Holsworthy
| Holsworthy | |
| Devon | |
|---|---|
 Holsworthy | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SS343038 |
| Location: | 50°49’0"N, 4°21’-0"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 2,256 (2001) |
| Post town: | Holsworthy |
| Postcode: | EX22 |
| Dialling code: | 01409 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Torridge |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Torridge and West Devon |
Holsworthy is a market town in the northwest of Devon, close to the border with Cornwall, and 9 miles from the coastal resort of Bude in the latter county. Holsworthy stands on the River Deer, a tributary of the Tamar, and at the intersection of the A388 and A3072 roads.
Holsworthy is a historic market town with hundreds of years of history and is mentioned in the Domesday Book, as being part of the estate of Harold Godwinson. The town has occupied a hill top site since Saxon times, and in 1154 became a safe trading centre (known as a port town). The date of the original charter for the market and charter fair is between 1154 and 1185.
At that time, the spokesman for the inhabitants was known as the portreeve and the ruling council as the court leet. The Court Leet used to hold their tribunals beneath the Great Tree, and a metal disc set in the road on Stanhope Street marks the site.
A second charter was granted by King James I in 1614 and this is proclaimed by the town crier on Wednesday of St Peter’s Fair.
Holsworthy was the birthplace in 1886 of the prominent Methodist minister and ecumenist Robert Newton Flew.[1]
The Church of St Peter and St Paul
The Church of St Peter and St Paul is the parish church, and there has been a church on the site since around 1130.
Carvings from the original church were incorporated into the porch of the present church, and the church is famous for being one of the few in the country with the Devil in stained glass. It also gained fame for SS Wesley's music, Holsworthy Church Bells—composed for the chiming drum. The tower was built around 1450.
Second World War
During Second World War, POW Camp No. 42 (Exhibition Field Camp)[2] was situated at what is now Stanhope Close. The Church of St Peter now displays a crucifix, carved by a German prisoner of war, and also two hand painted stained glass windows made by Italian prisoners of war, used in a hut which served as their Roman Catholic church.
Festivals and events
Holsworthy has a thriving outdoor pannier market every Wednesday, along with one of the largest livestock markets in the West Country. The livestock market has been held on the same site since 1905.
- Craft fairs held 4 times a year in the Memorial Hall.
- Farmers' market held every Wednesday.
- A vintage car rally is held every June.
- St Peter’s Fair is held every July, lasts for one week, and there is live entertainment/music.
St Peter's Fair was originally held in what is now the churchyard of St Peter and St Paul's Church. Over time, it became the custom to hold the fair on the feast day of the saint that the church was dedicated to, so the fair was named after St Peter. It had to move in 1285 due to the Statute of Winchester, and because the Gregorian calendar was altered in 1752 by the omission of 11 days, the fair has been held 11 days after the feast day of St. Peter (29 June).
During Fair Week, the annual presentation of the Pretty Maid takes place. This ceremony, which dates back to 1841, was created when a legacy left by the Reverend Thomas Meyrick was established that stipulated that the annual income of the legacy was to be paid to a young maid from Holsworthy.
Reflecting the changing fortunes of farming and the local community, a one-day agricultural show, which began in 1886, is held annually at the end of July. It used to be held in May and was Devon’s first agricultural show of the season.
Industry
Holsworthy is home to the only centralised anaerobic digestion facility in the UK. Turning dairy farm slurry into biogas, the plant has an installed capacity of 2.1 MW. There are proposals to provide low cost heat to the householders of the town from the plant.[3]
Sport and leisure
- Football: Holsworthy AFC
Pictures
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Town crier -
Great Tree Plaque
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Outside links
- Holsworthy Parish Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul
- BBC Devon - Holsworthy - My home town article by Charles Cornish
- Holsworthy Museum