Hittisleigh
| Hittisleigh | |
| Devon | |
|---|---|
 St Andrew's Church, Hittisleigh | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SX734954 |
| Location: | 50°44’28"N, 3°47’52"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 113 |
| Post town: | Exeter |
| Postcode: | EX6 |
| Dialling code: | 01647 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Mid Devon |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Central Devon |
Hittisleigh is a small, rural village just north-east of the edges of Dartmoor in Devon.
The name 'Hittisleigh' may be derived from 'Hyttin's leah' (from the Old English for wood/clearing). Alternatively it may come from the Old English for a 'family' or 'tenants' and have meant 'tenant's place or pasture'. Although difficult to date the initial settlement Hittisleigh is mentioned in the Domesday Book.[1]
The village has a church, Church of St Andrew, Hittisleigh, village hall, several farms and a public telephone box. In the past it has also boasted a school, public house (The Hunters Inn), post office, blacksmith, bakery and Wesleyan Methodist chapel. These have all since closed with the buildings often becoming residential.
The church has a nave and chancel of the 14th century and a 15th-century aisle built of granite. According to John Betjeman "it was restored late and lovingly" and is "an adorable little church".[2]
The village is known to history as the birthplace of the eighteenth-century pirate Samuel Bellamy.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Hittisleigh) |
References
- ↑ "Hittisleigh in Domesday Book". http://www.bedandbreakfastdevon.org/community/hittisleigh.shtml. Retrieved 2009-09-25.
- ↑ Betjeman, John, ed. (1968) Collins Pocket Guide to English Parish Churches; the South. London: Collins; p. 163