Lifton
| Lifton | |
| Devon | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Arundell Arms, Lifton | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SX386851 |
| Location: | 50°38’35"N, 4°17’3"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 1,180 (ward, 2011) |
| Post town: | Lifton |
| Postcode: | PL16 |
| Dialling code: | 01566 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | West Devon |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Torridge and West Devon |
Lifton is a village in west Devon, near the meeting of the rivers Wolf and Lyd, a mile and a quarter south of the A30 trunk road and very close to the border between Devon and Cornwall.
History
The village was of strategic importance in the Dark Ages because of its location on a major route close to the border with Cornwall. It was first recorded as Liwtune in the will of King Alfred in the late 9th century.[1] The king left the manor to his youngest son, Æthelweard (c.880-922).
At a meeting of the Witan in Lifton on 12 November 931 King Æthelstan granted land to his thegn Wulfgar, and the charter was witnessed by King Hywel Dda of Deheubarth and King Idwal Foel of Gwynedd.[2] Lifton became the centre of the Lifton Hundred in the Anglo-Saxon period.
The village was a royal manor in the Middle Ages, passing into private hands when sold by Queen Elizabeth I to local landowner William Harris of Hayne in the parish of Stowford, Devon, in the late 16th century. Since the family had moved here from Kenegie in Cornwall their armorial bearings include a motto in Cornish, which is "Car Dew tres pub tra" ("Love God above everything").[3] An inn at Portgate, the Harris Arms, is named after the family.
There has been a church in Lifton since Norman times, although little of the existing St Mary's Church is earlier than the 15th century.[1] In 1755 the manor was inherited by the Arundell family.[4] The Arundell Arms is a hotel, formerly a coaching inn known as the "White Horse", which is known today for fishing.
Agriculture and mining have supported the economy in the past. The dairy company, Ambrosia, has been based here since 1917. Started as a milk factory using supplies from dairy farms in the area, it produced dried milk during the Second World War. The site has been enlarged considerably and the firm is now an important local employer.[4]
The village was bypassed by the A30 in 1993,[4]
Sport and leisure
The village has several youth football teams.
The Lifton Recreation Field off Leat Road is a Queen Elizabeth II Field of four and a quarter acres.
Historic estates
Lifton Park
A country house called Lifton Park was built by William Arundel in 1805 and was the centre of the Lifton estate.[5] Frederick Stockdale said of the house "very delightfully situated and commands an interesting prospect of the town of Launceston with its ancient castle, indeed no expense seems to have been spared to render the surrounding plantations containing about 8,000 acres."[6]
During the Second World War, a boys' preparatory school called Moffatt's was evacuated to the house from Hertfordshire,[7] and shortly after the war the house was severely damaged by fire. The west wing has since been restored, but most of the former house still stands in ruins. Part of the park is an arboretum. The two entrances to the park still have lodges dating from the Victorian era.[5]
Wortham
Wortham Manor, in the parish of Lifton, was long a seat of the Dynham family, a junior branch descended from the Anglo-Norman magnate Baron Dynham. The early 16th century manor house survives, today the property of the Landmark Trust.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Lifton) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 History of Lifton website
- ↑ Foot, Sarah (2011). Æthelstan: The First King of England. Yale University Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-300-12535-1.
- ↑ Quoted from the Cornish mediæval play of the Passion, translated by Charles Henderson in: Henderson, Charles (1935) "Cornish inns", in: Essays in Cornish History; ed. by A. L. Rowse and M. I. Henderson. London: Oxford U. P.; pp. 168-71
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Lifton Village Trail
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lifton Park at parksandgardens.org, accessed 4 October 2016
- ↑ Frederick Stockdale, MS papers for proposed history of Devon, c. 1826-1855, at Devon and Exeter Institution Library
- ↑ John Neale, Discovering the River Tamar, p. 65