Editing Dartmoor (section)

===The historical period===
[[File:Crazywell cross 1.JPG|thumb|Ancient [[stone cross]] close to [[Crazywell Pool]]]]

The climate became wetter and cooler over the course of a thousand years from around 1000&nbsp;BC, resulting in much of high Dartmoor being largely abandoned by its early inhabitants. The earliest surviving farms, still in operation today, are known as the [[Ancient Tenements]]. Most of these date back to the 14th century, and some even earlier.

It was not until the [[early Mediaeval]] period that the weather again became warmer, and settlers moved back onto the moors. Like their ancient predecessors, they used the natural granite to build their homes, preferring a style known as the [[Dartmoor longhouse|longhouse]]; some of theses are still inhabited today, although they have been clearly adapted{{clarify|date=December 2023}} over the centuries. Many are now used as farm buildings, while others have been abandoned and fallen into ruin.

Some way into the moor stands the town of [[Princetown, England|Princetown]], the site of [[Dartmoor (HM Prison)|Dartmoor Prison]], which was originally built by Isbell Rowe & Company, Plymouth, for [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] from the [[Napoleonic Wars]] and the [[War of 1812]]. The prison has a reputation for being escape-proof, due to both the buildings themselves and its physical location.

The Dartmoor landscape is scattered with the marks left by the many generations who have lived and worked there over the centuries – such as the remains of the [[Dartmoor tin-mining]] industry, and farmhouses long since abandoned. See [[Industrial archaeology of Dartmoor]].