Abbotskerswell
| Abbotskerswell | |
| Devon | |
|---|---|
 Abbotskerswell | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SX855690 |
| Location: | 50°30’33"N, 3°36’55"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 1,267 |
| Post town: | Newton Abbot |
| Postcode: | TQ12 |
| Dialling code: | 01626 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Teignbridge |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Teignbridge |
Abbotskerswell is a village in Devon. The village is in the north part of the parish and is located two miles south of the town of Newton Abbot, seven miles from the seaside resort of Torquay. The A381 road between Newton Abbot and Totnes runs down the western side of the parish and the main railway line between these two towns forms part of its eastern boundary.
The village lies in a valley and to the north there are fields and to the south there is a forest. Through the village run two streams which meet at the village park. After high rainfall, it sometimes overflows.
Parish church
The village church is the Church of St Mary. It was affected by the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the reign of Henry VIII.
Old treasures, particularly a large badly damaged mediæval statue assumed to be of the Virgin and Child,[1] have been found within the church, and work has been undertaken to restore them. The north aisle is of the Perpendicular period and the western tower has diagonal buttresses and a stair turret in the centre of one side.[2]
History
In the Domesday Book, Abbotskerswell is listed as Carsuella in Kerswell Hundred, and was held by the abbot of Horton Abbey in Dorset.[3] The name kerswell means cress spring.[4] In 1086 it had a population of less than one hundred. The parish later became part of Haytor Hundred when it was derived from Kerswell Hundred. By 1901 the population had risen to 451 and to 1,515 by 2001.
Abbotskerswell developed around the growing of apples and oranges for cider making. Henley's Devonshire Cider was made by a company based in nearby Newton Abbot from apples grown in the extensive orchards around the village, and their presses were here too.[5]
In 1850, according to White's Devonshire Directory:
"ABBOTSKERSWELL, or Abbot's Carswell, is a pleasant village, two miles S. of Newton Abbot, and has in its parish 433 souls and 1600 acres of land, including several scattered houses and the hamlet of Aller, where there is a paper mill, on a rivulet 1 ½ mile from the church. The soil is all freehold, and belongs to Sir W.P. Carew, Bart., the Hon. Mrs. Hare, W. Hole, Esq., Wm. and John Creed, and a few smaller owners. The Church (St. Mary,) is an ancient fabric in the perpendicular style, with a tower and three bells. It is about to be thoroughly repaired and beautified. The old pews are to give way to open benches, and the finely carved oak screen is to be restored and opened. . . . A cottage has been converted into a Baptist Chapel; and in the parish is a Quaker's Burial Ground, which was reserved for that purpose by a Mr. Tucket, when he sold Court Barton estate. Here is a small National School."
For over a hundred years, from 1861 to 1983, Abbotskerswell Priory, situated just north of the parish boundary, was home to an Order of Augustinian nuns. When the nuns left in the 1980s, the buildings were converted into apartments and cottages for the elderly.[1][6]
Today
The village has several listed buildings, a small shop, (with a hair salon (residents only) on the upper floor), a primary school and one pub. The Court Farm Inn was previously a farm, and was converted to a pub in the 20th century when the old Tradesmans Arms closed. The other pub was the older Butchers Arms, which was originally a smithy. The village post office was closed by Royal Mail in 2008,[7] it is now a tearoom. There is a park with sports facilities and an all-weather pitch.
Also in the parish a minor road crosses the A381 road at Two Mile Oak Cross where there is a public house and a few houses.
Events
- "Abbfest" Beer and Food festival each year, which celebrates Devon food and drink.[8]
Sport
- Football: Abbotswell FC
- Cricket: Abbotskerswell Cricket Club
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Abbotskerswell) |
- Official Abbotskerswell Village
- Teignbridge District Conservation Area Character Appraisal for Abbotskerswell Retrieved 7 February 2007
- Devon Local Studies – Abbotskerswell community page
- Abbotskerswell in the Domesday Book
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Nikolaus Pevsner: The Buildings of England: Devon, 1952; 1989 Penguin Books ISBN 978-0-300-09596-8page 124–125
- ↑ Nikolaus Pevsner: The Buildings of England: Devon, 1952; 1989 Penguin Books ISBN 978-0-300-09596-8page 37
- ↑ Open Domesday Online: Abbotskerswell, accessed July 2017
- ↑ Ekwall, Eilert, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 4th edition, 1960. ISBN 0198691033
- ↑ Newton Abbot Chamber of Commerce and Urban District Council (c. 1930). Official Guide to Newton Abbot. Gloucester: The British Publishing Co Ltd. p. 19.
- ↑ "Retire in style at The Priory – A unique concept in retirement". Clennon Management Ltd.. http://www.thepriorydevon.co.uk/. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
- ↑ "Village post office is to close". BBC News Online. 11 November 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/7721989.stm. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ↑ Dale, Laura. "Ale and music are sell-out success". This is South Devon. http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/news/Ale-music-sell-success/article-1374149-detail/article.html. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
