AN Australian student travelled halfway across the world to follow his roots back to one of Dartmoor’s oldest farming families in a remote moorland village.

George Ware, aged 19 from Hay in New South Wales, made the long journey to the UK to visit the famous and remote Ditsworthy Warren House at Sheepstor. George can trace his family links back to 1829 at the Warren house where successive generations made a living from farming rabbits, ending finally in the 1940s with the death of the well-known ‘Granny Ware’ — a stalwart and tough old lady, who lived and ran the business at the farmhouse on her own.

George’s great great grandfather Thomas was the son of William Ware and was born at the Warren. He married Mary Bickle of Meavy and the pair emigrated to Australia in 1887, where Thomas found a new life working as a carpenter, joiner and moulder.

George has been tracing the history of the Wares who remained behind on Dartmoor. One of his ancestors, Nicholas, was the landlord of the Royal Oak Inn at Meavy in 1829. He went on to take over the Warren at Ditsworthy where his family remained for more than a century.

In its heyday, Ditsworthy was the largest rabbit warren in England and required teams of men, dogs, ferrets and donkeys to collect the rabbits.

A stained glass window in Sheepstor Church is dedicated to the memory of Celia Jane Ware, born in 1845, who became the local schoolmistress while her husband William continued working the rabbit warrens in the village.

Ditsworthy Warren House received world-wide attention in 2011 when Steven Spielberg used the building as a central location in his blockbuster film War Horse.

George has completed many hours of Ware family history and would be interested to hear from anyone who can assist his research. Anyone who wants to get in touch can email George at [email protected]