The Village Pub a local
institution
T
he inn as a place of lodging and refreshment is one of the oldest institutions in the country. On Dartmoor there used to be hundreds of inns, wayside watering holes and hotels, but many have been turned into private dwellings and some even have fallen down. Inns have been the scene of tragedy and comedy, a place where friendship was made, a meeting place for men, strangers and residents, a place where plots were hatched, heads broken and much blood spilled. There are a number of pubs within the Plym Links area - here are just a few stories relating to them. The Cornwood Inn In the centre of the village at the crossroads stands today the Cornwood Inn, but back in 1850, though it’s believed it dates back much earlier than that, the building was called the Tavistock Inn and James Doddridge and his wife ran it, with the landlord being William Mackworth Praed who lived near Delamore. By 1861 it was called the Cornwood Inn and run by William Vivian. In 1850, as well as the Tavistock Inn in the centre of the village, there was also The Butcher’s Arms at Moor Cross on the Ivybridge road. John Sandover ran the pub and was a local butcher. Lopes Arms, Roborough This was a 17th century coaching inn named after the Lopes Family who once owned much of the nearby parishes. In 1850 Jacob Lane was running the pub which must have been a busy place as all traffic to Tavistock and Dartmoor had to go pass the door. Treby Arms, Sparkwell The Treby is believed to have been built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, while he and his team were building the Royal Albert railway bridge that now connects Plymouth to Cornwall. It takes its name from the Treby family, lawyers and politicians in Plympton and dates from after 1850 as it’s not mentioned in White 1850s Directory. In the early part of the 20th century the Nelder family ran the Treby Arms after moving from Park Cottage Inn at Burrator, which is no longer there. There used to be petrol pumps beside the pub; these had to be wound up before use - local children loved doing this job. In 1942 a rest camp for navy personnel was set up near the village which had around 20 Nissen-type huts for 48
Top: White thorn Inn, Shaugh Prior; Bottom: The Cornwood Inn
the men to live in, a NAFFI canteen and dance hall. These extra men within the area, no doubt visited the nearby pub for a drink or two. White Thorn Inn, Shaugh Prior The present building was built in the 1930s and was built on the site of an old cart shed. The old White Thorn Inn was a much smaller building a few yards away and is now a private house. The old inn was not in use until after 1850 and last landlady was a Mrs Harris. There is a story, like that of the Warren House Inn, that the peat fire had not been extinguished since 1833. The pub opened after 1850 so this cannot be true, unless the building was a cottage before and the peat fire kept going while they converted the building. The Seven Stars, Tamerton Foliot The village of Tamerton Foliot, now part of Plymouth, has had a few pubs over the years, but The
The Treby Arms in Sparkwell
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