Langtree

Langtree
Devon
Langtree parish church
Location
Grid reference:	SS450156
Location:	50°55’11"N, 4°12’19"W
Data
Postcode:	EX38
Local Government
Council:	Torridge
Parliamentary constituency:	Torridge and West Devon

Langtree is a village in northern Devon, about four miles south-west of Great Torrington and eight miles south of Bideford. Its name means just as it seems – "long tree".

Langtree parish also includes the smaller village of Stibb Cross.

Parish church

The parish church is All Saints' Church, a 13th-century building.

There is also a Methodist chapel.

History

An entry in White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Devonshire (1850) reads:

LANGTREE is a considerable village, 3½ miles S.W. of Great Torrington, and has in its parish 911 souls, and 4028 acres of land, including the hamlets of Stowford and Week. The Trustees of the late Lord Rolle own most of the soil, and are lords of the manors of Langtree and Stowford, and patrons of the rectory ... The Church has a tower and five bells, and contains several neat monuments. There was anciently a chapel at Cross hill. The National School, built in 1840, is supported by the rector.

The school referred to was situated next to the church and later used as a village hall.

The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) adds:

The village, which is considerable, is wholly agricultural. The soil is clayey, but in some parts rich, producing good crops of wheat and barley. The prevailing timber is oak and pine. The road from Torrington to Holsworthy and Launceston passes through the parish. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £510. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Exeter, value £348. The church, dedication unknown, is an ancient stone structure, with a tower containing five bells. There was formerly a chapel-of-ease at Cross-Hill. The parochial charities produce about £55 per annum. There is a parochial school for both sexes, in which a Sunday-school is also held. The Baptists and Bible Christians have each a chapel. The trustees of the late Lord Rolle are lords of the manor.

Society

The village has a modern Parish Hall, which attracted attention in 2003 by staging the controversial pantomime Snow White and the Seven Asylum Seekers, written by Bob Harrod.

The local pub is the Green Dragon

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Langtree)