Page:Devon & Cornwall Notes & Queries.djvu/381

 1 8 The Ancient Stone Crosses appellaton of Whitaburrow,* but is generally known as Petre's Cross. Sir William Petre, of whom Prince in his Worthies of Devon gives us an account, and who was, as already stated, the possessor of certain rights over Brent Moor was bom at Tor Newton, in the parish of Tor Brian. He was Secretary of State in four reigns, those of Henry VIII., Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth; and, it is said of him that in this office he was "smooth, reserved, resolved, and yet obliging." He amassed great wealth derived from the monastic possessions which were granted to him. He died in 1 57 1, and was buried at Ingatestone in Essex. Our search for the third cross will take us to Buckland Ford — so we shall make our way down the hill in a north- easterly direction, and passing a bound -stone, shall soon reach the foot of a steep narrow gully, close to which we shall observe an old path, which we shall descend for a short distance to a point where it crosses a small stream which falls into the Avon just below. This is Buckland Ford, but we shall look in vain for the cross. This ford is shown on some maps as being on the Avon. This is wrong; it is the cross- ing-place over a tributary of that river, as above described. It doubtless was so called in consequence of being on the monks' path leading to Buckland. I have carefully searched around the spot, yet have never been able to find it, nor can I learn that any one has ever seen it. Some mining operations appear to have been carried on near the bank of the Avon,, and it is possible that the cross may have been destroyed by those who were concerned in them. The old track which crosses the stream at this ford is called the Abbots' Way, and can be traced from Dean Moor for several miles, passing the source of the Erme, and the head. waters of the Plym. It formed a direct means of com- in the perambulation of 1240, the name is spelled WhyteburgUe. It is Eastern Whitaburrow, however which is mentioned in these perambula- tions, and not Western Whitaburrow. The cairn known as Eastern Whitaburrow is ninety yards in circumference, and twelve yards ia height. The name is pronounced with the i long, as though spelled White-a-burrow,
 * So spelt with the addition of an ^ in the survey of the forest of 1609;