Oral, written and photographic references to peat cutting on Exmoor
Could this be the first literary reference to peat cutting on Exmoor?
“But a man beyond the range of staff was crouching by the peat-stack, with a long gun set to his shoulder, and he got poor father against the sky, and I cannot tell the rest of it”. From Lorna Doone, A Romance of Exmoor by R. D. Blackmore
Recently abandoned turf cuttings on Lanacombe, site of some of the last used domestic fuel cuttings on Exmoor Photo D. Smith 2007
The evidence of past peat cutting for domestic fuel can be seen all over Exmoor and in particular in the higher parts of the commons and former Royal hunting forest. Cutting continued on Brendon Common, Exe Head and Lanacombe until very recently. The last known cutting was on Lanacombe just 3 years ago by Stan Curtis formely of Simonsbath.
It is not known for certain if peat cutting was taking place on Exmoor before the Royal Forest era (1350-1750) but during the time it was in Royal ownership the landscape was largely treeless and the only possible source of local fuel was peat or turf. Peat has been used a source of fuel in areas with few trees all over the British isles for thousands of years and it is likely that Exmoor is no exception.
Extracts from “The Heritage of Exmoor” by Roger Burton (1989).
On cutting peat
“Peat comes in two forms: Spine turf, where the deposits are shallow, is cut on the slant. Pit turf, where the beds are much deeper, is cut straight down. The deeper the beds the blacker the peat, but harder to harvest as it is inclined to break up when being dried. The lumps that have broken off are known as “biddocks”. These are bagged up separately, and are highly prized as they give out exceptional heat equally as good as the best coal when used in the old time stoves. ... the deepest peat beds were situated on Warren Allotment, where it was possible to dig five spits deep (about eight feet) with little trouble. …The normal procedure when cutting peat is to take off the first couple of inches and place it to one side, and after all the peat has been removed from the pit the toppings are laid face up in the bottom of the pit to grow on again naturally”.
On peat cutting in the Royal Forest era
“In the early part of the 17th century, anyone wishing to cut peat on Exmoor was able to do so, and could dig whatever quantities required for a set price of 4d. per day”. This was later increased (Forest record books 1718 -1750) and the letting system was also changed to en bloc to the highest tender. Sites where this took place are thought to include Higher Lanacre Common which was reclaimed during the last war and is now pasture land.
On peat cutting in the Knight period (1821- 1897)
“..the occupants of every cottage and farm house on the Exmoor Estate had their own turf (peat) pit and cut 8,000 and 20,000 turves respectively each year for consumption in their hearths. … A man on day work cutting peat was expected to turn out 1,000 turves a day, a figure which usually doubled when on piece work”.
“With a great expansion in the population of Simonsbath (during the period of ownership by the Knight’s) a great expansion in the production of peat for fuel took place, and by September (1836?), 129,500 turves had been cut and dried at Blackpitts, 117,500 of them by Richard Wilkey who at 4s. a thousand was paid £23. 10. 0 for his labours. Fifty two thousand five hundred more were cut on Ashcombe, but how many were sold and how many were burnt in the Exmoor hearths is not recorded”.
On the use of peat in the mining and other industries on Exmoor
Michael Wynston (one of the first miners recorded as working on Exmoor in the Mid 16th century) “obtained a patent for erecting furnaces forges and for the manufacture of iron and “steele” using moor coal (peat)”.
In 1848 a lime kiln was built at Bale water to produce lime for improvement of the Knight owned lands and it is likely that this would have been fired using dark peat (from “The reclamation of Exmoor Forest” by Orwin and Sellick, 1970).
In 1910 an agreement was drawn up between the 4th Earl Fortescue and The International Carbonising Co. Ltd to use the peat deposits on Exmoor in a wet carbonising process to produce peat coal. Plans included building a railway to take the coal produced out, fortunately for the peat bogs however they were never acted upon.
From The Exmoor Oral History Archive (Exmoor oral history project- Dulverton and District Civic Society, Somerset County Council).
ADA RICHARDS
Born:
Cheriton,
Devon, 1912
Lived: Brendon, Countisbury, Porlock
There was a great big range to cook on, so hot. Heated by peat. You had to keep on feeding it, not like a coal fire, they never had any coal. She hadn't seen a lump of coal. Peat came from moor. Not far. Men used to go out on Cheriton ridge and cut peat. Cut it and turn it and then go out again and turn it to dry both sides, then went and built it up into little stacks. When sufficiently dry hauled it in. Not sure how long it took to dry, according to weather. Another job, don't know how they found time to do all these things. AR thinks you had to have common rights to cut peat, went with farms. Didn't have a lot of wood, mainly peat. No limit to how much you took, would be now she guesses. Would have used peat in sitting room as well as range, though they had a bit of wood for that.