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14-589: The legend of the Hairy Hands is set near Postbridge , Dartmoor . The road is now known as the B3212 . According to the story, the Hairy Hands are a pair of disembodied hands that appear suddenly, grab at the steering wheel of a moving car or the handlebars of a motorcycle, and then force the victim's vehicle off the road. In some cases, the hands are described as being invisible. Since around 1910, drivers and cyclists have reported suffering unusual accidents along

28-679: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Clapper bridge A clapper bridge is an ancient form of bridge found on the moors of the English West Country ( Bodmin Moor , Dartmoor and Exmoor ) and in other upland areas of the United Kingdom including Snowdonia and Anglesey , Cumbria , Derbyshire , Yorkshire , Lancashire , and in northern Wester Ross and north-west Sutherland in Scotland. It

42-556: Is formed by large flat slabs of stone, often granite or schist . These can be supported on stone piers across rivers, or rest on the banks of streams. Although often credited with prehistoric origin, most were erected in medieval times, and some in later centuries. They are often situated close to a ford where carts could cross. According to the Dartmoor National Park , the word 'clapper' derives ultimately from an Anglo-Saxon word, cleaca , meaning 'bridging

56-539: Is on the East Dart river, one of two main tributaries of the River Dart , and consists of a few houses, a shop, a pub and hotel, and a national park tourist information centre. Postbridge is best known for its fine example of an ancient clapper bridge over the river. First recorded in the 14th century, the bridge is believed to have been built in the 13th century to enable pack horses to cross, carrying tin to

70-508: The stannary town of Tavistock . The clapper bridge, a Grade II*- listed structure , stands alongside a Grade II-listed bridge built in the 1780s. The settlement is also infamous for the ghost story of the Hairy Hands , which supposedly manifest themselves on a road near the village. 50°35.648′N 3°54.669′W  /  50.594133°N 3.911150°W  / 50.594133; -3.911150 This Devon location article

84-944: The bridge passable to a small cart. It was first recorded in 1380 and was built to facilitate the transportation of Dartmoor tin by pack horses to the stannary town of Tavistock . Other surviving examples include the Tarr Steps over the River Barle in Exmoor, and Stara Bridge over the River Lynher in east Cornwall . Some larger clapper bridges, such as at Dartmeet and Bellever , have collapsed – their slabs swept away by floods, or raided for building or wall construction - and have since been rebuilt. However, there are many other smaller examples in existence on Dartmoor and still in use, such as those at Teignhead Farm (close to Grey Wethers stone circles), Scorhill and across

98-449: The origins of the hands or attribute to them any specific purpose, other than driving motorists off the road. A few local versions of the story attribute the hands to an unnamed man who died in an accident on the road. According to local sceptics, most of the accidents were caused by people who were unfamiliar with the area driving too fast down narrow country roads with high walled sides, resulting in them either losing control or misjudging

112-658: The road and running off its edges. After the story appeared in the national press, several investigations were carried out into the road. It was eventually determined that the accidents were most likely due to the camber of the road's surface, which reached dangerous levels in places and was duly altered. The legend was linked to witchcraft in the short play 'The Hairy Hand of Dartmoor' by Michael McStay, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 8 February 1999. The Hairy Hands were mentioned by Josh Widdicombe on "Monster Mash", an episode in Series M of panel show QI . Widdicombe again mentioned

126-441: The road between Postbridge and Two Bridges . In many cases, the victims reported that their vehicle had jolted or swerved violently and steered off the side of the road, as if something had taken hold of the wheels and wrenched it out of their control. In most instances, the victims ran into a verge and survived. Their experiences remained a local curiosity, until June 1921, when E.H. Helby, the medical officer for Dartmoor Prison ,

140-532: The road, after which the story was picked up by newspapers in London and became known nationwide. In Supernatural Dartmoor by Michael Williams, there is a story told by journalist and author Rufus Endle. He claimed that, while driving near Postbridge on an unstated date, "a pair of hands gripped the driving wheel and I had to fight for control." He managed to avoid a crash and the hands disappeared as inexplicably as they had come. He requested that Williams not publish

154-603: The stepping stones'; the Oxford English Dictionary gives the intermediate Medieval Latin form clapus , claperius , "of Gaulish origin", with an initial meaning of "a pile of stones". A fine example, the Postbridge Clapper Bridge, can be found at Postbridge , on Dartmoor. Its slabs are over 4 metres (13 ft) long, 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) wide and weigh over 8 metric tons (7.9 long tons; 8.8 short tons) each, making

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168-550: The story on series 2 episode 2 of comedy panel show Hypothetical , hosted with James Acaster , and on the 19 April 2019 episode of Have I Got a Bit More News for You and again on 28 February 2020 episode of The Last Leg . Postbridge Postbridge is a hamlet in the heart of Dartmoor in the English county of Devon . It lies on the B3212, roughly midway between Princetown and Moretonhampstead . Postbridge

182-464: The story until after his death, for fear of ridicule. Not all reported incidents occurred in moving vehicles. In one incident, in 1924, a woman camping on the moor with her husband reported seeing a hairy hand attempting to gain access to her caravan during the night. She reported that the hand retreated after she made the sign of the Cross. Most variations of the legend of the Hairy Hands do not specify

196-459: Was killed when he lost control of his motorcycle combination. Two young girls, children of the prison governor, who had been riding in the sidecar , survived. Several weeks after Helby's death, there was another incident in which a coach driver lost control, injuring several passengers who were thrown out of their seats. Then, on 26 August 1921, an army captain reported that a pair of invisible hands had taken hold of him and forced his motorcycle off

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