Dartbridge and Blackrock house

The Dart bridge has 4 arches over the river and it stands within Buckfast, through the arch can be seen Blackrock house. Before the 14th Century, people and packhorses had to cross the Dart at the ford. Dart bridge was built in 1356. There are a large quarry and caves at Blackrock, an escarpment behind the house, from which much of the limestone for the original Abbey and subsequent rebuilding was quarried. The Blackrock is now known as the Abbey Inn, serving tourists and standing on the banks of the River Dart. "After 1851 and before 1871 - certainly in 1861 - Black Rock House was owned by my ancestor, Mr. Andrew Warren. He lived there with six of his eight children, together with his son-in-law and eldest grandchild, his disabled sister-in-law, a niece, a nephew, and a housekeeper! He moved into Black Rock House having passed his business in Fore Street, Buckfastleigh, over to his eldest son. Sometime before 1871, he gave up Black Rock House and moved to Abbey Cottage, on the old Berry estate, where he and his wife lived until their deaths in 1882/3. Andrew and Elizabeth Warren are buried in Holy Trinity Churchyard, overlooking Black Rock House, and the Dart." - email sent to the Archive.