Copplestone
- Not to be confused with Copplestone, Tiverton
| Copplestone | |
| Devon | |
|---|---|
 Copplestone Cross | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SS769026 |
| Location: | 50°48’36"N, 3°44’51"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 1,253 (2011) |
| Post town: | Crediton |
| Postcode: | EX17 |
| Dialling code: | 01363 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Mid Devon |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Central Devon |
Copplestone (anciently Copleston, Coplestone etc.) is a village in the midst of Devon on the A377 north-west of Crediton and on the railway line between the county’s north and south coasts, from Exeter to Barnstaple.
The village has no church of its own, which reflects its status as a relatively recent village: it grew up around the ancient "Copleston Cross" that stands at the junction of the three ancient ecclesiastical parishes of Colebrooke, Crediton and Down St Mary.[1] The 2011 census recorded a population in the civil parish of 1,253.
Copplestone stands right in the middle of Devon half way between Exeter and Barnstaple on the A377, nestled in a valley. The railway line here is known as the ‘Tarka Line’ railway and goes through the middle of the village, stopping at Copplestone railway station.
The village is surrounded by hills and is not far from Dartmoor, visible to the east and Exmoor to the north, a little farther away.
Copplestone Cross
- Main article: Copplestone Cross
In the centre of the village, standing at the junction of the three parishes of Colebrooke, Crediton and Down St Mary,[1] is the Copplestone Cross, a granite pillar, said to be either a boundary stone[2] or the surviving shaft of a decorated late Saxon cross.[1] It stands 10 feet high, and is 2 feet square, covered with intricate relief sculpted decoration. The granite for the cross must have been brought some 9 miles from Dartmoor.
The cross was mentioned as Copelan Stan[2] in a charter dated 974.[3] Putta, the second and last Bishop of Tawton (reigned 906-910), was murdered in 910 whilst travelling from his see at Bishops Tawton, on the River Taw two miles south of Barnstaple on the north coast, to visit the local ruler Uffa, whose residence was at Crediton.[4][5] It is believed that Copplestone Cross, situated six miles north-west of Crediton and twenty-two miles south-east of Bishops Tawton, was erected in commemoration of his murder at this spot.[6]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Copplestone) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Nikolaus Pevsner: The Buildings of England: Devon, 1952; 1989 Penguin Books ISBN 978-0-300-09596-8page 276
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hoskins, W.G., ‘A New Survey of England: Devon’, London, 1959 (first published 1954), p.372
- ↑ Baring-Gould, Sabine (1834-1924), A Book of the West, Being an Introduction to Devon & Cornwall, Vol. I, Devon, London, 1900, p.98 [1]
- ↑ Chattaway, Joseph, An Historical Sketch of the Danmonii: Or Ancient Inhabitants of Devonshire, 1830, p.79 [2]
- ↑ Pole: "Putta was next Bishop of Tawton & was slayne in his journey towards Crediton to visitt the Kinge", as recorded by John Hooker (d.1601) (Pole, Sir William (d.1635), Collections Towards a Description of the County of Devon, Sir John-William de la Pole (ed.), London, 1791, p.27)
- ↑ http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-443618-copplestone-cross-copplestone-devon
