), including Dartmoor Military Conservation Group. The current leases run for many years, with Cramber Tor most recently being granted a further 40-year licence."MOD can use Dartmoor for Military Training until 2053" - Western Morning News website
Afforestation Early afforestation occurred when Brimpts was planted with trees in 1862. The Forestry Commission was founded in 1919, following World War I and in that year the Duchy of Cornwall planted 800 acres of conifers at Fernworthy. In 1921, Plymouth Corporation planted conifers around Burrator Reservoir. The Forestry Commission planted Bellever and Laughter Tor farms in 1930-32 and in 1944-1945 Soussons Down was also planted. The DPA opposed these post-war plantings and R. Hansford Worth (1868–1950, a Plymouth engineer, scientist and antiquarian) delivered a lecture fiercely critical of the Duchy of Cornwall as the landowners at The Plymouth Athenaeum, using the argument of encroachment on the rights of common and loss of ancient monuments. DPA opposition to forestry on Dartmoor arose again in 1953 when it wrote a policy on woodlands in the then-new national park. Opposition was exercised when Hawn, Dendles and High House Wastes, all near Cornwood, were designated for tree planting in 1959. Argument continued while Hawns and Dendles Wastes were ploughed in 1960. High House Waste was purchased by the DPA in 1964 and the Nature Conservancy (UK) bought neighbouring Dendles in 1965. The situation in 2015 is that some of the Dartmoor plantations have been affected by the fungal disease Phytophthora ramorum which results in widespread clear felling to prevent further spread of the disease. The policy now is to replant with more native hardwood trees although more resistant conifers are also being used.
Reservoirs There are eight Dartmoor reservoirs, with the earliest being Tottiford Reservoir, 1861. Three were built in the mid-20th century: Fernworthy, 1942; Avon, 1957 and Meldon, 1972, and the DPA fought many battles over these. It opposed plans for reservoirs on Brent Moor (1899) and Holne Moor (1901) where, later, the Avon Reservoir and Venford Reservoirs were respectively built. The DPA's opposition was supported in the House of Commons with argument made regarding the effects on the local water table.Studholme, Sir Henry. 1959, Hansard "Torbay Corporation (Water) Bill (By Order)" HC Deb 17 March 1959 vol 602 cc291-319 The DPA was one of many local and national amenity bodies that fought the building of the Meldon dam. The preservation battle for the Meldon valley was recorded in a DPA publication."The Meldon Story" Dartmoor Preservation Association, 1972, pp.1-62. The DPA offered a viable alternative site, Gorhuish Valley, for various reasons, including the fact that minerals such as arsenic would leach into the water supply if Meldon were selected.Johnson, Carol, 1966. Hansard "North Devon (Meldon Reservoir) Water Order, 1966" HC Deb 24 October 1968 vol 770 cc361-2W The Meldon story was discussed many times in Parliament. "Hansard Search Results: Meldon Reservoir" Another battle was fought against the flooding of the Swincombe valley to form another reservoir. This was rejected in parliament in 1970, revived in 1974 and finally resolved by the building of the Roadford Reservoir to the west of the moor. In 1985 the DPA used funds from a bequest to purchase 50 acres of land where the dam of a reservoir at Swincombe would have to be.
National Park designation