TORS OF DARTMOOR
a database of both lesser- & well-known rocks and outcrops
Meldon Hill South TorMeldon Hill Tors, Middleton Tors, Middledown, Milldown
 Meldon Hill is a magnificent hill above the small town of Chagford and many interesting rockpiles encircle the summit trig point which sits atop the highest outcrop. This outcrop, however, is a large sprawl of impressive granite boulders and is the southernmost of the tors that encircle the summit of Meldon Hill.  It lies just off the lower footpath but above Tunnaford Rocks and there is a splendid rock basin on the lower outcrop, shown below, that was noted by Max Piper in 2018. The upper two outcrops are balanced on granite bedrock, and rock parting is evident here where the rocks appear to have shifted over time as to create a cave between the two highest masses. Tim Jenkinson (2000) goes into detail about Meldon Hill; "Despite its eminence in the vicinity of Chagford village and the numerous rock piles that are scattered across its slopes, Meldon Hill (SX 6986) continues to receive scant attention in the Dartmoor literature." And, in addition; "The likely names for the rocks include Meldon Hill Tors or even Middleton Tors given the older version of the hill's name as included on Lt Colonel Mudge's map of Devon dated 1809."  The sloping outcrops are parallel to the gradient of the hill, a process described by Richard Hansford Worth; "Similar surfaces are to be found elsewhere on Dartmoor, as for instance on the west flank of Meldon (Chagford), where the rock slope is 45 ft in length, and has a gradient of one in 4 1/2." 
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