Page:Devon & Cornwall Notes & Queries.djvu/463

 90 The Ancient Stone Crosses of a priory is made. Instead of this, '^ lands *' are spoken of, an alteration that later writers probably considered necessary, when they saw that the retention of the word "priorie" would cause the story to be looked upon with suspicion, as we have no knowledge of the existence of any Priory of Plimstock. It is, of course, possible that lands in that parish may have been left to Tavistock Abbey in the manner mentioned in the tradition, but if so, it was prob- ably at an early period, for the manor was already in the possession of that house at the time of the Domesday Survey. Risdon does not give us any hint as to the date of the occurrence, but Prince states that Childe is supposed to have lived in the reign of Edward III., but what reason there was for such a supposition, we do not know. Although Risdon tells us that Childe was buried at Tavistock, yet he calls this monument on the moor a tomb, and such it undoubtedly was. If, however, we are to beheve that Childe found a grave at the abbey, for what purpose was this tomb on Dartmoor constructed? We might imagine that the " luckless hunter " being found frozen to death, was interred on the spot by those who discovered him, in ignorance of who he was ; and that afterwards, on his identity becoming known, the monks of Tavistock opened the tomb and seized his body, having first invented the story of his will, in order to obtain possession of his lands, and that they then raised the monument over the grave where he had first been buried. The fact, however, of the stones of the kistvaen having had a certain amount of labour expended on them, seems to pre- clude the idea of a hasty burial, such as we should imagine would have taken place on the body of a stranger found on the moor. It is possible that some confusion may have arisen, Childe, there can scarcely be a doubt, being the same as the Saxon Cild, a common and not a proper name. Risdon only relates the story as a tradition, and as there is not the slightest evidence forthcoming in confirmation of it, we can only look upon it as a version of some old legend. As to the name of Guile Bridge, Mr. A. J. Kemp suggests that by this nothing more is implied than the Guild bridge, <* particularly as it leads immediately to the