Bishopsteignton

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Bishopsteignton
Devon

Fore Street, Bishopsteignton
Location
Grid reference: SX910737
Location: 50°33’11"N, 3°32’20"W
Data
Population: 2,570  (2011)
Post town: Teignmouth
Postcode: TQ14
Dialling code: 01626
Local Government
Council: Teignbridge
Parliamentary
constituency:
Newton Abbot

Bishopsteignton is a village in southern Devon, found between Newton Abbot and Teignmouth, close to the Teign Estuary. The village is on a steep hill, and has a post office, small pharmacy and a small, family-run village shop.

The 2011 census recorded a population of 2,570.

The village has four pubs: The Old Workshop, The Ring of Bells, The Cockhaven Manor and the Bishop John De Grandisson. It also has a local brewery called Red Rock based behind the Old Workshop pub, the Old Walls vineyard and Shute Fruit and Produce, a pick your own field.

There is a small beach on the estuary, known locally as Down Steps, The River Beach or Red Rock. It is reached via a footpath from the village that crosses the main Teignmouth to Newton Abbot road and the railway, and goes down the steep Luxton Steps. This ancient footpath leads to the point where villagers could ford the river at low tide to reach Coombe Cellars.

Churches

St John the Baptist, Bishopteignton

The village has four churches:

  • Church of England:
    • St John The Baptist
    • St Mary The Virgin
  • Plymouth Brethren: gospel hall
  • Methodist: Bishopsteignton Methodist Church

St John The Baptist has a fine Norman doorway which survived Victorian restoration. Among the tombstones are some who were victims of plague, and above the churchyard are the remains of a 14th-century sanctuary chapel built by John Grandisson, Bishop of Exeter to provide a refuge for felons who had accepted life banishment, as they travelled from Exeter to sail from Teignmouth.[1]

About the village

Half a mile away is the Bishop's Palace, now a ruin (hence the local name of the Old Walls), that was built in the 13th century by Walter de Bronescombe, and expanded later by Grandisson.[2] It is an example of small and compact bishop's palace and the remains include an inner and an outer court plus substantial buried remains. The site is a scheduled monument.[3]

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Bishopsteignton)

References

  1. Harris, Helen (2004). A Handbook of Devon Parishes. Tiverton: Halsgrove. p. 22. ISBN 1-84114-314-6. 
  2. "History of Bishopsteignton". http://www.bishopsteignton.org.uk/history.html. Retrieved 8 November 2016. 
  3. National Heritage List 1008677: Bishop's Palace, Bishopsteignton