We were awarded a grant to uncover their details as part of the HLF funded Moor than meets the Eye project for the north-east area of Dartmoor National Park where Doccombe is located.

During four years of research we explored the manor’s unusually extensive records to discover its story. This required hundreds of documents written in Latin and archaic English from the twelfth to the twentieth century to be transcribed, translated and interpreted.

We have also uncovered such diverse characters as a murderous medieval knight, a martyred saint, monks who were strict but protective landlords, and their wily tenants who knew how to survive on the edge of wild moor land.

We have worked with the present-day community to make a photographic record and a survey of village buildings.

Our project logo seen on the left was cleverly adapted from a C14th Italian illuminated manuscript by Michael Edwards, a Moretonhampstead artist.
It represents the contemporary medieval view of society:
First order: Oratorores – those who pray
Second order: Bellatores – those who fight
Third Order: Laboratores – those who toil.
Originally inside a capital letter C, here they are inside the letter D for Doccombe – a very apt metaphor for the history of Doccombe manor.
An order of Benedictine monks were gifted by a knight a manor whose tenants were to toil to provide for the upkeep of a monk. The perfect medieval circle!