MEM23831 - Possible warren at the Valley of Rocks (Monument)

In the early 19th Century, part of the Valley of Rocks used as a rabbit warren was enclosed. The Tithe Map for Lynton and Lynmouth includes references to a warren in two field names. One of the fields now hosts the cricket ground.

The wall around the cricket pitch enclosed the rabbit warren and it is likely that the café was then the warrener's cottage (also see MEM23832). [1] The Tithe Map for Lynton and Lynmouth includes references to a warren in two field names in the Valley of Rocks. The larger parcel, labelled 114 and named "Warren field" is in use as pasture; the smaller, 113, is labelled "Field was Warren," again in use as pasture. Both were owned by the Reverend Thomas Roe, with 113 occupied by Thomas Baker and 114 occupied by Elizabeth Davis. Land parcel 115, in which the current café is now placed, is not shown to contain any buildings but is full of trees. It is labelled "Woody Plot", in use as pasture and was again owned by the Reverend Thomas Roe, occupied by Charles Fry. No buildings are shown in any of the land parcels concerned. [2] The land parcel labelled 114 was labelled "The Warren" on the 1st and 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey map. It is still named The Warren and hosts the cricket ground (MEM23834). [3-5] William Lock, a Lynmouth merchant, purchased the manor of Lynton in 1792. Soon after, he announced his intention to wall off a large rabbit warren in the Valley of Rocks for his private use but the other landowners refused to give their consent. In 1799, William assigned his manorial rights to his son John Lock, who in 1800 persuaded most of the people with rights on the Lynton commons to sign or put their mark on a private agreement to divide the land. John ensured he was allotted the eastern part of the Valley of Rocks and almost at once enclosed part of it. Many thought that the stone walls he erected "desecrated the wild grandeur of the valley." [6]