Dunchideock
| Dunchideock | |
| Devon | |
|---|---|
 View over Dunchideock | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SX8887 |
| Data | |
| Population: | 262 (2001) |
| Post town: | Exeter |
| Postcode: | EX6 |
| Dialling code: | 01626 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Teignbridge |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Teignbridge |
Dunchideock is a small, scattered village on the north-eastern slopes of the Haldon Hills in south-eastern Devon, about four miles south-west of Exeter and seven miles north-east of Bovey Tracey. The parish, had a recorded population of 262 in 2001.
The village such as it is has no clear centre but consists of scattered dwellings.[1]
Name
The delightful name 'Dunchideock' is of Celtic origin, from the Old British language once dominant in these parts. The manor is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Donsedoc, and it appears to derive from dun (fort) and coediog (wooded).[2] W G Hoskins reckons that this name refers to the nearby Iron Age hill fort of Cotley Castle,[3] though the Roman fort by Ide, is closer (SX885889).
Parish church
The parish church is dedicated to St Michael and is Grade I listed.[4] It originated in 1308 at the latest, but the present church building, built of red sandstone, was started in the late 14th century. It has been partially rebuilt and restored many times.[1]
The church has a good font dated to around 1400, some notable carved bench-ends, roof-bosses and rood-screen; and several memorials, most notably to Aaron Baker, who rebuilt the chancel aisle in 1669, and Stringer Lawrence.[3]
The theological writer Bourchier Wrey Savile was rector of Dunchideock with Shillingford St George from 1872 to his death in 1888.
Haldon House and about
Within the parish was the former Haldon House which was the home of Sir Robert Palk, Bt. Mostly demolished in the 1920s, the remaining wing is now the Best Western "Lord Haldon Hotel". Also in the parish is Haldon Belvedere, a triangular tower on top of Haldon that was built by Palk in 1788 in memory of his friend General Stringer Lawrence.[5]
History and legend
Archie Winckworth, the former owner of Dunchideock House, posted a memoir about the village and its history, including an account of its buried treasure.[6] The cellars of Dunchideock House are fancifully supposed to contain a treacle mine.[7]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Dunchideock) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Harris, Helen (2004). A Handbook of Devon Parishes. Tiverton: Halsgrove. pp. 62–63. ISBN 1-84114-314-6.
- ↑ Place-Names, page 495
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Hoskins, W. G. (1972). A New Survey of England: Devon (New ed.). London: Collins. pp. 390–391. ISBN 0-7153-5577-5.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1334285: Church of St Michael, Biddypark Lane, Dunchideock
- ↑ "Haldon Belvedere (Lawrence Castle) - Brief History". Dunchideock Parish. Archived from the original on 2011-08-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20110815074630/http://dudley.giving.officelive.com/Belvedere_page2.aspx. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
- ↑ Winckworth, A. N.. "GENUKI/Devon: Memories of Dunchideock". genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk. http://genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/DEV/Dunchideock/Memories.html. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
- ↑ Barber, Chips (1982). Around & About the Haldon Hills. Obelisk Publications. pp. 95–97. ISBN 0-946651-14-0.