Chagford
| Chagford | |
| Devon | |
|---|---|
 Chagford's famous ironmonger: Webbers and Bowdens | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SX700876 |
| Location: | 50°40’22"N, 3°50’25"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 1,470 (2001) |
| Post town: | NEWTON ABBOT |
| Postcode: | TQ13 |
| Dialling code: | 01647 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | West Devon |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Torridge and West Devon |
| Website: | Chagford Parish Council |
Chagford in Devon is a delightful Dartmoor village. It is found on the northeast part of the moor, off the High Moor and close to the young River Teign. One may find it off the A382, about 4 miles west of Moretonhampstead.
The name Chagford is derived from the word chag, meaning gorse or broom The "ford suffix indicates its importance as a crossing place on the River Teign. At the 2001 Census it had a population of 1,470.
Despite its apparently isolated position, the village is a thriving community (with accordingly high property prices), busy streets, and an unusually wide range of shops for a place of this size. The two large hardware stores in the town square have been run by the same two families for many years. There are several tea rooms and whole food cafés, one restaurant, and several pubs. There are numerous guest houses and hotels in the surrounding countryside which provide accommodation for the large influx of visitors during the year.
Chagford is known for its vibrant arts community, celebrated through the autumn Chagford Film Festival, the springtime ChagWord literary festival, the annual Wonderworks crafts weekend, and other regular cultural events.
Nearby is Castle Drogo, a mock-castle residence designed by Edwin Lutyens in the early 20th century, in Drewsteignton parish. It overlooks Chagford.
History
Archaeological remains confirm that a community has existed here for at least 4000 years. In historical times, Chagford grew due to the wool trade and from tin mining in the area, and in 1305 was made a stannary town where tin was traded. A cattle market in the town survived until the 1980s.
In a Civil War skirmish Sydney Godolphin, the poet and Royalist MP for Helston, was shot and killed in the porch of the Three Crowns.[1]
Churches
The parish church is St Michael the Archangel, dedicated in 1261, although little remains from this period. The tower dates back to the 15th century. It is Grade I listed.
The church was restored in 1865 and extended during the 20th century. It features carved roof bosses, similar to those found at St. Pancras' church, Widecombe-in-the-Moor, including the tin miners’ emblem of three hares.
Chagford forms part of a "united benefice" of seven ecclesiastical parishes, known as The Whiddon Parishes of Dartmoor, the others being Throwleigh, Gidleigh, Drewsteignton, Spreyton, Hittisleigh and South Tawton.
The Bible Christian Chapel established in 1844 continues to flourish as Chagford Gospel Church.
A Wesleyan Chapel (established in 1834) was replaced by a Methodist church built in 1861, but it closed in the 1990s and the chapel is now in secular use. Victorian era directories list a Baptist church (established 1829), but long since disappeared.
Sights about Chagford
A 16th century building called Endecott House, on the edge of the town square, was given this name in the early 1990s in honour of Pilgrim Father and governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, John Endecott, who lived in Chagford before leaving for the New World. This building was possibly built as a "church house", and has certainly been in community use for many years, including use as a village school. It now serves as a meeting hall.
One of the social centres of Chagford is the village hall, the Jubilee Hall, in the south-east corner of the town next to the public car park. Built in 1936 by public subscription, it also houses the library (which opens three part-days a week). It provides a venue for the regular Friday morning flea markets as well as for a whole host of other activities: badminton, table tennis, parties, discos, comedy nights, kung fu, Pilates, etc. The town is beginning to outgrow this Hall, and there are periodic debates as to whether it should be further extended or replaced with a new building.
The Three Crowns Hotel dates to the 13th century and its proprietors claim that it is haunted by the ghost of the cavalier poet, Sidney Godolphin, who died here during the Civil War, shot down in the porch.
In 1987, the New Scientist reported that Chagford contained "the most radioactive loo in the world",[2] a reference to the high levels of radon gas in this granite area.
Legend
St Michael's church contains a memorial to Mary Whiddon, dated 11 October 1641, whose death is thought to have been one of the inspirations behind R D Blackmore’s novel, Lorna Doone. Although his novel is set on Exmoor, the author may have been moved by a local legend about Mary who, it is claimed, was shot dead on her wedding day as she came out of church. The climax of Lorna Doone involves such a shooting, but in the book the heroine survives.
Whether this actually happened is unclear. Mary's tomb records that she died "a matron, yet a maid", though "maid" is a common term in Devon for a "girl" and the inscription may just mean that Mary died young ("although married, still just a girl"). The only contemporaneous record is her undated will. It mentions no husband.
Sports
Chagford's War Memorial Playing Fields were redeveloped in the late 1980s to provide a cricket ground to the south west of the village, overlooked by a modern clubhouse. In the winter, the ground provides two football pitches for the football club. There are public tennis courts in the town, with an associated Tennis Club, and an open-air swimming pool.
Outside links
- Chagford parish web site
- St Michael's Church
- National Heritage List 1308610: St Michael's listing details
- The Legend of Mary Whiddon
- Chagford Gospel Church
- National Heritage List 1147503: Chagford Gospel Church listing details
References
- ↑ The Chagford Cavalier
- ↑ Pearce, Fred (February 5, 1987), "A deadly gas under the floorboards", New Scientist: p33-35