The Oxenham Arms, Dartmoor: Oldest Heritage Inn In Devon & Cornwall
The Oxenham Arms at South Zeal, a village on Dartmoor, is the oldest heritage inn in Devon and Cornwall and one of the most famous old coaching inns in Britain.
This Grade II listed former monastery, now more than 800 years old, is the perfect venue for morning coffee, lovely lunch and afternoon teas.
The main feature inside this historic pub is the ancient South Zeal Menhir Standing Stone, pictured above.
More than 5,000 years ago, the Neolithic people of Dartmoor cut a massive 27 feet high South Zeal Menhir Standing Stone from granite.
The stone, weighing around 17 tons, was rolled down into a wooded hillside where The Oxenham Arms is now located.
The Neolithic people used it as a pagan worship stone, and it has stood in the pub ever since.
The stone is located in the middle of the building - it goes down into the cellar and up into the room above.
Today, visitors to the Oxenham Arms can touch the ancient South Zeal Menhir.
In the 12th century, Benedictine Monks came to the village which was then known as Zale and constructed a nine roomed 2-storey granite and oak monastery around the South Zeal Menhir Standing Stone.
Still completely intact today, that monastery and the Menhir form all of the centre, rear and first floor of today's Oxenham Arms Hotel.
Three of their hotel guest rooms, The Belstone Room, The Bovey Room and The Widecombe Room were the original monks cell rooms in that monastery (they have since been upgraded of course)!
All of the building behind the ancient oak door in the central cloisters passageway after entering The Oxenham Arms is part the original monastery.
The monastery kitchen and refectory is now their beautiful Monastery Restaurant with a fine view through the leaded glass window of Dartmoor's Cosdon Hill.
Along with four acres of gardens now forming a home for our Dartmoor Ponies and rare breed Devon sheep, these were the original monastery gardens.
The Burgoyne family, of French origin who had arrived in Britain during the Norman Conquest, acquired the monastery estate in the early 14th century and the monastic community moved on to the other side of Okehampton town.
The Burgoyne's were a wealthy family being involved in trade and shipping in the Plymouth area, however they were not "titled" and so desired a manor house and an estate.
They purchased the monastery and its estate of around 100 acres of land with the intention to make it their family home.
The Burgoynes constructed a fine granite manor house on the front of the monastery building which formed their home, The Burgoyne Manor.
This is the beautiful building that you see today from the front road and four of the hotel rooms, you will see the letter B carved in granite above the coach house doors.
The Chagford Room, The Lydford Room, the Lustleigh Room and the Manaton Room are within the that manor house building, constructed around the year 1350.
For nearly 100 years, these buildings were known as The Burgoyne Manor.
By the late 1400's, after the two parents of the Burgoyne family, William and Margaret, had passed away, two brothers purchased the entire estate which formed in today’s measurements around 1000 acres.
These brothers were the Oxenhams, John and William - the brothers were "Earls".
South Zeal was very central for them and after its purchase the manor was renamed "The Oxenham Manor" and soon became the family home for the Oxenhams.
However, in the year 1476, William moved away leaving his brother John and his wife Elizabeth and two children, Mary adaughter and John a son.
John had constructed a smaller home in the next village of South Tawton and John and Elizabeth with their children moved to that house and in the year 1477 they "leased" out the manor house and monastery, obtaining a licence from Exeter Justice Offices in order that it could become an "Inn" or Tavern.
In the year 1477, the Oxenham Manor then became an inn called The Oxenham Arms.
The licence still retains a relic of the buildings past, namely that the Inn must if requested by a member of the active armed forces to serve a drink any time of night or day, the inn must open up and duly serve a drink!
In coming to visit the inn today, you are in very good company!
Charles Dickens (who stayed and wrote much of his Pickwick Papers here, Sir Francis Drake, Admiral Lord Nelson, The Reverend Sabine Baring Gould (who write the hymn Onward Christian Soldiers) , Prince Charles, The Rolling Stones and David Bowie have all stayed in the guest rooms.
It features a beautifully decorated interior and lovely overnight accommodation.
The food offered is an exciting blend of value modern British fresh locally sourced foods with a continental medieval twist reflecting the period of the building.
It’s ideally located just a 5-minute hop off the A30 to Cornwall, yet only 25 mins drive from Exeter.
Someone who recently visited the pub said: “I cannot recommend this pub more. From start to finish it is exceptional.
”The staff are beyond accommodating and helpful, the Sunday roasts were fantastic, the children’s fish and chips were great quality, proper fish and delicious chips, good amount of peas too! Desert was wonderful.”
Rooms can be booked in advance via their official website - and breakfast is included in the room rate of your hotel stay.
All rooms include an en-suite bathroom with shower or walk in shower room.
Today, The Oxenham Arms is owned outright by Simon Powelll and Lyn Powell.
In 2012, they purchased the freehold for this fabulous historic building and spent six months refurbishing the building and hotel rooms.
In 2017, they achieved a ‘4 Star Gold Accommodation’ rating with a Gold Dinner Award for their restaurant and food.
In 2018, they achieved an AA Rosette for their food and they have consistently maintained this right up to their most recent inspection in Summer 2023.
Famous previous owner
The owner of the Oxenham Arms from 1907 was a man called Major Pat a' Beckett.
In 1908 Major Patrick Forbes Winslow a' Beckett married the grandaughter of Lord Kitchener, Lady Nora Francis Fanny Kitchener.
They lived at the Oxenham Arms as their home and Lord Kitchener (Kitchener of Khartoum) visited them here at least three times.
The Major was a collector of fine European art paintings.
Tourists and guests, mainly Americans would visit The Oxenham Arms.
In addition, The Major had amassed the world’s largest collection of matchbox covers. and he stuck these to the passagway walls on the upper floors for hotel guests to see.
The photograph shows the Major in our Haytor room, a room in which he housed his permanent display of matchbox covers.
As time went on, however, he grew tired of repeatedly answering the same questions to American hotel guests and so wrote to The Times newspaper requesting that no more Americans should book rooms in his hotel.
He was, according to the Times, the first Englishmen to generically "ban" Americans.
"The Major" was a big pipe smoker.
Frequently over the past 50 or so years, guests have reported smelling pipe smoke around 8.30AM in the morning and around 9PM in the evening.
The Major and Lady Kitchener had no children and so when he passed away in 1941 The Oxenham Arms was sold.
However, he had two items displayed in the bar which were owned by Lord Kitchener and given to him and his wife as presents, a middle eastern knife and a ankus, (a device for controlling the direction and speed of an elephant).
Both of these items are still on display in the 1477 bar.
In the year 1936, Wills Tobacco company of England, designed and released a full set of 40 Cigarette cards for their customers to collect which listed the Inns which in their view were the oldest and finest inns throughout England.
The Oxenham Arms at South Zeal was one of those Cigarette cards.
These lovely sets of cards are still available on the secondhand market often on Ebay if search for Wills Inns of England
The Oxenham Arms, in conjunction with local Dartmoor guides, has produced a series of DL size pocket guides on beautiful walks from The Oxenham Arms Hotel within the Dartmoor National Park.
We highly recommend that you pick up a copy from the reception or bar.
Many spectacular walks and cycling routes are on the hotel’s doorstep, including the famous Dartmoor Way Walking and Cycling routes.
Their walking guides are free and include line by line instructions and directions, map references, a map, and detail on interesting things to see and do on your walks from here.
Covering 954 square kilometres, this ancient landscape is characterised by rolling hills, vast granite tors, gorgeous green valleys, and pristine rivers.
We recently visited Dartmoor to see an ancient Postbridge Clapper Bridge - one of the finest of its kind in Britain.
Clapper bridges are unique to Dartmoor and are among the oldest surviving bridge designs in Britain.
They consist of large flat stone slabs supported by stone piers or uprights.
One of the most renowned clapper bridges on Dartmoor is located near the village of Postbridge.
This bridge (pictured above) is believed to date back to the 13th century, although some historians suggest it might be even older.
Dartmoor’s Famous Neolithic Standing Stones
The Neolithic period, spanning roughly from 10,000 to 4,500 years ago, was characterised by significant advancements in human civilisation, including the development of agriculture, the domestication of animals, and the construction of monumental architecture.
Dartmoor has a rich archaeological landscape that includes various Neolithic and Bronze Age structures.
One of the notable features of Dartmoor's Neolithic heritage is its standing stones.
These megalithic monuments were erected by prehistoric peoples for various purposes, which could have included ceremonial, religious, or astronomical functions.
One prominent example is the "Grey Wethers" double stone circle, located in the vicinity of Fernworthy Forest.
This Neolithic monument consists of two concentric circles of standing stones, thought to date back around 4,000 to 5,000 years.
The purpose of Grey Wethers and other similar stone circles on Dartmoor remains subject to speculation, but they likely held significant cultural and spiritual importance for the communities that constructed them.
Additionally, Dartmoor is home to numerous other megalithic structures, including menhirs (single standing stones), stone rows, cairns, and burial chambers.
These monuments collectively represent the enduring legacy of prehistoric peoples who inhabited the region millennia ago, leaving behind tangible traces of their beliefs, practices, and societal organisation.
Archaeological investigations and ongoing research continue to shed light on Dartmoor's ancient past and its significance within the broader context of British prehistory.
If you’d like to visit this beautiful pub, the address is: Oxenham Arms Hotel & Restaurant, South Zeal, Dartmoor National Park, Okehampton, Devon EX20 2JT.
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