Ditsworthy Warren House
Encyclopedia
Ditsworthy Warren House is a Grade II listed building near Sheepstor
in Devon, England. It is an isolated building on the south-western edge of Dartmoor
, and was built for the keeper of the rabbit
warren
near the house. It was used in 2010 as a filming location for the Steven Spielberg
film, War Horse
.
) on 15 April 1978 suggests that the oldest part of the house dates from the late 18th century or early to mid 19th century. English Heritage's Pastscape page for Ditsworthy Warren states "The Warren House ... is said to be 16th century and may well have been built on the site of a previous house (The original Ditsworthy Farm?). The building has been added to at some fairly recent
period, and in that addition and in various outhouses attached ... Externally it appears to be entirely of 19th century construction" whereas the Pastscape page for Ditsworthy Warren House itself says it "has six well-preserved but ruined out-buildings. It is first mentioned in 1474 but is very probably earlier. As it stands the warren house is of probably late 16th or early 17th century construction on earlier foundations."
The walls are built of granite
rubble
; only some of the external render
that covered the stonework still survives. The original roofing material would have been stone roof tiles. Originally the house comprised a symmetrical two-storey building with central door and porch, but in the late 19th century a one room, two storey extension was added to the right-hand end of the house. Next to the house is a shippon stand, the animal living quarters.
were commercially bred and kept for their meat and fur. The rabbits lived in "pillow mounds", long cigar-shaped structures in the area built of stone and covered with earth, in which the rabbits could burrow and live. Dartmoor was suitable for rabbit keeping as it was poor agricultural land (rabbits and crops don't mix happily), and had a good supply of stone for constructing the pillow mounds, walls and vermin traps needed at these sites.
Ditsworthy Warren comprises 53 pillow mounds, averaging 16m long, 7.2m wide and 1m high. In addition there is the "Kennel Court" in the field immediately to the east of the house, where the warren dogs were kept. The walls of the court are six feet high to prevent the dogs from escaping. Ditsworthy Warren was the largest rabbit warren in England.
The house is situated within the Dartmoor National Park. Three bridleways
converge on Ditsworthy Warren House, and so it is a popular place for leisure users of Dartmoor, such as ramblers
, letterboxers
and geocachers
, horseriders and mountain bikers. There is no vehicular right of way to the house, and apart from access on the bridleways, the land immediately surrounding the house is not open to the public.
The British Armed Forces
regularly train on Dartmoor, and Ditsworthy Warren House is leased by the Admiralty
and used as part of the Dartmoor Training Area
, as a "stone tent", a farm building used to provide basic shelter. The house can hold 23 troops, and there is space in the area around the house for additional tents.
In August 2010 Ditsworthy Warren House was used as a filming location for the Steven Spielberg
film, War Horse
, serving as the Narracott family's farmhouse. The house was dressed for the film, with thatched roof and window shutters added, as well as a lean-to wood store. In addition, a cruck framed building set was built close by, to serve as the barn. The set was dismantled after filming and the restoration of the site to its pre-existing state was undertaken. One of the first official publicity stills released in March 2011 shows lead actor Jeremy Irvine
as Albert Narracott and Emily Watson
as his mother Rose Narracott in a kitchen scene at Ditsworthy Warren House. By coincidence, two local novice film-makers who had been hoping to film at Ditsworthy Warren House at the same time found out about Spielberg's use of the site only weeks before their filming was due to commence. They filmed at Nun's Cross Farmhouse near Princetown
as their alternative location.
Sheepstor
Sheepstor is a village and civil parish on the western side of Dartmoor in the county of Devon, England. In 2001 its population was 53, down from 95 in 1901. For administrative purposes the parish is grouped with the parishes of Meavy and Walkhampton to form Burrator Parish Council, and for...
in Devon, England. It is an isolated building on the south-western edge of Dartmoor
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an area of moorland in south Devon, England. Protected by National Park status, it covers .The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops known as tors, providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The...
, and was built for the keeper of the rabbit
European Rabbit
The European Rabbit or Common Rabbit is a species of rabbit native to south west Europe and north west Africa . It has been widely introduced elsewhere often with devastating effects on local biodiversity...
warren
Warren (domestic)
A domestic warren is an artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. It evolved from the Anglo-Norman concept of free warren, which had been, essentially, the equivalent of a hunting license for a given woodland.-Architecture of the...
near the house. It was used in 2010 as a filming location for the Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
film, War Horse
War Horse (film)
War Horse is a 2011 British-American war drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and is intended for release in the United States on 25 December 2011 and in the United Kingdom on 13 January 2012...
.
History and construction
The dating of the house is open to some debate. The official listing for the house, compiled by an architectural historian for the Department of the Environment (now English HeritageEnglish Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
) on 15 April 1978 suggests that the oldest part of the house dates from the late 18th century or early to mid 19th century. English Heritage's Pastscape page for Ditsworthy Warren states "The Warren House ... is said to be 16th century and may well have been built on the site of a previous house (The original Ditsworthy Farm?). The building has been added to at some fairly recent
period, and in that addition and in various outhouses attached ... Externally it appears to be entirely of 19th century construction" whereas the Pastscape page for Ditsworthy Warren House itself says it "has six well-preserved but ruined out-buildings. It is first mentioned in 1474 but is very probably earlier. As it stands the warren house is of probably late 16th or early 17th century construction on earlier foundations."
The walls are built of granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
rubble
Rubble
Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture. This word is closely connected in derivation with "rubbish", which was formerly also applied to what we now call "rubble". Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as brash...
; only some of the external render
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
that covered the stonework still survives. The original roofing material would have been stone roof tiles. Originally the house comprised a symmetrical two-storey building with central door and porch, but in the late 19th century a one room, two storey extension was added to the right-hand end of the house. Next to the house is a shippon stand, the animal living quarters.
Ditsworthy Warren
The house was built for the keeper of Ditsworthy Warren, an area of land covering approximately a square kilometre, where rabbitsEuropean Rabbit
The European Rabbit or Common Rabbit is a species of rabbit native to south west Europe and north west Africa . It has been widely introduced elsewhere often with devastating effects on local biodiversity...
were commercially bred and kept for their meat and fur. The rabbits lived in "pillow mounds", long cigar-shaped structures in the area built of stone and covered with earth, in which the rabbits could burrow and live. Dartmoor was suitable for rabbit keeping as it was poor agricultural land (rabbits and crops don't mix happily), and had a good supply of stone for constructing the pillow mounds, walls and vermin traps needed at these sites.
Ditsworthy Warren comprises 53 pillow mounds, averaging 16m long, 7.2m wide and 1m high. In addition there is the "Kennel Court" in the field immediately to the east of the house, where the warren dogs were kept. The walls of the court are six feet high to prevent the dogs from escaping. Ditsworthy Warren was the largest rabbit warren in England.
Recent use
The house was abandoned in 1947. The roof tiles have been removed and the roof is covered with felt; the windows are closed with modern shutters. The shippon stand is partly ruined. The house and land is owned by the Maristow Estate.The house is situated within the Dartmoor National Park. Three bridleways
Bridle path
A bridle path is a thoroughfare originally made for horses, but which these days serves a wide range of interests, including hikers, walkers and cyclists as well as equestrians. The laws relating to permissions vary from country to country...
converge on Ditsworthy Warren House, and so it is a popular place for leisure users of Dartmoor, such as ramblers
Ramblers
The Ramblers, formerly known as the Ramblers' Association, is the largest walkers' rights organisation in Great Britain which aims to look after the interests of walkers...
, letterboxers
Letterboxing
Letterboxing is an outdoor hobby that combines elements of orienteering, art, and puzzle solving. Letterboxers hide small, weatherproof boxes in publicly-accessible places and distribute clues to finding the box in printed catalogs, on one of several web sites, or by word of mouth. Individual...
and geocachers
Geocaching
Geocaching is an outdoor sporting activity in which the participants use a Global Positioning System receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", anywhere in the world....
, horseriders and mountain bikers. There is no vehicular right of way to the house, and apart from access on the bridleways, the land immediately surrounding the house is not open to the public.
The British Armed Forces
British Armed Forces
The British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...
regularly train on Dartmoor, and Ditsworthy Warren House is leased by the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
and used as part of the Dartmoor Training Area
Dartmoor Training Area
The Dartmoor Training Area consists of approximately 13,000 hectares of the Dartmoor National Park in Devon.Military training is carried out on the ranges by the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, British Army, and Royal Air Force. The area is supported by two training camps, one at Okehampton and the...
, as a "stone tent", a farm building used to provide basic shelter. The house can hold 23 troops, and there is space in the area around the house for additional tents.
In August 2010 Ditsworthy Warren House was used as a filming location for the Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
film, War Horse
War Horse (film)
War Horse is a 2011 British-American war drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and is intended for release in the United States on 25 December 2011 and in the United Kingdom on 13 January 2012...
, serving as the Narracott family's farmhouse. The house was dressed for the film, with thatched roof and window shutters added, as well as a lean-to wood store. In addition, a cruck framed building set was built close by, to serve as the barn. The set was dismantled after filming and the restoration of the site to its pre-existing state was undertaken. One of the first official publicity stills released in March 2011 shows lead actor Jeremy Irvine
Jeremy Irvine
-Early life:Irvine was educated at Bedford Modern School, an independent school in the county town of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England, followed by the National Youth Theatre and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.-Acting career:...
as Albert Narracott and Emily Watson
Emily Watson
Emily Watson is an English actress. She gave an acclaimed debut film performance in Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves.- Early life :...
as his mother Rose Narracott in a kitchen scene at Ditsworthy Warren House. By coincidence, two local novice film-makers who had been hoping to film at Ditsworthy Warren House at the same time found out about Spielberg's use of the site only weeks before their filming was due to commence. They filmed at Nun's Cross Farmhouse near Princetown
Princetown
Princetown is a town situated on Dartmoor in the English county of Devon.In 1785, Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt, Secretary to the Prince of Wales, leased a large area of moorland from the Duchy of Cornwall estate, hoping to convert it into good farmland. He encouraged people to live in the area and suggested...
as their alternative location.
External links
- Images of England page about the house
- Geocache photographs of Ditsworthy Warren House, including some of the film set
- Photographs of the film set at Ditsworthy Warren House
- Photographs of the film set at Ditsworthy Warren House including interior shot
- Photographs of the film set at Ditsworthy Warren House being dismantled