Devonport Leat
Leat in Devon, England
title: "Devonport Leat" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["dartmoor", "aqueducts-in-england", "industrial-archaeological-sites-in-devon"] description: "Leat in Devon, England" topic_path: "philosophy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devonport_Leat" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Leat in Devon, England ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox aqueduct"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Devonport Leat |
| image | Devonport leat.JPG |
| image_size | 250px |
| caption | Devonport Leat looking East towards Cramber Tor at Raddick Hill Falls |
| coordinates | |
| :: |
| name = Devonport Leat | image = Devonport leat.JPG | image_size = 250px | caption = Devonport Leat looking East towards Cramber Tor at Raddick Hill Falls | pushpin_map = | pushpin_relief = | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_caption = | official_name = | starts = | ends = | coordinates = | maint = | length = | height = | width = | diameter = | first_length = | first_diameter = | second_length = | second_diameter = | third_length = | third_diameter = | capacity = | begin = | open = | closed = | references = | extra =
The Devonport Leat is a leat in Devon constructed in the 1790s to carry fresh drinking water from the high ground of Dartmoor to the expanding dockyards at Plymouth Dock (which was renamed as Devonport, Devon on 1 January 1824).
Feedwaters
It is fed by five Dartmoor rivers: the West Dart, the Cowsic, the Hart Tor Brook, the River Meavy and the Blackabrook (this last apparently was the first portion to supply Plymouth Dock).
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Aqueduct_2.JPG" caption="Aqueduct on the leat near Burrator Reservoir over the River Meavy"] ::
Construction
Dartmoor granite was used to construct the water channel, as well as a small aqueduct and a tunnel.
Historic changes
It was originally designed to carry water all the way to Plymouth Dock, a total distance of 27 mi, but has since been shortened and the operational part of the leat now stops near the Burrator Reservoir dam. Some of the water goes through underground pipes to the water treatment works at Dousland; the rest goes into the Burrator Reservoir which provides most of the water supply of Plymouth. For part of the route to Dousland the pipes follow the route of the disused Yelverton to Princetown Railway. Before the piped supply to Dousland was installed, the water was used for a hydroelectric turbine near Yelverton Reservoir and fed by a 12 in pipe.
Route
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Devonport_Leat_map.png" caption="Route of Devonport Leat (blue); dashed red line shows edge of Dartmoor National Park"] ::
The Devonport Leat begins a short distance to the north of Wistman's Wood at an altitude of over 410 m and twice passes close to Two Bridges (following the contours up the Cowsic valley in between) before heading towards Princetown. Its water supply now ends up in Burrator Reservoir. It follows a meandering path across the moor, carefully selected by engineers to follow the natural contours of the land.
References
References
- Keith Ryan. "Devonport Leat, 1801 (Two short extracts from the 37 pages of the Act (for supplying... water), and extensive details of The head-waters of Devonport Leat... ''It is not unusual for newcomers to the subject to be confused, poring over maps, trying to discern the origins of Devonport Leat.'')". dartmoorcam.co.uk.
- "Devonport Leat conservation project". Dartmoor Preservation Association, Friends of Dartmoor.
- {{coord. 50.5802. -3.9620. region:GB_scale:10000 Start of Devonport Leat near Wistman's Wood
- {{coord. 50.558011. N. 3.965667. W. region:GB_type:landmark
- Richard Knights. "Dartmoor Walks: Devonport Leat (A pictorial record of a walk)". richkni.co.uk.
- {{coord. 50.497. -4.040. region:GB_scale:5000 Burrator Reservoir
- Tim Sandles. (21 March 2016). "The Leats of Dartmoor". legendarydartmoor.co.uk.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::