More information : The foundations of St Michael's Chapel on Rough Tor can still be traced. Most of the characteristic building material was allegedly removed to Trevillian's Gate about 1836. (1-2) Licence for a chapel of St Michael at "Roghtorre" was granted to Sir Hugo Peverelle on 1st September 1371. A further licence is recorded in 1419 and the chapel is mentioned in 1478 by William of Worcester. (3) St Michael's Chapel, in poor condition at about 390m above OD, on outcrop of Little Rough Tor, almost the highest point of the Roughtor ridge, where it would be conspicuous from any direction but the west, where the building is sheltered by a higher mass of outcrop. Prior to 1975 the OS had an erroneous siting for St. Michael's Chapel, based on no known authority (SX 18 SW 31), although the foundations were reported by Maclean to be visible on Rough Tor in 1873. At SX 14568079, immediately to the north of a vertical cliff face, some 8m high, are the foundations of a building of trapezoidal plan. The site was probably occupied by part of an extensive prehistoric cairn (SX 18 SW 71) the stones cleared to present a fairly level area, with some constraints which probably affected the shape and orientation of the building, ENE to WSW. The structure consists of two or three courses of small granite blockswith gravel or 'growan' mortar, forming walls 0.8m thick and 0.2m to 0.3m high. The southern side is parallel to and 1.5m from the cliff face and is 6.2m long internally. The west end, set at a right angle, is 2.9m long with a return of 1m along the northern side which otherwise is completely destroyed. The eastern side has had to be angled inwards at 45 degrees to avoid adjacent outcrop. The entrance was evidently somewhere along the north side. The building was probably enclosed by a walled yard about 9m square though only the east side and part of the north side survives. The east side consists of a turf covered wall 0.2m to 0.3m high and 0.7m wide. Part way along it another fragment of walling extends outwards to the east for 2m ending on a return of the cliff face. At the northeast angle of the enclosure the wall is no longer neatly built but simply a bank of stones 1.7m wide and up to 1.5m high, continuing along the north side for 5m where it ends abruptly. It appears to have been made by heaping up material to form the cairn. It is fairly certain that the remains are those of St Michael's Chapel. Apart from cut stone removed about 1836 much walling has probably been thrown over the cliff face. It is also likely that further clearance took place a few years since when a large war memorial plaque was placed in the south east corner of the building. Access to the chapel is now normally from the north east but is also possible from the south. Here, about 6m west of the building there is a return in the cliff face which incorporates cairn material and also a rough path with at least two well cut steps in the basic granite providing an easy route from the base of the cliff. Whether the possibly medieval building 50m to the south has any association with the chapel e.g. a priest's house, is speculative. (This is recorded as SX 18 SW 31). Surveyed at 1:2500 and 1:1000. (4) A medieval chapel built into the central mound of the larger of the two cairns (434568) on the summit of Rough Tor. The southern part of the mound's rubble was dug away to bedrock over an 8 metre diameter area, to insert the chapel's wall. The description of the chapel has not changed from (4) above. During the 20th century, a bronze plaque war memorial dedicated to the 43rd Division, Wessex Light Infantry, has been affixed to the southern part of the chapel's interior. Scheduled. (5) |