Kennerleigh
| Kennerleigh | |
| Devon | |
|---|---|
 Kennerleigh, St John the Baptist church | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SS819074 |
| Location: | 50°51’16"N, 3°40’41"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 145 (2011) |
| Post town: | Crediton |
| Postcode: | EX17 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Mid Devon |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Central Devon |
Kennerleigh is a village in Devon.
The church is dedicated to St John the Baptist, a mediæval church which underwent significant restoration around 1847. There was previously a chapel dedicated to St Clement which is first recorded in 1334.
History
The village, was anciently known as Kynwarthlegh.[1] Lords of the manor included members of the Hidon and Dowrich/Dowrish families.[2]
The fatal hand
Polwhele, in his "History of Devon" states that Thomas Dowrich sold the manor to John Northcote.[3] According to tradition, however, memorialised in a family card table, he instead gambled away the manor to Sir Arthur Northcote, 2nd Baronet in a game of piquet. Sabine Baring-Gould describes the game in his 1898 book An Old English Home and its Dependencies:[4]
Mr Dowrish, being eldest hand, held the four aces, four kings, and four queens, and promptly offered to bet his manor of Kennerleigh against £500, by no means its value even in those days, that he won the game. Sir Arthur took the bet, having a claim of carte blanche on his undiscarded hand. After Sir Arthur had discarded, he took up two knaves, and held two points of five each, each headed by the knave. Mr Dowrish being about to declare, was stopped by Sir Arthur's claim for ten for carte blanche, which ruined his chances. The point fell to Sir Arthur, and two quints.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Kennerleigh) |
References
- ↑ Information on Kennerleigh from GENUKI
- ↑ White, William (1850). History, gazetteer, and directory of Devonshire. Simkin, Marshall and Company. pp. 276-7. https://books.google.com.au/books?id=3HxbAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA276. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
- ↑ White, William: 'History, Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Devon: Including the City of Exeter, and Comprising a General Survey of the County' (1879) page 698
- ↑ Baring-Gould, Sabine: 'An Old English Home and its Dependencies' (1898) pages 280-2; chapter: 'Scapegraces'