Notes: This is a fine small tor located in the sheltered valley of the Cowsic River not far downstream from its head. It is described on the Tors of Dartmoor database where more information can be obtained.

Notes: There is some conjecture about the positioning of Devil’s Tor. To the south of the generally accepted location is a pretty sizeable outcrop, an elongated mass that is far grander than its namesake (but without the standing stone). This is also more easily visible from southerly viewpoints including Holming (Omen) Beam and Longaford Tor, and no doubt would have caught a cartographer’s eye.

But why is it controversial? Well, apart from being offered the names of Little Devil’s Tor and Devil’s Tor Outcrop, neither of which do justice to the tor, old maps seem to contradict themselves because Mudge’s 1809 Map of Devon seems to mark the south pile on the crest of the hill here as Devil’s Tor, leaving the smaller pile beside Beardown Man unnamed. I find this interesting because subsequent maps do the opposite. Why were the names switched, if ever, or was Mudge’s placement of the tor incorrect? Are both piles Devil’s Tor and the same tor? I don’t think so; they are too far apart and OS confidently label the northern as ‘Devil’s’. Mudge even shows them as separate outcrops.

References:

• Mudge’s Map of 1809.
• Piper, M. (comment): Tors of Dartmoor Facebook Group.
• Tors of Dartmoor (for further details).