Editing Princetown (section)

{{Short description|Village in Devon, England}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place|
| static_image_caption = Jubilee Memorial and Railway Inn, Princetown
| country = England
| region = South West England
| shire_county = [[Devon]]
| shire_district = [[West Devon]]
| civil_parish = [[Dartmoor Forest]]
| official_name = Princetown
| population = 
| constituency_westminster = [[Torridge and Tavistock (UK Parliament constituency)|Torridge and Tavistock]]
| os_grid_reference = SX588736
| coordinates = {{coord|50.54507|-3.99422|display=inline,title}}
| dial_code = 01822
| post_town = YELVERTON
| postcode_district = PL20
| postcode_area = PL
| london_distance = {{convert|181|mi|km}}
}}

'''Princetown''' is a village<ref group=lower-alpha>Despite its name, Princetown is not classed as a town today – it is not included in the County Council's list of the 29 towns in Devon: {{cite web |url=http://www.devon.gov.uk/devontownprofiles |title=Devon Town Profiles |publisher=Devon County Council |access-date=5 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516092124/http://www.devon.gov.uk/devontownprofiles |archive-date=16 May 2013 }}</ref> located within [[Dartmoor]] national park in the English county of [[Devon]]. It is the principal settlement of the [[civil parish]] of [[Dartmoor Forest]]. At the 2021 census, the village had a population of 1,443.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Princetown (Devon, South West England, United Kingdom) – Population Statistics, Charts, Map, Location, Weather and Web Information |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/southwestengland/devon/E63006846__princetown/ |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=citypopulation.de}}</ref>

The village has its origins in 1785, when [[Thomas Tyrwhitt (MP)|Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt]], then secretary to the [[George IV|Prince of Wales]], leased a large area of [[moorland]] from the [[Duchy of Cornwall]] estate, hoping to convert it into good farmland. He encouraged people to live in the area and suggested that a prison be built there. He called the settlement Princetown after the Prince of Wales.

Princetown is the site of [[Dartmoor (HM Prison)|Dartmoor Prison]]. At around 1,430&nbsp;feet (435&nbsp;m) above sea level,<ref name=PEV>{{cite book
|author=Pevsner, Nikolaus |author-link=Nikolaus Pevsner |editor=Cherry, Bridget 
|title=The Buildings of England: Devon
|publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |location=Harmondsworth
|year=1989 |orig-year=1952
|isbn=0-14-071050-7 |pages=695–6|title-link=Pevsner Architectural Guides#Buildings of England }}</ref> it is the highest settlement on the moor, and one of the highest in the United Kingdom. It is also the largest settlement located on the high moor. The [[Princetown Railway]], closed in 1956, was also the highest railway line in England: its Princetown terminus was also 1,430&nbsp;feet above sea level.