Tomb
Childe the Hunter
Whoever buries me shall have my land.
Stand where it happened
- What's there
- Granite cross on a stepped stone base
- Legend from
- Risdon / Tavistock tradition
- Tone
- Grim
A dying hunter crawled inside his horse to survive the snow.
Childe's Tomb is a granite cross on a stepped base on southern Dartmoor. The tale, first recorded by Risdon, says Childe the hunter was caught in a blizzard, killed his horse and crept inside its body for warmth, but froze. He left a note that whoever buried him should have his lands. The monks of Tavistock beat the men of Plymstock to the body and won the estate. The tomb was robbed in 1812 and re-erected in 1890.