Old Crockern, Sabine Baring Gould’s ‘spirit of Dartmoor,’ appears in old stories and new protests. But who exactly is Crockern, and what is the true folk spirit of Dartmoor? Sara Hurley and Lisa Schneidau, two storytellers from Dartmoor, have spent the year immersed in Dartmoor’s folk tales. They have worked with communities all over the moor to find out what these stories mean to people today. They have made new folk tales with Dartmoor schoolchildren, heard true stories from our elders, and walked the bogs and heaths of Dartmoor many times. The result of their work is a new contemporary storytelling show, ‘Chasing Crockern,’ touring Dartmoor and beyond during 2025.  

This accompanying gallery exhibition, curated by Monica Shanta, accompanies their folktale quest through the mists and bogs, searching from tor to village to town and asks the question; what does the spirit of Dartmoor mean to you? Project collaborators include Villages in Action, Skylark FM, Dartmoor National Park Authority, The Museum of Dartmoor Life and Moorland Community Care, as well as creatives Lucinda Guy, Paula Crutchlow, Hugh Lupton, Jim Causley and Ben Tallamy.