Dartmoor’s secret underground reservoir the Pimple with an outlook for miles

From The Pimple one can see the towering dome of Kit Hill in Cornwall and the contrasting rugged tors of western Dartmoor. But what lies beneath?

Dartmoor is full of secrets and mysterious tales. There is so much to discover, and just when you think you may have discovered it all, something else will come along to surprise you. Welcome to the Grade II-listed Pimple, built in 1914 on the edge of Dartmoor in Whitchurch Down, near Tavistock. Its name comes from the stone apex at the top of its roof and was built by one of the country’s most renowned architects.

Sir Edwin Lutyens was well-known for many significant buildings, including Castle Drogo at Drewsteignton, near Exeter, the Cenotaph in London, the Parliament House in Delhi, the British Embassy in Washington and Johannesburg Art Gallery. Sir Edwin wanted The Pimple to be a place where people could visit and enjoy the stunning views over Dartmoor and into Cornwall. He certainly achieved that.

It is built of Hurdwick stone with a slate roof. Wooden benches are set into its walls. On top of all that, well technically underneath, it’s the entrance to an underground reservoir. South West Water sold the Pimple for £2,010 on November 23, 2000. The building was up for sale again in 2008. Speaking at the time, Neil Woolcock, of Ward & Chowen estate agents in Tavistock, said: “This building is of great historical interest and anyone who buys it will have extraordinary views across Dartmoor. It is difficult to say what it would be used for but it could be bought by somebody who wants a little piece of Devon history.”

Tim Sandles, who wrote, Legendary Dartmoor, has researched the Pimple extensively. Tim was able to go into great detail on not just the building, but the reservoir below: “Since the early 1900s Dartmoor or to be more precise, Whitchurch Down has had a structure named after a skin blemish in the form of the Pimple. Many will say this is an unfair name to be placed on a structure that was sympathetically designed by one of Britain’s most esteemed architects.

“In 1909 the Duke of Bedford commissioned the building of some houses along what was to become Down Row. In order to supply these homes with water it necessitated the construction of a reservoir. The water for the reservoir was taken from the existing Tavistock’s water supply and taken up to the reservoir by means of a pump, powered by water taken from the Tavistock Canal.

“This tank needed an entrance and so it was decided to build a folly which would provide a safe and secure portal for the reservoir. The task of designing this building was given to Sir Edwin Lutyens who also worked on a nearby house called Littlecourt which was built at the top end of Down Row.

“Lutyens was one of the country’s leading architects who also designed Castle Drogo which sits above the Teign valley near Drewsteignton. So in 1914 a folly was built to house the doorway into the reservoir, this was a triangular structure with each wall measuring 13.12 feet which sat upon a circular base. The only decoration given to the building was a finial placed on the apex of the roof and it was this that gave rise to the building being called The Pimple.

“Lutyens not only wanted to design a building, he wanted it to be a focal point which provided a pleasurable purpose to visit.”

Keep scrolling for more pictures and click ‘view more’ to see more images. This article was first published in 2020.