The granite from the quarries near Haytor Rock was much in demand for construction work in the cities of England, but in an era when railways and reliable roads had not yet been developed, the transport of this heavy and bulky commodity was a significant problem.

Its form was a close relative of a plateway, where longitudinal L-shaped metal plates were used to support and guide the wheels of wagons.

[3] In 1829, due to financial difficulties, James Templer's son George Templer (1781–1843) sold Stover House, the Stover Canal and the Haytor Granite Tramway to Edward St Maur, 11th Duke of Somerset (1775–1855), whose family had long owned the nearby large Berry Pomeroy Castle Estate.

George Templer left Devon, only to return a few years later and build a new mansion at Sandford Orleigh on the outskirts of Newton Abbot.

Granite's popularity as a building material was increasing and the reason for the quarry and tramway's creation was most likely a contract for George Templer to use the stone for London Bridge.

Part of the British Museum, the old General Post Office in London and the Waltham Monument[citation needed] in Ludgate Circus were built of Haytor granite in the 19th century.

Thomas[8] claims that there were proposals in about 1905 to lay an electric tramway along the route as a tourist attraction, but this scheme failed to mature.

[5] The tramway was built in 1820 without an Act of Parliament[8] and opened on 16 September 1820, but the consulting engineer is unknown, although George Templer of Stover House owned the quarries and was no doubt responsible.

[1] A contemporary description of the official opening shows the extent of the achievement: On Saturday Mr. Templer, of Stover House, gave a grand fete champetre on Haytor Down, on the completion of the granite rail road.

A long string of carriages, filled with elegant and beautiful females, multitudes of horsemen, workmen on foot, the wagons covered with laurels and waving streamers, formed in their windings through the valley, an attractive scene to spectators on the adjacent hill.

Previously to returning to dine, Mr Templer addressed the assemblage in a short and energetic speech, which excited bursts of applause...[9]A later description listed some of the dignitaries who attended:

[3] The hard granite stone was well-suited to the purpose as it can withstand high pressures and was laid in lieu of iron rails.

The four surviving stones, classified by the Milestone Society,[13] are detailed below: Granite seems to have been the only traffic carried as the company was reluctant to go to the expense of building high-sided waggons or trucks for iron ore transportation.

The 1831 map of Devonshire by Fisher, Son & Co. depicts the course of the tramway and erroneously shows it running directly down to the Teign without the Stover canal being in existence.

The granite track sections can be followed through the woods before the pathway diverts back onto the main Bovey Tracey road.