Princetown is situated on Dartmoor, a little town approximately 1,400 ft. above sea level, and surrounded by rugged landscape and scattered granite outcrops.

The area is steeped in ancient history, folklore, eerie and exotic tales and legends, the presence of the prison adding an authenticity and backdrop to these stories. Dartmoor is said to be full of ghosts. There are a couple in Princetown. French and American prisoners from the early 19th century have been seen in the Plume & Feathers Pub and in Dartmoor Prison. Watch out for the Hairy Hands - which grab the steering wheels of vehicles, forcing them off the road - on the drive from Moretonhampstead to Princetown! There are many reminders, however, of real life lived on the moor over the years: hut circles, burial chambers, standing stones and crosses can be seen at every turn.

Dartmoor dominates South Devon, and provides quite a contrast to the milder southern costal resorts. The upland area of Dartmoor is wide and boggy, broken by dramatic and rocky windswept Tors. The river Dart rolls through the moor, effectively slicing it in two. In the summer, purple and yellow heather and gorse carpet the ground, softening the harshness of the area. The edges of Dartmoor have a gentler aspect with wooded valleys and streams, ancient bridges, winding lanes, farmhouses and farmland.

In the early 19^th century, land was given by the Prince of Wales to build a prison to house captives of the Napoleonic wars and as a result a town was built around the prison and named Prince’s Town, now known as Princetown.

Memorable Princetown dates

1784

The area was still open Moorland

1785

Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt conceived the idea of utilising the moor for farming, built Tor Royal Farm, the Plume of Feathers Inn and laid plans of various farms and the village. He named the village Prince’s Town in honour of his friend and patron, the then Prince of Wales, later to become George 1V.

1806
March 20th

The foundation stone laid for the War Prison laid by Thomas Tyrwhitt for French prisoners of war as the prison hulks moored in Plymouth Sound were becoming overcrowded. After America declared its allegiance with France in 1813, American prisoners of war were also detained here.

1809
May 24th

The Prison was completed and fully in use. By the end of the year housing 5,000 prisoners guarded by thirty-three staff and a Militia garrison of 500 men.

1810

The Militia Officer’s Hostel adn Brewery was completed, later to become The Duchy Hotel.

1812

The prison population exceeded 9,000 and the Militia garrison was increased to 1,200.

1813

French prisoners build St Michael and All Angels church. The first American prisoners (250) arrive in Princetown. They eventually completed the work on the church and its furnishes in readiness for its first service on 2^nd January 1814.

1814

Church opened. American prisoners mutiny and are fired upon by the guards. Nine are killed and six so seriously wounded that their limbs required amputation.

1816

The last prisoners of war left the prison on 10^th February. Nearly 1,500 French prisoners and 218 Americans died while incarcerated in Dartmoor War Prison and were buried in a filed beyond the prison walls. The church also closed and locked up.

1827

Railway Inn built.
The horse drawn tramway from Plymouth was completed to Princetown. It used to run behind where the Prince of Wales now stands, along the village street, to terminate in a depot behind the Railway Inn.

1831

St Michael and All Angels Church was re-opened and re-consecrated for use by the villagers.

1839

Lydford Court sat in Princetown, in the Militia Officers Mess later to become the Duchy Hotel, to hear the case against ‘Captain Callum and The Adventurers’ who were dealt with for causing ‘a range of dangerous shafts to be opened and to remain unprotected into which sheep had fallen, …and two of which sheep were found dead there.’ The remains of Captain Cullum’s shafts and tin streaming workings are still visible today only a few hundred yards behind the Prince of Wales.

1846

Prince Albert visited Princetown to discuss opening a convict prison in the old War Prison, Australia and Tasmania were demanding the cessation of transportation of convicts.

1850

The prison re-opened as a convict prison. By the end of the year 1,300 convicts were housed here. The staff comprised 24 men assisted by 80 military personnel.

1853

Three soldiers of the 7^th Royal Fusiliers die in a blizzard while attempting to return to duty. They were found in a drift the following morning just a couple of hundred yard from safety.

1854

The Prince of Wales opened.

1862

The school opposite the Prince of Wales built and is still in use today.

1882

John Tooker, landlord of the Prince of Wales, organised navvies to release one of their fellows imprisoned for being drunk and disorderly and assaulting a police officer.

1883

The steam railway is opened by Great Western Railway and joins Princetown to the rail network of rest of the country.

1893

The Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Alfred visit Princetown and take tea in the Duchy Hotel.

1903

The Prince of Wales visits Princetown and again takes tea in the Duchy Hotel.

1932

Inmates of the prison riot and set fire to several buildings causing £3,000 worth of damage. A detachment of the 2nd Battalion of the Worcester Regiment stood guard around the prison to protect the villagers. 41 convicts were hurt and 24 staff injured during the riot.

1939

Mains water supplied to the village. Until then, houses had their own well, springs or were supplied from brooks and leats.

1956

The Railway is closed and Princetown Station demolished. First prgram broadcast from North Hessary Tor in August.

1986

The Forest of Dartmoor parish was created

1993

High Moorland Visitor Centre opened by HRH the Prince of Wales on 9^th June

1994

Permission is granted to build a Brewery and sell home brewed ales at the Prince of Wales.
St Michael and All Angels Church is once again closed for worship and offered for sale.

1999

11^th August, the moon moved between the earth and the sun bringing a total eclipse to Princetown and the West Country.

2000

As no purchaser is found, the church is taken over by the Church of England’s Historic Buildings Trust and work commences to restore the steeple and make the building waterproof.

2001

February, Foot and Mouth disease outbreak confirmed on Dartmoor effecting local Princetown residents and businesses.