Cranmere Pool Letterbox

Summary

The letterbox at Cranmere Pool, Dartmoor was built in 1937 near the site of the first Dartmoor letterbox established in 1854. A small granite structure with capstone, steel door and concrete plinth, set within a remote moorland hollow.

It is of special historic interest as the original focus of the pastime of letterboxing, reflecting the long tradition of visiting Dartmoor’s remote landscapes and later influencing the development of geocaching. Despite alteration and relocation within its setting, it retains strong associative value and a clear relationship with its historic landscape context.

Reasons for Designation

The Letterbox at Cranmere Pool, Dartmoor, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic and Architectural Interest:

* for its illustration of the tradition, beginning in the C18, of visiting remote parts of England, and as the mid-C19 origin point of the hobby of 'letterboxing' in which visits are recorded and shared with an active community of enthusiasts;
* as the progenitor of the internationally popular pastime of geocaching, which uses modern technology to locate hidden features through clues;
* for its 1930s granite structure, which is an expression of vernacular traditions of materials and building in Devon.

History

The Cranmere Pool Letterbox has its origins in a C19 initiative to provide a point of interest for walkers on Dartmoor, a landscape already favoured by those seeking to enjoy remote and rugged scenery. In 1854 James Perrott (or Perrot), a Dartmoor guide, created a place where visitors could leave messages for one another by building a small cairn in the pool and placing a large stone jar on top in which calling cards could be deposited. The idea proved popular and inspired the establishment of further letterboxes deep in the moor, including one at Taw Marsh (1894). By 1905 a zinc box with a visitor’s book had replaced the stone jar, and over 1,700 people had signed the book in 1908. The first permanent letterbox structure was installed in 1912, and in 1921 Edward, Prince of Wales, visited the site and signed the book.

An evocative account published in 1929 by author Beatrice Chase, who was guided to the spot by Perrott’s grandson, described the letterbox at that time as “a large wooden box covering a large tin box containing a hefty leather-bound visitors’ book with pencil attached… two bottles of ink, red and black… two post-marking pads, and the little postmark stamper with which one inscribes a postcard with the mystic word ‘Cranmere’”. She noted that the tin box also held “a very thick pile of letters and cards awaiting some honourable unofficial postman”, including one addressed to herself, to which she replied (The Devon and Exeter Gazette, September 12th, 1929).

The practice of “letterboxing” grew steadily. Further boxes were established at Ducks Pool (1938), Fur Tor (1951) and Crow Tor (1962). The activity developed into a popular pastime involving the use of clues and grid references from a Letterbox Catalogue to locate hundreds of hidden boxes across Dartmoor (and eventually beyond) and to stamp the visitor books. In time the pastime influenced the emergence of geocaching, which uses Global Positioning System receivers or mobile devices to locate concealed containers.

The present granite box was built by former tin miner Aubrey Tucker. It was installed on the edge of the hollow beside the pool using funds raised through an appeal in the Western Morning News, and was officially opened on 8 May 1937. Owing to its position within a Ministry of Defence Training Area, the letterbox has at times been damaged by artillery fire. The original oak door was replaced with a steel one in 1970, and by the mid-1970s the box had been moved deeper into the hollow and set within a concrete plinth beneath a substantial capstone.

Cranmere Pool has also attracted local legend, most notably the tale of the ghost of Benjamin Gear, former Mayor of Okehampton. It appears as a setting in ‘A Pixy in Petticoats’ (1906) by Ernest George Henham (1878-1948), better known under the pseudonym John Trevena. As of 2025, the pool lies with an area of peatland restoration that will become more frequently flooded, and a proposal has been made to return the letterbox to its former position on the edge of pool to ensure more reliable access to the visitor’s book and stamps.

Details

A letterbox of 1937, altered in the mid-C20 and relocated to its current position in the mid-1970s.

MATERIALS: constructed of granite with a steel door and handle, and a capstone of local stone. Set on a concrete plinth.

DESCRIPTION: square on plan, a simple box with hinged door, standing approximately one metre in height above a concrete plinth. The exterior face of the door bears the Dartmoor National Park insignia and the words CRANMERE POOL in relief lettering. Below is a plate inscribed:

APRIL 1970/ MADE BY APPRENTICES IN/ H M DOCKYARD DEVONPORT/ AND GIVEN IN SERVICE/ TO THE DARTMOOR NATIONAL/ PARK AND THE DUKE OF/ EDINBURGH’S AWARD SCHEME.

Sources

Books and journals
Crossing, W, Crossing's Guide To Dartmoor, (1990), 478-80

Websites
Letter Boxing on Dartmoor, accessed 08/12/2025 from https://letterboxingondartmoor.co.uk/information/history-of-letterboxing/
Legendary Dartmoor - Cranmere Pool, accessed 08/12/2025 from https://www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/2016/03/30/cranmere_pool/

End of official list entry

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