Stalldown Stone Row

Also known as:
Staldon
Nearest town:
Rattery (10km E)
OS reference:
SX632623
OS sheet:
202
Latitude:
50° 26' 38.2 N
Longitude:
3° 55' 36.77 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Stalldown Stone Row by GLADMAN

The smaller section of this enigmatic stone row, possibly Dartmoor’s finest?

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jan 15, 2011
Image of Stalldown Stone Row by thesweetcheat

Recumbent slab towards the southern end of the row. If this was ever erect, it would have towered over its neighbours.

Image credit: A. Brookes (10.6.2010)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Jul 11, 2010
Image of Stalldown Stone Row by thesweetcheat

Looking north from the fourth stone from the north – from here southwards the stones are much smaller (although still large by Dartmoor stone row standards).

Image credit: A. Brookes (10.6.2010)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Jul 11, 2010
Image of Stalldown Stone Row by thesweetcheat

Large recumbent slab just to the north of the last standing stone. Could this have been the terminal stone?

Image credit: A. Brookes (10.6.2010)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Jul 11, 2010
Image of Stalldown Stone Row by thesweetcheat

The northern end with four lovely standing stones, the largest in the row. A low cairn to the northwest of the row can be over to the right of centre.

Image credit: A. Brookes (10.6.2010)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Jul 11, 2010
Image of Stalldown Stone Row by Billy Fear

Summit looking W with cairn 4(according to J.Butler) in front of row.
02/05/2009

Image credit: Billy Fear
Billy Fear
Billy Fear May 8, 2009
Image of Stalldown Stone Row by Meic

Stalldown Row – 13th June 2006

Image credit: Michael Mitchell
Meic
Meic Oct 24, 2006
Image of Stalldown Stone Row by Meic

Stalldown Row – 9th March 2004

Image credit: Michael Mitchell
Meic
Meic Oct 24, 2006
Image of Stalldown Stone Row by Lubin

A photo taken looking south from the adjacent cairn.

Image credit: Peter Castle ©
Lubin
Lubin Feb 21, 2005

Articles

Stalldown Stone Row

thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Aug 23, 2010

After another of the Blatchford Bottom settlements, this one with a suspicious bullock keeping a wary eye on me, I start to climb again, this time up to Stalldown. As I reach the crest, the tips of the northernmost upright stones of the row come into view. This is the tallest of Dartmoor’s stone rows and the four uprights at the northern end are the tallest stones in the row. They are all about 2-2.5 metres tall and very shapely, leaning in slightly different directions, which makes for a very photogenic site. There are a couple more large stones lying fallen to the north, which may well have been part of the row – the northernmost is a large slab. What a lovely setting of stones this is, who could ask for more?

Following the row roughly south as it heads off the top of the hill, the stones become markedly smaller after those first few, and there is the additional treat of a small cairn- or kerb-circle adjacent to the row. Towards the south end of the row is a recumbent slab, which would have been much taller than its neighbours if erected and the final upright is a rounded, boulderish stone – it may be that the row continued beyond this point, but no uprights remain. Plymouth Sound emerges from the gloom to the southwest to show I’m heading in the right direction.

Stalldown Stone Row

Mr Hamhead
Mr Hamhead May 4, 2009

Having visited this area about three years ago..or was it four? I decided it was time to return. Last time, after walking up the east side of the Erme, I had decided against the climb up onto Stalldown whilst heading back down the west side and so missed this mighty stone row.

This time I chose a route starting on the west side of the Erme, crossing Harford Bridge and taking a path along the river that soon petered out into several animal tracks and nothing else. Going ‘off piste’ I found my way to Tristis Rock then picking up the stone row directly behind it crossed the moorland northwards to Stalldown.

It is this route that Crossing suggests in his Guide To Dartmoor, Excursion 33 but I have to say the route from Torr along the waterworks track may be easier!

Reaching Stalldown you can not see the row and must head off in a northwesterly direction uphill. You find yourself on a spur of the main ridge and at last get a view of the row ahead and over to the left. It is still a bit of a walk across boggy moorland to reach the southern end of the row, but once there all that remains is to follow its majestic stones to the summit and beyond.

There are a number of small low cairns to be seen along the rows length, but the main one, which gives the hill its name is across the plateau to the east.

Stalldown Stone Row

hrothgar
hrothgar May 30, 2006

AKA The Cornwood Maidens.

We parked at New Waste (SX 625 611), having come off the A38 at Lee Mill, followed the signs to Cornwood, turned right out of Cornwood, left then right out of Torr and followed the road to the very end. You can park on the moor side of the gate where the road ends.

Then on foot, follow the concrete track up to the water treatment works, turn right to circle the water works, cross the brook and turn uphill to find a stile over a dry stone wall to give you access to the moor. The stone row is visible on the skyline.

Stalldown Stone Row

greywether
greywether Dec 18, 2003

There is potential for confusion here between this site and Stall Moor. Both are record-breakers. Stall Moor is the longest and this one has the tallest stones.

It has 62 stones still standing. 17 have fallen and others are buried. It is visible for 502m but is estimated to have run for at least 840m. It runs N/S and the ends are not intervisible.

The tallest stones are at the N end – 1.9m to 2.6m high. The average height of all the stones is 1.1m. There is a cairn in the row about 150 from the top (N) end.

Stalldown Stone Row

S
stewartb Apr 5, 2003

I’m a little tentative in calling this Stalldown as it’s not named on my maps but it’s a stone row and it’s on Stalldown so I guess you can see where I’m coming from.

I spotted the tallest stones when I was on the other side of the river following Butterdon Stone Row and yes, I did have to wade through a Dartmoor river in March to get to it. However, it was worth it.

This is another stunner! There must be 50 or 60 stones, many of them taller than me and running almost due North South.

Miscellaneous

Stalldown Stone Row
Stone Row / Alignment
markj99
markj99 Feb 2, 2021

In its isolated situation in the Modern World, Stalldown Stone Row would seem to be an ancient monument frozen in time. However, Historic England states that Stalldown Stone Row is in an area where peat has been cut so the stone row may not be as original as it appears. In fact, Historic England speculates that many of the stones may have been restored in slightly different locations.

Topics

The Cornwood Maidens 3
FourWinds
FourWinds
Aug 2004

Sites within 20km of Stalldown Stone Row

Like all websites everywhere, we use cookies.