Ditsworthy Warren House
Ditsworthy Warren House | |
---|---|
General information | |
Type | Farmhouse |
Ditsworthy Warren House is a Grade II
History and construction
The dating of the house is open to some debate. The official listing for the house, compiled by an architectural historian for the Department of the Environment (now English Heritage) on 15 April 1978 suggests that the oldest part of the house dates from the late 18th century or early to mid 19th century.[1] English Heritage's Pastscape page for Ditsworthy Warren states "The Warren House ... is said to be 16th century and may well have been built on the site of a previous house (The original Ditsworthy Farm?). The building has been added to at some fairly recent period, and in that addition and in various outhouses attached ... Externally it appears to be entirely of 19th century construction"[4] whereas the Pastscape page for Ditsworthy Warren House itself says it "has six well-preserved but ruined out-buildings. It is first mentioned in 1474 but is very probably earlier. As it stands the warren house is of probably late 16th or early 17th-century construction on earlier foundations."[5]
The walls are built of granite rubble; only some of the external render that covered the stonework still survives. The original roofing material would have been stone roof tiles. Originally the house comprised a symmetrical two-storey building with central door and porch, but in the late 19th century a one-room, two-storey extension was added to the right-hand end of the house. Next to the house is a shippon stand, the animal living quarters.[1]
Ditsworthy Warren
The house was built for the keeper of Ditsworthy Warren, an area of land covering approximately a square kilometre, where
Ditsworthy Warren comprises 53 pillow mounds, averaging 16m long, 7.2m wide and 1m high. In addition, there is the "Kennel Court" in the field immediately to the east of the house, where the warren dogs were kept. The walls of the court are six feet high to prevent the dogs from escaping.[4] Ditsworthy Warren was the largest rabbit warren in England.[2]
Recent use
The house was abandoned in 1947.[4] The roof tiles have been removed and the roof is covered with felt; the windows are closed with modern shutters. The shippon stand is partly ruined. The house and land is owned by the Maristow Estate.[2]
The house is situated within the
The
In August 2010 Ditsworthy Warren House was used as a filming location for the
War Horse production designer Rick Carter said of Ditsworthy Warren House: "Finally in Dartmoor we found a derelict building in the middle of nowhere that we brought back to life. It had 360-degree views, which give it a sense of being part of something huge and imposing — the expanse of skies, the force of the elements — and that created a beauty beyond what we had hoped for."[15]
On 16 March 2011 a local blogger published an account of her unofficial visit to the War Horse set at Ditsworthy Warren House during filming, and despite the security on-set, was able to take photographs of the interior of the set and of Steven Spielberg.[16]
Gallery
-
Ditsworthy Warren House and Plym Valley viewed from Legis Tor.
-
Dog kennel next to Ditsworthy Warren House.
References
- ^ a b c Historic England (3 September 2001). "DITSWORTHY WARREN HOUSE, SHEEPSTOR, WEST DEVON, DEVON (1305697)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
- ^ a b c "Free Dartmoor stone walling event". Dartmoor National Park Authority. 10 July 2007. Retrieved 31 March 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b Staff writer (27 October 2010). "Dartmoor makes an impression on Steven Spielberg". The Herald. Plymouth. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
- ^ a b c d "Pastscape: Ditsworthy Warren. More Information and Sources". English Heritage. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
- ^ "Pastscape: Ditsworthy Warren Farmhouse. More Information and Sources". English Heritage. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
- ^ Sandles, Tim (8 May 2008). "Legendary Dartmoor: Dartmoor's Rabbit Warrens". Legendary Dartmoor. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
- ^ "Ditsworthy Warren House". Geocaching – The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
- ^ Ordnance Survey Map Explorer OL28, 1:25,000 scale, grid reference 584662.
- ^ "Dartmoor Training Area Environmental Appraisal". Ministry of Defence. 31 October 2007. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
- ^ "Dartmoor News: War Horse at Ditsworthy". Dartmoor News Magazine. Archived from the original on 14 August 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
- ^ "Plymouth Ramblers: Pictures and Maps from some of our walks". Plymouth Ramblers. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
- ^ "First War Horse Stills | Movie Galleries | Empire". Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
- ^ "Launceston directors beat to the punch by Steven Spielberg in Dartmoor location choice". Launceston Post. 25 August 2010. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
- ^ "Spielberg shares Dartmoor with Devon and Cornwall filmmakers". Plymouth.myvillage.com. 31 August 2010. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
- ^ http://www.visualhollywood.com/movies_2011/war_horse/notes.pdf Archived 2014-04-30 at the Wayback Machine official War Horse production notes
- ^ Hallett, Claire (16 March 2010). "A Week in the life of War Horse (or on the outskirts)". My Blog, Indi-pen.com. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
External links
- Geocache photographs of Ditsworthy Warren House, including some of the film set
- Photographs of the film set at Ditsworthy Warren House Archived 5 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- Photographs of the film set at Ditsworthy Warren House including interior shot
- Photographs of the film set at Ditsworthy Warren House being dismantled