The origins of the small hamlet of Merrivale stretches back over the centuries but as a crossing place Merrivale probably existed since the Bronze Age or even earlier. The whole area has been a hive of human activity which ranged from a Bronze Age complex to medieval tinning and later rabbit warrening, quarrying and stone cutting. Over the centuries there have been many rabbit warrens on Dartmoor, some were large commercial concerns and others were smaller sporting warrens. They are easily recognised by the buries or pillow mounds that still sit on the landscape. Many sources state that the rabbit was not an original native of Britain and that they were introduced by the Normans. The rabbit has been an important source of food on Dartmoor for centuries. Dartmoor is not the ideal habitat for rabbits because it is too wet and badly drained which meant they had to be 'farmed' in warrens. Originally the word warren meant an area of land set aside for the preservation of game, later it came to describe areas of land where rabbits were bred for commercial uses. There were 16 known rabbit warrens on Dartmoor. The tor in the background is Great Staple Tor. Grid ref could be SX 545 746.

Boddy Collection