page_title: Haldon Hills
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Haldon Hills / History
caption_attribution_description: Part of the probably medieval Holloway Lane that climbs the Haldon Hills in South Devon, England
context_page_description: The Haldon Hills, usually known simply as Haldon, is a ridge of high ground in Devon, England. It is situated between the River Exe and the River Teign and runs northwards from Teignmouth, on the coast, for about 24 km until it dwindles away north west of Exeter at the River Yeo, just south of Crediton. The highest points of just over 250 metres lie to the south west of Exeter. The southernmost part is known as Little Haldon; it is partially separated from the main bulk of the hills by a col formed by the valleys of the Dawlish Water to the east and the valley at Rixdale to the west.
context_section_description: Haldon is one of the few sites in Devon where there is evidence of settlement in early Neolithic times (around 4000 BC). There are an estimated 26 Bronze Age tumuli on Haldon, though because of the frequent use of the gravel and flints for road building, many more may have been destroyed. On Little Haldon, Castle Dyke, a probable Iron Age square enclosure about 100 metres (330 ft) on each side occupies a good defensive position. An ancient track known as the Portway that crosses Little Haldon passes by this earthwork.
  The high ground of Haldon has always been an inconvenience for people travelling south and west from Exeter. There is some evidence of a Roman road leading from Exeter over Haldon towards Newton Abbot, and possibly on to Totnes, but current opinion is that it was never fully developed, being little more than a track. Most of the route of this road was turnpiked in 1760 and now lies under the A380 road. There are several sunken lanes of medieval date or earlier that ascend Haldon from the east. These include St. Andrew's Lane, and Holloway Lane that in places was deliberately cut over 6 m (20 ft) into the hillside. When the Exeter to Plymouth Line was proposed the cost of tunnelling the Haldon Hills prompted the construction of the railway line along the exposed coast between Starcross and Teignmouth instead. With the operational costs of maintaining the South Devon Railway sea wall, construction of the tunnelled Dawlish Avoiding Line was approved in 1936 but was abandoned with the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939.
  Around Little Haldon there is evidence of about a dozen settlements of medieval date that have since been deserted, for instance Seacombe, in the col between Little Haldon and Haldon itself. Lidwell Chapel, which was probably founded in the 13th century, survives as a ruin on Little Haldon. In the early 14th century it was used by the hermit Robert de Middlecote as a base for robbing and murdering travellers. The building contains a holy well, now badly eroded, which according to legend is said to be bottomless.
  In post-medieval times, Haldon became a well-used source of building materials, particularly flint, gravel and sand. There are a number of small disused quarries and pits, mostly now overgrown, which were used to provide gravel for road surfacing in Victorian times.
  In 1928 Haldon Aerodrome was opened on Little Haldon. It became popular for recreational flying and in 1939 became one corner of a triangular air service between Cardiff and Plymouth, developed by the Great Western Railway Air Services Ltd. The aerodrome was taken over by the military at the outbreak of World War II and in 1941 became known as HMS Heron II when it came under the jurisdiction of RNAS Yeovilton. It did not reopen after the war and today there are few visible remains, the most obvious being of the waiting room/club house.
  During the 1930s, unemployed men were set to work in Haldon Forest, breaking ground, building tracks, and undertaking other heavy labour. The men lived in a work camp in the Forest, which was one of a number of so-called Instructional Centres run by the Ministry of Labour in order to 'harden' young men who had been out of work for some time. By 1938, the Ministry was operating 35 Instructional Centres across Britain, with a total capacity of over 6,000 places.
  By 1939, unemployment was declining in the face of impending war, and the Ministry closed down its work camps. During the war, St. Vincent Boys School, a reform school, operated on the site.  Haldon open prison was closed in the 1970s. Kennford Court and its tennis courts were later built on the site of Halford Instructional Centre.
caption: Holloway Lane was cut deeply into the hillside as it climbed Haldon
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