The Oxenham Arms standing stones

Medieval and Historic South Zeal

Extract from OS Six Inch map 188-1915 showing the burgage plots at the heart of South Zeal

The medieval origins of South Zeal are still very clear to see today. The layout of the village today can be seen on old mapping to be based on the medieval burgage plots, the narrow rectangular strips on the map. The settlement had aspirations to become a town on the Exeter to Okehampton road and a charter marking its foundation as a town dates from 1264. In 1299, the Lord of the Manor, Robert de Tony was granted a license to hold a market at Zeal Tony.

The village never grew much beyond its early beginnings and little changed between the 16th and 19th centuries. The present-day layout of the main street is still based on the burgage strips with buildings the same width of the strips fronting on to the street. There are many important fifteenth century properties in South Zeal including a chapel.

The Oxenham Arms is alleged to have been built in the twelfth century by lay monks. This might be the case but the details surrounding this are hard to establish. What is known is that it became the dower house of the Burgoynes and then the Oxenham family. The Historic England entry states that it was first licensed in 1477 and as such is one of the oldest coaching inns in the country. MDV13065: The Oxenham Arms, South Zeal. The current building is "Late C16 - early C17, maybe earlier in parts; C18, C19 and C20 modernisations. Mostly large blocks of coursed granite ashlar, more granite rubble to rear; granite stacks with granite ashlar chimney shafts; slate roof, formerly thatch."

Genuine or fake standing stones?

Is it possible that one or both of these standing stones are fake? It seems almost certain that the prehistoric stone predates the building and there is no reason to doubt it is anything other than prehistoric. It is huge and according to the information board in the pub there is at least 14 feet of it underground as found by an excavation in the 1930s. It would be highly unusual for such a stone to be put in place to construct a building. The stone could have been dressed and altered in appearance during the construction of the original building or shortly afterwards. This stone is listed on the Devon and Dartmoor HER and most sources accept it as a genuine prehistoric feature although it seems likely it has been considerably dressed more recently or during the construction of the building.

It is not that rare for prehistoric sites to become the focus of later Christian sites. It is claimed this was a twelfth century monastery and if this is true, it is interesting to speculate as to whether that might have been built on an even earlier Christian site focused on the standing stone. There is no documentation or archaeological evidence to suggest an earlier Christian date or to confirm the twelfth century monastery claim but absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. It could have been an early Christian site.

There is abundant evidence of widespread settlement and activity across Devon in the Iron Age. There is also now known to be a Roman presence west of Exeter to a much greater degree than previously thought. There is a Roman fort at North Tawton a few miles to the north and there is also a Roman road there (see image below). There have been findspots of Roman coins by metal detectorists in the vicinity of South Tawton and North Tawton so we know there was a local population during the Roman period.

The context is also of a very small number of known early Christian sites around Dartmoor and Devon. They are rare but they did exist. There are at least two examples of Ogham stones found in Devon including the Fardel stone (found near Cornwood) and the Roborough stone. The Fardel stone is now located in the British museum and the Roborough stone was moved to the Vicarage Garden at Tavistock (not open to public) where it joined two other very early Christian stones.

Ogham stones arose in Ireland as a direct response to Roman memorial stones. It allowed a simple script using lines carved in stones around a vertical axis to represent characters in Gaelic. They date from the 4^th to 9^th century with most Old Irish examples being 6^th to 9^th century. Many, including the Fardel stone, included both Latin and Ogham script saying much the same thing. It is thought that this early Christian culture from Ireland resulted in the sprinkling of Ogham stones in Devon and Cornwall and West Wales.

The other major documental evidence we have that relates to the context of the Oxenham Arms is that recorded in 1086 in the Norman Domesday Book (see below). Domesday records populations following the Roman Road from Exeter to North Tawton and also settlements at South Tawton. There is no settlement at South Zeal itself but there are numerous small settlements nearby. So, this is after the early Christian period but before the construction of the Oxenham building.

So, we know there were nearby local populations both in the Roman period and also in early Norman times. By the thirteenth century South Zeal has a town charter and markets. However, the claim that the Oxenham Arms was first established in the twelfth century as a monastic building is proving difficult to verify. This maybe more folk tradition rather than documented fact. If we assume it is true then it is conceivable there was an early Christian presence and when the building was extended and the current day living room added in the 16th or 17th century it is conceivable that either this stone was in situ and also incorporated or that it was a genuine early Christian stone moved from a short distance away in the grounds of the building. According to the Legendary Dartmoor website there is a local tradition that the stone was brought into the building by an antiquarian owner keen to enhance the curiosity status of the Oxenham Arms. What is clear is it certainly looks like a plausible early Christian stone although the claim for Ogham inscription is somewhat doubtful. The markings on the stone that can be seen in the photo are certainly natural intrusions and not an inscription - although I didn't study the stone closely for long enough to be certain.

To conclude the stone in the snug room is probably prehistoric although a Roman origin is another possibility. The early Christian stone is more doubtful but possible. Both are certainly worth seeing and the Oxenham Arms is a fascinating historic building in its own right. By all accounts a friendly pub with a reputation for good food. It even includes a mock stone circle in the pub garden.

Domesday population data for South and North Tawton. Also shows Roman road.

Piracy and The Oxenham Omen

The Oxenham Arms is also very interesting in terms of history and legend associated with the Oxenham family. We will give a cursory description and the interested reader can follow the links!

Pirates of the Cawsand Beacon

John Oxenham was born in 1530 at the Oxenham Arms and went on to sale very numerous missions with Sir Francis Drake stealing gold from the Spanish. These were basically pirate missions done under the authority of the crown with much of the proceeds going to Queen Elizabeth. In the 1570s the target of these raids was the Spanish and Portuguese in South America. John Oxenham was captured by the Spanish in 1580 and executed. The exploits of Drake and Oxenham form part of the backdrop of the 1855 novel Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley. For more on this see Pirates of the Cawsand Beacon, Panama History: John Oxenham and the Wikipedia entry: John Oxenham all linked below.

Captain John Oxenham the pirate by N C Wyeth in Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley

The Oxenham Omen

In 1642 a 20-page pamphlet was anonymously published with the title A True Relation of an Apparition describing supposed supernatural events around the deaths of four members of the Oxenham family living in the village of Zeal Monachorum. This is a different village to South Zeal which is not far from Yelverton on the West side of the moor. However, it is the same Oxenham family who owned estates in both locations. The legend relates to the appearance of a white breasted bird shortly before their deaths - the Oxenham Omen.

The bird in the legend could be a Ring Ouzel which is a similar bird to the blackbird with a white ring around its neck. These are not common but they are seen on Dartmoor. An account of this legend appears in Lysons Magna Britannia in 1822 and is repeated by many authors thereafter. There is an account by Richard Cotton in 1882 in the Transactions of the Devonshire Association. Both of these are linked in the bibliography section below.

There is very interesting coverage of the history of this legend on the Devon Perspectives website linked below as well as on Legendary Dartmoor. The frontispiece reproduced below is out of copyright and reproduced from the Devon Perspectives article.

The frontispiece to 'A True Relation of an Apparition' via Devon Perspectives

Bibliography & references

Cotton, Richard W, The Oxenham Omen, T.D.A. Vol.14 pp.221 - 246 (1882)
Lysons, South Tawton, Lysons, Magna Britannia: Volume 6 - Devonshire (1822)
Quick, T, Dartmoor Inns, (1992)