The Princetown Railway, closed in 1956, was also the highest railway line in England: its Princetown terminus was also 1,430 feet above sea level. == History == In 1780, a farm was reclaimed on the site of an ancient tenement near the Two Bridges, and in 1785, Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt set about improving the moor at a place which he named Tor Royal (present day Tor Royal Farm), about south-east of Princetown.
It is the principal settlement of the civil parish of Dartmoor Forest. The village has its origins in 1785, when Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt, Secretary to the Prince of Wales, leased a large area of moorland from the Duchy of Cornwall estate, hoping to convert it into good farmland.
The Princetown Railway, closed in 1956, was also the highest railway line in England: its Princetown terminus was also 1,430 feet above sea level. == History == In 1780, a farm was reclaimed on the site of an ancient tenement near the Two Bridges, and in 1785, Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt set about improving the moor at a place which he named Tor Royal (present day Tor Royal Farm), about south-east of Princetown.
He made an estate and built a house in 1798.
Dartmoor Prison was built in 1806 at a cost of £130,000.
Later the road from Tavistock to Princetown was built, as well as the other roads that now cross the moor. He also proposed that a prison be built on Dartmoor to house the thousands of captives of the Napoleonic Wars and the later War of 1812, who had become too numerous to lodge in the prisons and prison-ships at Plymouth.
With the closing of the prison in 1816, the town almost collapsed, but the completion of the Princetown Railway in 1823 brought back many people to the granite quarries.
With the closing of the prison in 1816, the town almost collapsed, but the completion of the Princetown Railway in 1823 brought back many people to the granite quarries.
The prison remained derelict until 1851, when it was reopened for prisoners serving long sentences.
The school itself was constructed in 1874 for the children of prison officers.
It has since been considerably extended and although other Victorian era prisons are to remain in service, Dartmoor is now scheduled to close in 2023. In the 1880s an Officers' Club building was constructed as a rest room for officers and their families.
The sports field and pavilion (now Princetown Pavilion Youth Club) date from the 1890s and were constructed for use by the prison warders.
It was extended during the 1970s and remained in use until closure in 2001, largely because very few prison officers lived in Princetown by that date, but commuted in from Plymouth or Tavistock in the main. The terrace of houses now called Moor Crescent was constructed in 1912 as housing for prison officers of fairly senior rank, in which role it served until the 1980s.
A tennis pavilion was laid out in the 1920s as a base for the tennis court for officers and their families.
The Princetown Railway, closed in 1956, was also the highest railway line in England: its Princetown terminus was also 1,430 feet above sea level. == History == In 1780, a farm was reclaimed on the site of an ancient tenement near the Two Bridges, and in 1785, Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt set about improving the moor at a place which he named Tor Royal (present day Tor Royal Farm), about south-east of Princetown.
It was demolished in the 1960s due to its poor state.
This was also demolished in the 1960s. == Geography == The village is located on the B3212 road between Yelverton and Two Bridges and is surrounded by moorland.
It was extended during the 1970s and remained in use until closure in 2001, largely because very few prison officers lived in Princetown by that date, but commuted in from Plymouth or Tavistock in the main. The terrace of houses now called Moor Crescent was constructed in 1912 as housing for prison officers of fairly senior rank, in which role it served until the 1980s.
It was extended during the 1970s and remained in use until closure in 2001, largely because very few prison officers lived in Princetown by that date, but commuted in from Plymouth or Tavistock in the main. The terrace of houses now called Moor Crescent was constructed in 1912 as housing for prison officers of fairly senior rank, in which role it served until the 1980s.
It was extended during the 1970s and remained in use until closure in 2001, largely because very few prison officers lived in Princetown by that date, but commuted in from Plymouth or Tavistock in the main. The terrace of houses now called Moor Crescent was constructed in 1912 as housing for prison officers of fairly senior rank, in which role it served until the 1980s.
The other pub is the Plume of Feathers (the Railway Inn – "The Devils Elbow" – closed as a pub in 2009).
In 2016 the official population estimate was 1447, with a further 640 inmates of the prison.
In April 2017 the go-ahead was given for the construction of a whisky distillery, which invoked controversy due to the destruction of buildings that this would entail.These are the 'Pocket Power Station' (the world's first unmanned power station) and the 'Pressed Men Building'.
There are currently 74 children enrolled at the primary school which was rated 'Good' by Ofsted in 2019.
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Page generated on 2021-08-05